MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After a season-opening loss to Louisiana, it’s hard to believe, just three months later, Iowa State can lock up a spot in the Big 12 Championship game with a win Saturday against West Virginia.
Now in Year 5 under coach Matt Campbell, the Cyclones (7-2, 7-1 Big 12) have not only improved throughout the season, but they’ve become a consistent contender since Campbell came from Toledo following the 2015 campaign.
If not for Kansas, Iowa State was likely considered a bottom-feeder in the Big 12, but Campbell brought his own identity to the program and he has taken ISU to heights it has rarely seen, and it could come to a head against the Mountaineers (5-3, 4-3).
“I think, for me, it’s been in the precision in detail that we’ve been able to play with,” Campbell said on his team’s improvement. “I think, again, the whole picture is really what we’re looking for. Maybe you see a little bit of it here on offense and then defense, how you prepare, how we played on some special teams unit. I think what you’re trying to build to is the point where you’re clicking on all cylinders. Because for our team, this team, this type of team, you have to be able to play with great unison. You have to play great complimentary football.”
That’s exactly how the Cyclones have found success this year — they are fourth in total offense (437 yards per game) and third in total defense (346) in the Big 12.
Offensively, balance is the stamp Campbell has put on that side of the ball. ISU is second in the conference in rushing yards per game at 196, led by sophomore Breece Hall, who leads the Big 12 with 1,260 yards (363 yards ahead of WVU’s Leddie Brown, who is in second).
Hall has also found the end zone 16 times and will be a focal point of WVU’s top-ranked defense.
“What we have seen up until this point is a young man that has played with tremendous passion,” Campbell said. “He has played really close to what his full potential is. As good as he has played, there is still a lot of growth to occur in there.”
As for the comparisons between Hall and Brown?
“Both of them have unique ability to break tackles,” WVU head coach Neal Brown said. “Breece Hall is going on Year 2 of this type of production. That’s our hope for Leddie. He is definitely on his way there in year number one.”
Hall had a breakout performance last season in Morgantown against the Mountaineers, finishing with 132 yards and three scores in ISU’s 38-14 win.
Junior Brock Purdy is now a veteran presence at quarterback, tossing 14 touchdowns and 2,025 yards through nine games. Expect many two- or three-tight end sets, which makes the scheme more diverse. It helps in the running game with added blockers attached to the offensive line, but combined in the passing game, the trio of Charlie Kolar, Chase Allen and Dylan Soehner have 59 catches for 764 yards and eight touchdowns.
“They are different from other teams in our league,” Neal Brown said. “They are going to do two or three tight ends in the game. They motion shift every play. Getting lined up is going to be critical. I think you have to start, player-wise, with their running back. The quarterback is very heady, makes a lot of plays. He’s playing his best ball all year, and then the tight ends make them different. They really were the difference in the game for them last week, all the balls they caught up the seam against Texas, especially in the second half. They go three, sometimes four deep at that position. It’s probably the best tight end group in the country.”
Defensively, Jon Heacock came in with Campbell five years ago, and while many believe Big 12 offenses are innovative, Brown notes Heacock’s defense is unique to what other teams do.
“They’ve evolved from when they first started doing this three or four years ago,” Brown said. “He’s a three-down front guy and he plays with a base three-safety defense. He gets to a lot of different coverages, but they base out of three high safeties. They drop eight more so than you see. That’s what is unique. You don’t see drop eight (coverage) as much. He does get into some five-man pressures pretty easily, but they’re just not traditional as far as what you see week in and week out.
“It’s built to stop the run game because they give you this false perception that they’re in a light box, but really they’re getting an extra hat every time to the box, and they want to keep all the passes in front of them.”
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