NFL Tickets
Climbing into the rankings after three straight victories following a loss to No. 1 Florida State shows that the Oklahoma State Cowboys have shown resilience — something that is needed to play a successful college football season. Oklahoma State could be surprise contender for this year’s playoff, but winning out is a must.
Sure, beating a hated rival like Iowa could make a tough season that much better, but when it’s the only win through four games, the Iowa State Cyclones have to be itching for improvement. Sitting at 1-3 with a tough conference schedule looming, the Cyclones will likely settle for playing spoiler to other Big 12 team’s chances at a playoff appearance.
Watching J.W. Walsh go down with an injury had to be tough for Oklahoma State fans as they probably saw their season crumble right before their very eyes. However, junior Daxx Garman has been a savior for this offense, passing for 929 yards and eight touchdowns with just two interceptions while completing just over 56 percent of his passes. The top target in the receiving game has been Marcell Ateman who has 11 catches for 204 yards with no touchdowns while Brandon Sheperd is close behind with eight catches for 186 yards and two scores. James Washington leads the team with three touchdown catches, while snagging just five passes for 125 yards. Desmond Roland leads the run game with 209 yards and four touchdowns on just 3.7 yards per carry while Tyreek Hill has 174 yards on 6.0 yards per touch.
Iowa State hasn’t had a top quarterback in quite some time and the Cyclones are hoping Sam B. Richardson keeps progressing so that maybe next season he can lead them to a bowl game. The junior quarterback has passed for 591 yards and three touchdowns while throwing another three interceptions, completing a much-improved 68 percent of his passes. Richardson has led the Cyclones to the 90th-ranked passing attack in the nation and his top target has been Allen Lazard who has 190 yards and a touchdown on 12 catches. Jarvis West leads the team with 20 catches and has 174 yards and a score to go along with it. The run game has been even less impressive, ranking 113th in the nation behind Aaron Wimberly‘s 119 yards and three scores. Richardson also has 119 yards, but no touchdowns to go along with it.
Defensively, the Cyclones have had one of the least impressive units in the entire nation this season. Iowa State ranks a less than stellar 97th in points allowed per game, 33, while also ranking a lowly 106th in yards allowed per contest, 463. Oklahoma State also ranks in the lower half of the nation in yards allowed per game, giving up 392 per outing while ranking 76th in points allowed per game. The crowd at Boone Pickens Stadium is sure to give the Cyclones fits.
Iowa State will travel to Oklahoma State to take on the Cowboys at 12 p.m. EST on Saturday, Oct. 4. The game will be broadcasted on local listings.
PREDICTION: Iowa State 13, Oklahoma State 27
Want to see the Cowboys host the Cyclones in week six? Check out ScoreBig for tickets.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
Share 
