Four things to know about TCU’s next opponent, the Iowa State Cyclones

Steven Johnson
·4 min read
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The road trip to Iowa State was always going to be one of the more tricky games on the schedule, even if TCU got off to the hot start it expected.

Now the Horned Frogs (3-2, 1-1) will travel to Ames wobbly after being upset as a two-touchdown favorite by West Virginia. TCU’s chances of remaining in the Big 12 race are teetering and this makes Saturday’s contest a must-win game.

Success has been hard to find recently at Iowa State (2-3, 1-1) with TCU losing its last three games in Ames. Most of those came during Iowa State’s run with Brock Purdy and Breece Hall, but it still doesn’t change that it will be a difficult environment to play in.

In fact it’ll be the first game outside the state of Texas for TCU this season. Here are four more things to know about TCU’s next opponent, Iowa State:

Gambling scandal

The University of Iowa and Iowa State were two programs rocked by a gambling scandal in the off-season. Players were investigated and punished for underage betting, betting on team games and more. Six players expected to contribute for the Cyclones were involved and eventually charged in the gambling probe.

Starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers, starting running back Jirehl Brock, tight end DeShawn Hanika and multiple offensive and defensive linemen were all caught in the probe. Dekkers and Hanika remain listed on the Iowa State roster, but haven’t played in a game this season.

The scandal has forced numerous players to step up into roles they weren’t expecting in the preseason.

New sheriff in town

With Dekkers dealing with the ramifications of the scandal, that’s opened the door for Rocco Becht to get his shot as the starting quarterback. Based on Dekker’s 2022 numbers Becht has actually been a bit of an upgrade, but it’s still a position where Iowa State lags behind most of the Big 12.

Becht’s had some good moments like when he completed 71% of his throws while piling up 348 yards and three scores in an upset win over Oklahoma State. But he’s also struggled with costly turnovers including throwing two interceptions in a 10-7 loss to Ohio and two more in last Saturday’s blowout defeat to Oklahoma.

On the season Becht is completing roughly 60% of his passes for 1,085 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. The freshman isn’t much of a runner, but can still move the sticks with his legs. Becht isn’t great or even good at this stage of his career, but you could’ve said the same about West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene.

Defensive decline

Iowa State was special on defense last season, spending most of the season ranked in the top-10 or 15 in scoring defense. The Cyclones finished 18th in scoring defense despite giving up 62 points to TCU in the season finale. There’s been some notable regression on that side of the ball this year as Iowa State must replace first round edge rusher Will McDonald IV.

The Cyclones allowed Oklahoma to score 50 points with ease while Oklahoma State tied its season-high for points in the narrow loss to Iowa State. Iowa State still has playmakers in the secondary led by preseason all-conference selection T.J. Tampa.

Jeremiah Cooper leads the Big 12 in interceptions and already has one defensive touchdowns. The two have combined for five of Iowa State’s six interceptions. Aside from those two, the Cyclones are middle of the pack in the Big 12 in rushing defense, passing defense and on conversions. This isn’t a bad defense, but it’s not elite like it was in 2022.

Lack of weapons?

The Cyclones had one of the best receivers in the country with Xavier Hutchinson last season, but the 1,000-yard receiver is off to the NFL and with Brock no longer with the team that’s left a void at the skill positions for Iowa State. Let’s start at running back where the Cyclones don’t have a single rusher with more than 150 yards in five games.

At receiver, Iowa State has a pair of them with over 200 yards in Jaylin Noel (250) and Jayden Higgins (244) and the duo have five combined touchdowns, but there isn’t much juice outside of them. Ohio held Iowa State to seven points, Iowa held them to 13 and the Cyclones were shutout in the second half by Oklahoma.

The Horned Frogs should have expectations to keep Iowa State to 20 points or less.