If Iowa is going to be taken seriously as a CFP darkhorse, it needs to win this game and convincingly. It's got the defense and the special teams to win games, but the offense still has lots of question marks. Iowa thankfully didn't need to do much against Indiana, but there's no guarantees that Iowa will be gifted with another Pick 6 this Saturday. The best we can realistically expect is to consistently give ISU long fields (70+ yards) and use our defense to give us shorter fields to make it easier for our offense. My guess is that ISU's game plan is to load the box and dare Petras to beat them. We're damn lucky to have TG, but he can't carry the offense by himself. He's at his best when the passing game is having at least moderate success.
ISU is favored because 1) it's at Ames, 2) it's at Ames, 3) it's the 'sexier' team (not to be confused with better) and 4) it's at Ames. I have no doubt that both teams are psyched up for this matchup, and they very well could be the best team either face all year (not counting conference championships or the postseason). ISU likely won't see a defense as good as Iowa's, perhaps even in the postseason (unless they draw Georgia in a NY6 bowl or something). ISU has an offense better than any in the B1G West, but that's not saying much because most of them range from average to hot garbage.
Regardless of what the outcome is, I think people are going to pay a lot more attention to the state of Iowa this season. Both teams have the goods to at least make their conference championship games. Both OU and OSU seem to have some exploitable flaws that ISU and Iowa can take advantage of, respectively. And both teams have overcome early losses to string together an impressive conference run. It has the makings and the feel of a huge Rivalry Week showdown, but if there is a silver lining for losing early, is that there's plenty of time to recover and let other teams fall.
ISU is favored because 1) it's at Ames, 2) it's at Ames, 3) it's the 'sexier' team (not to be confused with better) and 4) it's at Ames. I have no doubt that both teams are psyched up for this matchup, and they very well could be the best team either face all year (not counting conference championships or the postseason). ISU likely won't see a defense as good as Iowa's, perhaps even in the postseason (unless they draw Georgia in a NY6 bowl or something). ISU has an offense better than any in the B1G West, but that's not saying much because most of them range from average to hot garbage.
Regardless of what the outcome is, I think people are going to pay a lot more attention to the state of Iowa this season. Both teams have the goods to at least make their conference championship games. Both OU and OSU seem to have some exploitable flaws that ISU and Iowa can take advantage of, respectively. And both teams have overcome early losses to string together an impressive conference run. It has the makings and the feel of a huge Rivalry Week showdown, but if there is a silver lining for losing early, is that there's plenty of time to recover and let other teams fall.
