STORY: Iowa State's defense was a no-show in Norman

[AuH2O]

The 3-3-5 has been an very effective defense for the Clones. But after a handful of years, have opposing offenses caught up?

One can argue, what's the difference from a 3-3-5 if Heacock blitzes a LB? I bought into that argument for a couple years when we had really talented and dynamic lineman like Eyi, Will and JaQuan. Plus we had a mix of physical & speed linebackers (Rose, Vance, Hummel and Spears). But with this years team, it seems like opposing OL swallow up our LBs if they don't get a clear blitz shot.

Campbell preaches being physical. Not sure this ISU team can be a physical defense or team by playing a 3 man front. Plus Big12 QB's are too good if they don't feel pressure. And a 3 man rush creates expanded passing and scramble lanes for QB.

After 5 games we have:

• 8 sacks (3 are < 3 yards each).
• 0 forced fumbles (and obviously no fumbles recovered)
• 6 Ints (4 by Cooper)

We need to find a way to create more momentum plays.

ISUs defense was the Best in the league scoring, best in ypg by a lot. Only Texas was close in ypp and everybody else was way behind ISU and Texas.

Even without taking into account short fields due to the offense or ST, the defense has given up 9, 13, 10, 27 and 41.

Some adjustments are needed but it seems a little early to consider the scheme figured out.

 

[CyGuy5]

The OSU game wasn't great, I'll give you that. And I'll be watching the TCU game because now the defense has been called out. But I'm not ready yet to say we have a big problem on defense.

My single biggest takeaway from the game is: Yup, SEC is a whole different league. Won't watch a single game of SEC football unless we're playing them, because I simply don't care.

Is it not demoralizing that in year 8, we looked like we didn’t even belong on the field with the opponent? Outside of the TCU game last year, that hadn’t happened since 2016. It’s a glaring reflection of the lack of talent we had on the field. Nikkel getting truck sticked by Dillon freaking Gabriel was a perfect example of this.

 

[HouClone]

Jay Jordan was very insightful in a podcast with Jared two tears ago in explaining the keys to Heacocks 3-3-5 dime stack defense. Of course you need talent at all positions but he said three spots have to be exceptional.

1. A lockdown field corner. We had that for 4 years with Anthony Johnson. Now TJ Tampa - check.

2. A SAM linebacker who can support the run and cover two zones vs the pass. That was Mike Rose for 4 years and Willie Harvey before him. I like our young LBs but they are not Mike Rose. Big gap here.

3. A stud rush DE who can routinely win one-on-one battles and command a double team and still get pressure. Jaquan Bailey then Will McDonald. Not close…big drop off this year and I think the biggest issue.

IMO Heacock needs to scheme differently with this year’s roster and he’s doing that when Bacon plays as a stand up DE and rushes. But we still don’t have the personnel in the front 6 like we had the previous 6 years and the results show against competent offenses.

Some of the posters say that the up tempo did us in. Well, maybe. But we have seen that for years in the Big 12.

2nd, the 3-3-5 we have run for years was better against passing teams and not so much the run types like Iowa, Baylor, and Notre Dame. The fact Iowa couldn't score more against us is because of their crappy QBs and coaching. Oklahoma is more pass so shouldn't have been the 3-3-5.

Points #2 and #3 are the main reasons. We have seen QBs stand in the pocket frequently in the past and still we had their receivers blanketed, but Saturday was sad. Gabriel didn't have to move an inch, and he had guys come open all day.

 

[Cyclonsin]

Agree with your overall point.

Another part of it is the offensive scheme vs our defense. If the opposing QB has an arm and competent receivers, receivers sit in open space 5-7 yards downfield and the ball is out in about 2 seconds, which we allow. OSU's and OU's passing game are predicated on quick throws (many deep throws seem to be predetermined before the snap and are out relatively quick - something I wish we would do more), granted Gabriel was able to sit back without much pressure throughout the game.

Against certain offenses the ball is coming out so quick, that an untouched/unaccounted for blitzing LB/DB is still arriving after the ball is thrown. However, even if your not sacking those quick throwing QB's, pressure speeds up their progressions forces throws. Need to start generating some sort of consistent pressure, hoping we start blitzing more as we've been giving up big pass plays sitting back in coverage only rushing 3 or 4 guys.

The incredibly soft cushions had me pulling my hair out on Saturday night.

"Oh, it's 3rd and 5? Better give their receivers 8 yards of space to make sure we don't get burned deep!"

But again, not necessarily a speed issue, even though it would be nice if our DBs could close on their WRs a bit faster in those situations.

Either way, my point is this: I don't think our defense is very talented outside of Tampa.

 

[nrg4isu]

Is it not demoralizing that in year 8, we looked like we didn’t even belong on the field with the opponent? Outside of the TCU game last year, that hadn’t happened since 2016. It’s a glaring reflection of the lack of talent we had on the field. Nikkel getting truck sticked by Dillon freaking Gabriel was a perfect example of this.

Yes! It is demoralizing. But to me that's proof that being on an even playing field simply is not possible in the era of NIL and the P2. I'm dismissing it out of hand that we even belong on the same field. Congrats to the $EC and the big money programs. I'm out. I expect the same exact thing to happen against Texas. But honestly I just don't care. Will I hope for David to slingshot Goliath? of course.

This is different from the 90's when we couldn't field a team that could match anyone. We do have talent, but it's second tier (sorry). I'll go so far as to say that NCAA D1 football now has at least 3 tiers. D1 SEC and maybe B10, D1 everyone else and D1 FCS.

This Oklahoma game was a breaking point for me. I already hated the inequality in football and how much money could buy success. Now I'm just done with it.

 

[madguy30]

Guys, OU was damn good. I'm not taking much away from this game at all other than they're on a completely different level than we are.

The OSU game wasn't great, I'll give you that. And I'll be watching the TCU game because now the defense has been called out. But I'm not ready yet to say we have a big problem on defense.

My single biggest takeaway from the game is: Yup, SEC is a whole different league. Won't watch a single game of SEC football unless we're playing them, because I simply don't care.

Two years ago I would have thought OU/UT to the SEC would be a mess for them (especially UT) but if things keep trending for both programs they'll do just fine.

 

[nrg4isu]

Two years ago I would have thought OU/UT to the SEC would be a mess for them (especially UT) but if things keep trending for both programs they'll do just fine.

Agreed. NIL certainly plays a part, but also just straight up money.

The national perception will be interesting going forward. Will the B10 catch up to the SEC and it truly become a mini-NFL? I think there's a good chance it will. Everyone else will be on the outside. And honestly, if that makes college football fun again, great!

Outside of TJ Tampa I'm not sure there was a single player on ISU's team that would see the field for OU. Maybe our punter? That's it though. That's how tilted it is right now. And that's not entertaining at all.

 

[quasistellar]

Guys, OU was damn good. I'm not taking much away from this game at all other than they're on a completely different level than we are.

Uh, I think you should take away this: for the last few years, OU WASNT on a completely different level. We are backsliding into some pretty alarming territory

 

[HouClone]

Yes! It is demoralizing. But to me that's proof that being on an even playing field simply is not possible in the era of NIL and the P2. I'm dismissing it out of hand that we even belong on the same field. Congrats to the $EC and the big money programs. I'm out. I expect the same exact thing to happen against Texas. But honestly I just don't care. Will I hope for David to slingshot Goliath? of course.

This is different from the 90's when we couldn't field a team that could match anyone. We do have talent, but it's second tier (sorry). I'll go so far as to say that NCAA D1 football now has at least 3 tiers. D1 SEC and maybe B10, D1 everyone else and D1 FCS.

This Oklahoma game was a breaking point for me. I already hated the inequality in football and how much money could buy success. Now I'm just done with it.

I thought of the same today that the big money schools will be able to pay for transfers and recruits due to not only their boosters but to their tv deals. That is a whole level of suck and non-Big 10 and non-SEC wouldn't be able to compete. I figured it was going to be an issue eventually but seeing us get wiped out so easily on defense last Saturday brought it quicker into focus. Saying that, it may not have been NIL how easily we got smashed as we looked lousy too against an offensive challenged OSU squad.

 

[CyGuy5]

Uh, I think you should take away this: for the last few years, OU WASNT on a completely different level. We are backsliding into some pretty alarming territory

Exactly. I don’t think Saturday was a reflection of NIL. OU always has, and always will have better players. What I’m afraid of is that it’s a reflection on the coaching staff. For a while, we developed players and schemed to a high level where we were essentially on the same playing field as more talented teams. I don’t know if that is the case anymore.

 

[madguy30]

Uh, I think you should take away this: for the last few years, OU WASNT on a completely different level. We are backsliding into some pretty alarming territory

Imo this is the best OU has looked in a long time especially on defense so there's that part of it.

They're looking pretty sharp right now. Under Riley you knew they were going to give up points and probably get sloppy on offense at some point.

 

[nrg4isu]

Exactly. I don’t think Saturday was a reflection of NIL. OU always has, and always will have better players. What I’m afraid of is that it’s a reflection on the coaching staff. For a while, we developed players and schemed to a high level where we were essentially on the same playing field as more talented teams. I don’t know if that is the case anymore.

Yeah, it's not the problem, it's the magnitude. Also it pretty much IS a zero sum game. As OU gets better players, we get less talented players. Coaches too, but they aren't on the field with the ball.

I don't agree that it's a reflection of the coaching staff at all. In fact, from a coaching standpoint I liked what I saw. Offensive creativity. At no time were we out of alignment on defense. Heacock has some goodwill to burn. Strength staff and OL guys are new, they get some time

 

[cyclonez7]

It's not NIL, what happened to five star culture beating five star players? The truth is we have a two star culture with Campbell.

 

[CoachHines3]

Stop rate rankings: Michigan passes Penn State for No. 1 spot through Week 5

There's a new No. 1 in stop rate this week, coming off a dominant road performance in conference play.

theathletic.com

Stop rate is an interesting statistic. I believe the last couple of years we were top 15 maybe even top 10ish in this.

This year... we are sitting at 64th behind teams like Miami Ohio, Western Kentucky, and Akron.

FWIW- Ohio currently sits at 4th!!

We've had 46 drives and a 63% stop rate. Giving up 1.98 points per drive

 

[cayin]

Guys, OU was damn good. I'm not taking much away from this game at all other than they're on a completely different level than we are.

The OSU game wasn't great, I'll give you that. And I'll be watching the TCU game because now the defense has been called out. But I'm not ready yet to say we have a big problem on defense.

My single biggest takeaway from the game is: Yup, SEC is a whole different league. Won't watch a single game of SEC football unless we're playing them, because I simply don't care.

but are they? They lost their fair share this non-con. Heck the ACC beat up on them pretty good. Yes, the SEC has huge advantages all the way around. Only 8 conference games, teams getting the benefit of the doubt in the rankings, the ability to pay players enormous amounts of money. Yet despite that, they don't dominate like they should.

 

[joefrog]

It's not NIL, what happened to five star culture beating five star players? The truth is we have a two star culture with Campbell.

People refuse to see the obvious.

His moment has passed, our opponents have figured him out, and he apparently refuses to effectively use the transfer portal to address shortcomings.

This only gets worse folks.

GREATEST COACH EVERRRRRRRRRR at ISU claims don't mean diddly.

Should have focused on and beaten some average Iowa teams and flipped the in-state recruiting advantage.

 

[NoCreativity]

People refuse to see the obvious.

His moment has passed, our opponents have figured him out, and he apparently refuses to effectively use the transfer portal to address shortcomings.

This only gets worse folks.

GREATEST COACH EVERRRRRRRRRR at ISU claims don't mean diddly.

Should have focused on and beaten some average Iowa teams and flipped the in-state recruiting advantage.

I was leaning your way a couple weeks ago, but a new coaching staff isn't fixing this. It's blatantly obvious watching college football now that this state won't be able to compete like it used too in the NIL world.

This is why so many people were upset 2 or 3 years ago when they allowed this. It was obvious how it would affect schools like Iowa State and now we are seeing the results.

 

[crs8975]

My two cents....we simply can't get pressure. Everything else will suffer because of that. Tampa was actually amazing but could only do so much.

Last year we had pressure and it just sped everyone up.

This. Our line gets zero pressure more than half the time. Meanwhile our O-line is allowing guys 2-3 yards deep before the ball is even handed off.

 

[GoldCy]

It was noticeable how many free agents ou brought in. Maybe NCAA needs a salary cap.

 

[Cyinthenorth]

What was honestly wrong with our secondary yesterday? They seemed to always run away from the ball when it was in the air. Everyone raves about Tampa being a day one or two pick, but he was nowhere to be found yesterday. Freyler was also nowhere to be found and he’s hyped up as an NFL prospect. I think our secondary is too slow.

Freyler following the ISU model of exploding on to the scene and impressing early in his career and slowly regressing to barely serviceable Big 12 player by the time he's finished. See Greg Eisworth and Kamari Cotton-Moya