The Texas Longhorns (1-2, 0-0) begin conference play on Thursday night in Ames, Iowa against the Iowa State Cyclones (2-1, 0-0) in a prime-time matchup which will be nationally televised on ESPN. Texas defeated Iowa State in Austin last year 27-6, behind quarterback Shane Buechele’s 296 passing yard performance to snap a 3-game losing streak. In their previous trip to Jack Trice Stadium the Longhorns were shutout by the Cyclones 24-0.
Let’s take a look at what the Longhorns can expect from the Iowa State offense.
Quarterback
Iowa State boast one of the most underrated QB’s in the conference in Jacob Park. After starting the final 5 games a season ago, Park is off to an excellent start in 2017. The junior is completing 66.7% of his passes for 935 yards and 8 touchdowns. Park was the 5th ranked QB in the country coming out of high school and attended Georgia. Following a redshirt season, Park left Georgia and took a season off of football before enrolling at Iowa State.
Park stands at 6’4, 210 pounds and is seen as a QB that can beat a team more with his arm than his legs. Head coach Matt Campbell is in his second year at Iowa State and Park is the perfect fit for the spread based offense he brought with him from Toledo. Former QB Joel Lanning now plays linebacker, but has seen action on offense in short yardage and goal line packages. Campbell loves the screen game, and after seeing how Texas defended it against USC, expect the Longhorns to be forced with trying to stop it all night. Park has a very accurate arm and is very reliable on short to intermediate throws.
Running Back
The running game for the Cyclones will be centered around David Montgomery. Montgomery is considered one of most elusive backs in the country, leading the nation in 36 missed tackles forced. The sophomore has rushed for 321 yards and 4 touchdowns on 56 carries. He is also averaging 9.9 yards per reception and is a receiving threat out of the backfield. Matt Campbell and offensive coordinator Tom Manning will line up Montgomery all over the field to try to create favorable matchups. The Texas linebackers will have to do a better job of defending running backs in the passing game then they have so far this season.
Junior Mike Warren will also receive carries and ran for 159 yards against the Longhorns when the two teams met in Ames 2 years ago. Warren is a former Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2015, when he ran for 1,339 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
The Cyclones certainly do not lack height at the receiver position. 6’5 senior Allen Lazard is viewed as the number 1 receiver and has hauled in 19 passes for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns. Lazard was the highest ranked recruit to ever sign with Iowa State when he came out of high school, and was an All-Big 12 selection in 2015 and 2016. Sophomore Hakeem Butler stands at 6’6 and will start opposite of Lazard. Butler currently leads the Cyclones in receiving yards (234) and has caught 3 touchdowns. Once Iowa State gets in the red zone, Lazard and Butler will be targeted heavily in jump ball situations. Kris Boyd and Holton Hill will need to be sound in coverage and not allow the 2 big receivers to get leverage. Trever Ryen and Marchie Murdock will also be involved in the passing game. The duo has combined for 21 catches for 284 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Iowa State will use Chase Allen at tight end. Allen overcame a car accident, the mumps and viral meningitis during the 2016 season, when he took a redshirt year. He responded by winning the starting tight end job in fall camp. Allen has only recorded 1 catch for 9 yards this season and will give way to blocking tight end Sam Seonbuchner in short yardage situations. Seonbuchner stands at 6’3, 232 pounds and will pave the way in the run game.
Offensive Line
The offensive line will be anchored by a pair of seniors on the left side. LT Jake Campos. Campos stands at 6’8, 300 pounds and has made 26 career starts. Next to Campos will be Robby Garcia, a former defensive lineman who made the transition to the offensive line during the 2016 season. Sophomore center Julian Good-Jones is one of the top centers in the Big 12 and started 11 games during his freshman season. Jones was named to the Rimington Award Watch List prior to this season for the top center in college football. Two more sophomores will make up the right side of the offensive line, where Texas will most likely try to attack. Junior college transfer Josh Knipfel will start at RG and Bryce Meeker will start at right tackle.
As a whole, the offensive line unit does not bring a ton of experience, but they have performed well so far in 2017. The unit has only allowed 1 sack and has paved the way for Montgomery on the ground. The offense is designed around quick hitting passes and screens, which help out the offensive line a lot. The defensive front for Texas will be tasked with trying to cause disruption in the back field. Chris Nelson will be matched up against Meeker, who is only making his 4th career start. If Texas slows the running game like they did against USC, the opportunities for Nelson, Charles Omenihu and Malcolm Roach to get after the quarterback will be there.
