Peterson: Iowa State can't get out of its own way in loss at Oklahoma State
STILLWATER, Okla. − Iowa State tried a risky fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter. It failed. The Cyclones’ Hunter Dekkers found Jaylin Noel open for a pass around the Oklahoma State 45-yard line. He dropped it.
Yea, it was that kind of day for an Iowa State football team that couldn’t get out of its own way during a 20-14 loss against the Cowboys on Saturday afternoon.
The Cyclones are 4-6 with two games remaining, and social-media playcallers will have a heyday with this one.
Fourth-and-one from the Cyclones' 25-yard line, trailing by three. We’ve seen Matt Campbell roll the conversion dice before, but not so much in situations like this.
Dekkers started in shotgun, and ended in shotgun. That’s where he took the snap from. He lost a yard, the Cowboys took over at the Cyclones’ 25, and somehow, the defense allowed only a field goal that gave Oklahoma State a 20-14 lead.
There were many questionable handoffs into the line, not to mention five turnovers, Iowa State’s most since having six against Iowa in 2009.
Give Iowa State at least some credit. Campbell's guys played hard to the end.
During a game in which the only things that went right were the defense and Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State still had a shot to win, with no timeouts remaining and 70 yards of green to navigate. A tough task, for sure, that didn't work out, either.
One bright spot was Xavier Hutchinson, who became the Cyclones’ career reception leader. Of course, he’d rather have had it happen in a win.
Good things can happen when the offense leans toward the creative.
First play of the third quarter: Dekkers to Jaylin Noel for 37 yards and a first down at the Oklahoma State 38-yard line.
Third play of the quarter: Remember the successful reverse the Cyclones ran against West Virginia? Well, they faked it this time. On this occasion, Dekkers faked a roll-out handoff and passed 23 yards to tight end Eason Dean.
Two plays later, Jirehl Brock followed the middle of the line into the end zone, and Iowa State led 14-10 after the quick 6-play, 75-yard drive.
Not a great day for Iowa State’s passing game, to say the least
If the sun wasn’t the culprit, it was Oklahoma State intercepting a tipped pass, and two others that Dekkers maybe shouldn’t have thrown.
First, the sun. Dekkers threw to an open Dimitri Stanley around the Cowboys' 5-yard line in the first quarter. Easy catch. Easy trot into the end zone, except for one thing:
Stanley seemed to have lost the ball in the sun.
The pass went incomplete, and then the possession ended when Oklahoma State intercepted a pass that glanced off Stanley’s hands.
On Iowa State’s next series, Dekkers threw another interception, this time the ball bounced off no one. The Cowboys turned the mistake into a 3-0 lead, so at least Iowa State’s defense was playing well.
So, in the first quarter-plus-53 seconds: Dekkers threw two interceptions, Deon Silas lost a fumble, and Iowa State lost a touchdown to the sun.
The third interception happened toward the end of the third quarter, and it came one play after T.J. Tampa’s first career interception.
Iowa State’s inability to take advantage of opportunities it created was another testament to the offense’s inconsistency.
The Cyclones got the ball at the Oklahoma State 30-yard line with 2:40 left in the first half after Beau Freyler’s interception and the Cowboys’ unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. There was plenty of time to score – if the offense had moved the ball, and if Jace Gilbert hadn’t missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt.
Not turning breaks like that into scores cannot happen on the road against anyone, especially against an Oklahoma State team that came into the day with three losses in its previous four games.
Norton lost a yard on first down. Dekkers completed 3-yard pass to Norton on second down, and then came a 5-yard completion to Stanley, setting up fourth-and-3 and the Oklahoma State 23.
Campbell often goes for it on fourth down, but this time, the circumstances were different than others.
For starters, the play was on the Oklahoma State student end of the field. Furthermore, it was an even riskier proposition, given how badly Iowa State’s offense was playing.
That’s why Jace Gilbert trotted onto the field for a 41-yard field goal attempt, which he missed.
M.J. Anderson had his best game. Clearly
The Cyclones' defensive end was all over the field Saturday. Through just three quarters, the Minnesota transfer had four solo tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.
Like the other linemen, Anderson is the beneficiary of the attention Will McDonald gets. Anderson has taken advantage of it, in becoming one of the defense's top players.
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson embarked on his 50th year of writing sports for the Des Moines Register in December 2021. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, 515-284-8132, and on Twitter @RandyPete.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Self-inflicted mistakes kill Iowa State's hopes vs. Oklahoma State
