Iowa State Embarrasses Themselves Against Texas 33-7

This weekend marks the beginning of Iowa high school football championships being played at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Perhaps better football was played by an Iowa school there than what took place in Austin today.

Nov 10, 2012; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns wide receiver Jaxon Shipley (8) is tackled by Iowa State Cyclones defensive back Jeremy Reeves (5) in the second quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

Despite a balanced offensive attack in the first half with over 100 yards on passing and running, Iowa State gets completely shut down in the second half as Texas pulls away to an easy eighth win of the season. The Longhorns raked in 609 yards of total offense against a declining Cyclones defense.

David Ash only had one incompletion in the first half and finished the day going 25-31 passing for 362 yards and two touchdowns. Jaxon Shipley ended up as the leading receiver on the day with a number of fantastic catches, completing eight of them for 137 yards. Mike Davis had seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown.

The Cyclones also had problems stopping the run. The tandem of Johnathan Gray and Joe Bergeron caused Iowa State defenders to miss frequently. Both running backs combined with 165 yards on 27 carries; Gray reached the endzone twice. His second one sealed the game taking a 30-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Steele Jantz was generally average on the day, but completely disappeared in the second half. After going 10-18 in the first half for 102 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the first half, the rest of his day went 3-8 for 11 yards until the last drive when the game was long decided.

Some of what was due to the offensive line breaking down and not getting enough opportunities when Texas controlled the ball in most of the second half. The Longhorns ended with 38:12 minutes in time of possession.

Both sides of the ball played awful today. It’s disappointing that Iowa State couldn’t get more running yards against the 107th-ranked rushing defense in the nation, finishing with 144 on 31 carries and no touchdowns.

Now sitting at 5-5, this team doesn’t look like it could stop a pillow fight let alone a Big 12 offense. The losses of Jake Knott and even Jansen Watson hurt, but it shouldn’t be this bad.

Iowa State’s next game is against Kansas a week from today. Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m. CT in Lawrence, Kansas.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor for Clones Confidential. Keep up with the latest sports fails and disdain toward the Big Ten by following him on Twitter.

Read his other work on the Oregon Ducks blog, Autzen Zoo, and Lacrosse the Web.