OSU speed to test Cyclones

AMES - As Paul Rhoads sat down to watch film in preparation for Iowa State's next game - a road contest against Oklahoma State - his first note to himself was quickly evident.

'They run very well, very well as a defense,” Rhoads said in his news conference Monday. 'Peoples' screen game and things like that are almost non-existent because (Oklahoma State can) transition from the point of attack out to the perimeter very fast.”

The Cowboys (3-1) enter Saturday's game ranked seventh in the Big 12 in total defense, giving up an average of 390.5 yards per game. Where Oklahoma State has found a lot of success on defense, though, is stopping its opponents' running game, allowing an average of 111.5 yards per game.

Iowa State's (1-3) running attack - which averages 104.0 yards per game - has struggled to find any rhythm through four games, much to the frustration of Rhoads, who knows being able to run the ball and stop the run is a big part of the success of many teams.

'We're not even scratching the surface on that,” Rhoads said. 'We're averaging just over 100 yards a game and our quarterback, not by design, is our top runner.

'We've got to fix it and it certainly is being addressed. It's not something we're putting our head in the sand about. You've got to scheme things up sometimes when you don't have the horses whether that's smoke and mirrors or just leverage and angles.”

Oklahoma State has been able to run the ball a bit more effectively than Iowa State, averaging 171.8 yards per game. Senior linebacker Jevohn Miller, who had a career-high 17 tackles against Baylor, said there were some positive take-aways from the loss to the Bears, like how to shore up the run defense.

Miller said he has a couple plays in the back of his mind he knows the defense will have to execute more soundly in order to stop the Cowboys up front.

'(Oklahoma State) can pop in at any given time and if we're not in our right gaps, which sometimes we weren't last Saturday, we're going to get gashed,” Miller said. 'So we'll emphasize that this week and try to get better.”

'I think the more reps we're getting in practice, the more reps we're getting in live games is really helping out the defense,” defensive tackle Mitchell Meyers said of the growth of the defense.

Another piece of the OSU offense Rhoads has his eye on is junior quarterback Daxx Garman. Garman has started the last two games for the Cowboys after starter J.W. Walsh underwent surgery to repair an injured right foot, which will force him to miss the remainder of the season.

Garman was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after throwing for 370 yards, four touchdowns and rushing for a touchdown in Oklahoma State's 45-35 win over Texas Tech on Saturday. He also completed four passes of 40 yards or more and six passes of at least 30 yards.

'I think he's a very good football player that throws a very good deep ball, that's scary,” Rhoads said. 'Some guys can throw them all, some guys are better underneath, he throws a really good deep ball with a lot of touch and they throw it a lot of times in a game. Only takes three of those successful and you get 21 points on the scoreboard so that's a scary piece as we start our preparation.”

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