Iowa State hopes to carry offensive rhythm into Oklahoma

AMES — Changes at quarterback and offensive coordinator might explain in part how the Iowa State offense handled Texas last weekend, but it doesn't explain everything.

After three straight weeks of playing the top three offenses — Texas Tech, TCU and Baylor — how was it that the Cyclones defense was able to pitch a shutout against a program that hadn't been goose-egged by an unranked team since 1961?

Coach Paul Rhoads might not have been expecting a shutout, but he could sense his team was on the verge of having one of its most inspired performances this season. In his eyes, it was a classic case of one side of the ball helping the other.

'That steady improvement was going to show up in a performance like this regardless,' Rhoads said in his news conference Monday. 'I think Joel's (Lanning) emergence on the field at Baylor was a jolt for our team that carried over to the defensive side of the field and the locker room.'

Lanning's performance was resoundingly successful against Texas where he was 19 of 37 passing for 188 yards and a touchdown while rushing 13 times for 82 yards. The sophomore knows there were things he did well, but the few throws he short armed are what command his attention this week.

'Obviously there are some mistakes I made there with throwing like throwing off my back foot a little too much,' Lanning said. 'We'll watch it together as a team and fix those mistakes today.'

Regardless of the mistakes, the offense led by Lanning and offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy had a rhythm other offensive performances this season have been missing. The Cyclones ran 92 plays for 28 first downs, were 15 for 24 on third down conversions and 4 for 4 in the red zone.

'We had great energy last week as a football team that carried over from what I would describe as the last 40 minutes of success at Baylor,' Rhoads said. 'That energy was evident on the practice field and it carried over to Jack Trice Saturday night for sure.'

Iowa State was named FWAA National Team of the Week Monday for its 24-0 win against Texas while linebacker Jordan Harris was awarded the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week. Lanning's first start at quarterback was a success, and confidence inside the Bergstrom Football Complex is as high as it's been this season.

The gauntlet of the best three offenses in the conference might be in the past, but with No. 14 Oklahoma on the horizon there is little time the Cyclones (3-5, 2-3) have spent looking in the rearview mirror. After the Sooners (7-1, 4-1) lost to the Longhorns, they've scored at least 55 points three times in blowout wins.

As daunting as the challenge is to slow down Oklahoma, Iowa State's level of confidence might be its biggest ally when it travels to Norman for Saturday's game.

'In my opinion I think that's the turning point for the team as a whole,' Harris said. 'I think everybody has their confidence level sky high right now and we're going to play with that confidence and swagger on Saturday.'

Injury update/depth chart shuffle

Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said Monday Daniel Burton and Pierre Aka will not dress for Saturday's game at Oklahoma.

Both sustained injuries against Texas, but Rhoads hopes Burton will be available the final three games.

Defensive end J.D. Waggoner was elevated atop the depth chart on the defensive line ahead of Trent Taylor. Waggoner had one tackle against the Longhorns while Taylor sat out and nursed an ankle injury. Rhoads expects Taylor and Bobby Leath to be available against the Sooners.

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