Rob Gray

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht told reporters he felt the offense lacked a “sense of urgency” in the first half of a 10-7 loss to Ohio, which is concerning enough. It seemed the same could have been said about the previous week’s 20-13 loss to Iowa.

As frustrating as last Saturday’s 10-7 loss at Ohio proved to be for Iowa State’s beleaguered offense, opportunities for success dotted all four quarters. They simply went largely unmet — and that’s a situation that must change Saturday against Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma State seems to be facing even more wide-ranging problems than Iowa State right now. Here are five Cowboys to watch in Saturday’s Big 12 opener

The Cyclones must be able to run the ball and limit turnovers while taking away the ball once or twice themselves. Here are three keys and a score prediction for Iowa State’s game Saturday at Ohio.

Jeremiah Cooper is one of two players nationally with as many as three interceptions this season. He’s also one of 31 FBS players to have strode into the end zone with a pick-6 and it's hoped his ball-hawking mentality will rub off on his Iowa State teammates.

Iowa State trounced Ohio, 43-10, last season at home, but it’s unlikely to be that easy this time around. The Bobcats — who scored 17 unanswered points to beat Tom Herman’s Florida Atlantic Owls last week on the road — return several veteran standouts, including quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who is the reigning MAC offensive player of the year.

Jeff Ellis became a star tight end at Ohio State in the late 1980s, but injuries derailed his promising career. He died in 2018 after a battle with cancer and Jacob Ellis honors his dad’s memory by priming himself for every opportunity — taking nothing for granted while overcoming injuries of his own at Iowa State.

There’s a lot of familiar faces on the Ohio roster, but the Bobcats appear to be better this season. Here are five players to watch against Iowa State.

Transfer wide receiver Jayden Higgins came up with a late touchdown in Iowa State’s loss to Iowa on Saturday. Should the Cyclones have been operating more urgently, which could have potentially left time for a more extended final offensive possession, or maybe even two possessions?

The litany of miscues that have doomed Iowa State to defeat in six of its last seven Cy-Hawk series games against Iowa once again served as the backdrop in the Cyclones’ 20-13 loss to the Hawkeyes Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.

Since Iowa State’s streak-breaking win over Iowa in 1998, Iowa’s won 13 in the series. The Cyclones have won 11. Nerve-fraying, white-knuckled affairs have largely replaced the guffaw-filled blowout victories the Hawkeyes typically enjoyed from 1983 to 1997.

Iowa State hosts Iowa on Saturday in the annual Cy-Hawk football showdown. Here a three keys to an ISU victory.

Is another low-scoring game in store Saturday when Iowa visits Iowa State, or will the offenses answer early-season questions? We preview Cy-Hawk 2023 on this episode of the Hawk Off The Press podcast.

Former Dubuque Senior basketball player Jim Bonifas, a redshirt sophomore, is poised to mount charges of a different sort for the Cyclones as he prepares to make his second career start overall and first against in-state rival Iowa this Saturday.

If Rocco Becht’s to fully secure the No. 1 quarterback spot, he must be the consummate game manager — a bland, but exceedingly important duty that the record-setting Brock Purdy ably fulfilled early in his ISU career.