Oklahoma vs Iowa State football: Five keys to victory

What Iowa State needs to accomplish on offense, some tips for the defense, and more in five ways to get a victory over Oklahoma.

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1. Once again, focus on a pass-first offense

Iowa State needs to pass to set up their running attack. It’s the weakness of the Oklahoma defense, which is ranked 105th nationally giving up 268.4 yards per game. That’s also the same number Louisiana-Lafayette gives up.

2. Don’t be overwhelmed by a historic football team.

It helps that Texas has been down in recent years, but the Cyclones show up to play them constantly. When Oklahoma comes into Ames, ISU generally shows up while the Sooners never seem to play at 100 percent. Also, remember that Oklahoma hasn’t been dominant in Big 12 play yet. They are 2-2 with each game being an eight-point difference or less.

3. Keep Trevor Knight at his average passing completion.

Knight hasn’t lived up to expectations at quarterback, but he’s coming off of his best appearance against Kansas State. He completed a whopping 26-of-32 passes for 81.3 percent and had three touchdowns, but he’s normally completed around 60 percent of his passes. Iowa State needs to hold him to that number.

4. Iowa State needs to score in the 30s.

Oklahoma played three cupcakes in non-conference play (yes, that includes Tennessee this year), but since, the defense hasn’t held any Big 12 teams to under 26 points, and that was Texas. West Virginia had 33, TCU had 37, and Kansas State had 31. ISU needs a score of around 35 to beat Oklahoma.

5. Oklahoma protects the quarterback, so keep away from the blitz.

I’m not expecting Iowa State to blitz much because the Sooners have a great offensive line. They’ve only given up five sacks all season.

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