Five Questions – Iowa State

By Steve Habel/Senior Editor

The plain and simple truth of Texas’ you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it 24-0 loss to Iowa State Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium is that the Longhorns just didn’t show up. Or maybe they did and were just dressed as the Invisible Man to celebrate Halloween.

Blame it on the lengthy, flood-caused flight delay out of Austin on Friday, or a lack of quality warmup prior to the game, or even the hay-filled breeze that blew across the Iowa Plains. Whatever the reason, the Texas team that beat [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]  Oklahoma (a squad that has since turned into a beast) and then handled Kansas State didn’t make the trip north. This group was made up of impostors, or at least the Longhorns’ backers have to hope so.

Texas didn’t even put up a fight against Iowa State, a team that brought two wins in seven games into the contest Saturday.

The Longhorns (3-5, 2-3 in Big 12 Conference play) were dominated in every phase of the game. Texas was outgained 426-204 by the Cyclones, had the game’s only turnover (a so-bad-it-was-unbelievable interception by quarterback Jerrod Heard), lost in time of possession by a whole quarter (37:25-22:35) and didn’t even cross the Iowa State 47-yard line until the game’s final drive.

After two feel-good games, this clunker — even against an Iowa State team that’s much better than its record — raises a red flag about the Longhorns’ real progress.

“We thought we were taking steps forward — this was a step back,” head coach Charlie Strong said afterward. “It concerns me because it looked like we were building on [something]. We felt that we had something going, outside of the early losses we had.”

The Texas running game that had almost singlehandedly produced the past two wins was all but missing in action. The Longhorns had just 119 yards, with its two run-first quarterbacks Tyrone Swoopes (10 carries for 58 yards) and Heard (13 net yards on nine totes) stymied by Iowa State’s eight-in-the-box defense.

And when Texas had to pass, especially after the Cyclones (3-5, 2-3 in Big 12 Conference play) forged a 17-0 lead, it just didn’t have the moxie or the firepower to get it done.

“We accomplished all the things we needed to beat Texas,” Iowa State coach Paul Rhodes said. “We won the turnover margin, stopped the run, threw and ran against their pressure. We were fantastic in special teams and we started fast.”

Iowa State got all the points it would need on its second possession of the game, driving 66 yards in 11 plays to Mike Warren’s 3-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead. The Cyclones added to their advantage on the next-to-last snap of the second quarter when Cole Netten punched through a 28-yard field goal to take a 10-0 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Texas was still in the game until the middle of the third quarter. But any hope of a comeback — at least with the Longhorns’ level of execution — died when Iowa State quarterback Joel Lanning (making his first collegiate start) hit Dondre Daley on a 19-yard touchdown pass to push the Cyclones’ lead to 17-0.

Iowa State added insult to injury late in the game with a final scoring drive that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run by Joshua Thomas with 2:10 to play.

Swoopes drove the Longhorns from their own 18-yard line to the Iowa State 5 on their last possession in attempt to avoid the shutout. Unfortunately Swoopes couldn’t connect with Marcus Johnson in the end zone on the final snap. Texas gained 77 of its total yards on that final march.

Texas has now lost its three “true” road games this season (the AT&T Red River Showdown in Dallas is considered a neutral field) by a combined score of 112-10. Talk about fear of flying.

 

1. Does Texas have a quarterback controversy again?

Neither Texas quarterback has proven he can consistently lead the team to victory and that will remain an issue throughout the season.

Heard, once again, has shown that he’s unsure of his ability to get the ball into tight spots. He also didn’t get the ball out of his hand on schedule.

Strong said that there was a chance to make things happen with the pass, but neither quarterback executed the way they needed to.

“You have to let the ball go,” Strong said. “We had the opportunities, but you have to be able to release the ball and let the receivers make the plays. The receiver is not always going to be open when you let go of the ball, but you have to give those guys a shot.”

The Longhorns were unable to pass the ball down the field. Swoopes missed Daje Johnson — who was wide open by 20 yards — early in the fourth quarter, leading Johnson out of bounds.

Heard hit on 6-of-9 for just 26 yards but 18 of those came on a giveaway play at the end of the second quarter when Iowa State was in an extreme prevent defense. Swoopes, meanwhile, connected on 6-of-13 throws for 59 yards, with 42 yards of that total coming on the Longhorns’ final fruitless march.

“Jerrod was struggling to see the field and to complete passes and we just decided that Tyrone deserved the chance to get some more action,” offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said. “We’ll evaluate things and determine which way we’ll go to give us a chance to win. It wasn’t a good night for either of the guys.”

Swoopes, who’s excelled in the 18-Wheeler package built to take advantage of his size and running ability, has the stronger arm of the two Longhorns’ signalcallers. But he’s a different player confidence-wise when he’s been the go-to quarterback rather than a situational substitution.

“We have to find a way to move the chains and get first downs,” Norvell added. “Obviously it was a poor game for us moving the football and we didn’t pass very well. We have to find out what we’re made of as a football team and we can learn from this game.”

 

2. What was the game’s biggest statistic?

This game was decided by Iowa State’s ability to convert its third downs and by the Longhorns’ inability to get off the field — even in third-and long-situations.

The Cyclones converted 15 of their 24 third downs (and one of their two fourth-down chances). Of those 15 successful third down plays, seven of them gained 10 yards or more —those are the times when the defense is supposed to have an advantage.

Conversely, the Texas offense struggled mightily to stay on the field when it had the chance, converting only two of its 13 chances on third down. The drive summary tells the whole story for the Longhorns: punt, punt, punt, interception, punt, halftime, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, end of game.

“On defense, we have to get off the field on third down,” Strong said. “Iowa State made some plays that kept their drives going. On offense, we never converted on third down. We have to play better.”

 

3. How can a team like Iowa State beat Texas?

Execution, desire and downright determination were the key factors in the Cyclones’ win Saturday. The contest marked the first time since 1961 that the Longhorns have been shut out by an unranked team.

Asked after the game if the loss was a surprise, defensive end Bryce Cottrell was adamant in his response.

“Am I surprised? Of course — I’m always surprised [when we lose]. This is the University of Texas. It’s unacceptable.”  

Iowa State picked up its first win over the Longhorns at Jack Trice Stadium and its second overall win against Texas, following a 28-21 victory in Austin in 2010.

“We shouldn’t beat Texas, probably,” Rhoads said. “Every kid that they recruit, if I go recruit them, I’m not going to get them. But we did beat them and we have twice because our program’s moving in the right direction. I have great coaches and unbelievable players that care and play with passion.”

 

4. Who was the game’s most important player?

That nod goes to Iowa State quarterback Lanning, a redshirt freshman who had been used mostly in run packages until the second half of the Cyclones’ loss to No. 2 Baylor on Oct. 24.

He made the most of his first college start, completing 19-of-37 passes for 188 yards, scoring a touchdown and running for 64 yards — with most of those coming on the aforementioned third-down conversions.

“Joel handled the pressure extremely well,” Iowa State wide receiver Allen Lazard said. “He was able to escape and make plays with his feet and with his arm. I was very impressed with him.”

One would think that the Longhorns would be adept at stopping a running quarterback since they work against two of them every day in practice. Instead, Lanning repeatedly burned the Texas defense — which continued using a single-safety coverage and man-to-man defense in the secondary — for big plays.

 

5. What’s next for Texas?

The Longhorns will limp back to Austin to lick their wounds and should have a fighting chance to beat Kansas in its next game on Nov. 6 — after all, the Jayhawks are the perennial Big 12 doormats and may be the worst team in FBS football.

“We’re going to look back on this game and see that we’re not executing — this is not the team that played against OU and K-State,” safety Dylan Haines said. “We have to continue to play better and that comes with preparation. It’s a one-game season — this one is done so we have to prepare for Kansas.”

Texas must win three of its final four games to qualify for a bowl game and doing so means there’s no room of any kind of misstep the rest of the way. The Longhorns have to beat Kansas, then defeat West Virginia on the road (never an easy proposition) and find a way to outscore Texas Tech on Thanksgiving night.

 

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