Game Recap: Iowa State

That game was the most stressful game of the season to watch to this point, and it's not a contest. Despite this, our offense kept trucking, our defense made adjustments, and Venables proved he learned from his year-one mistakes.

Before going into the game, I want to thank the people at Rizzo's Bar & Inn in Chicago, right next to Wrigley Field. A big group of OU fans meet there for every game day, and they are a fun bunch to watch a game with. Now. Let's get into the recap.

Photo credit to Des Moines Register.

1st Quarter

The offense was a thing of beauty in the first quarter. Dillon Gabriel looked infinitely better this week than last week. He was throwing strike after strike. Dillon Gabriel bullied his way into the endzone for the offense's first touchdown and hit a wide-open Nic Anderson for a 39-yard touchdown pass. The offensive line improved over the past few weeks, which is a big sigh of relief knowing what's coming next week. The run game looked pretty good; the passing was accurate—no complaints about the offense in this quarter.

The defense gave us a mix of both emotions in the first quarter. The very first drive of the game? Three and out, ending in a 44-yard pick-six by Billy Bowman. We thought we were about to see a defensive masterclass, but the next two drives for Iowa State didn't look very good for our defense. We allowed almost 10 yards per carry on the next couple drives and gave up a 51-yard touchdown on one drive (on third down) and a field goal on the next. The OU defense did not look good in this quarter.

Score at the end of this quarter: 21-10 OU

2nd Quarter

The offense kept rolling in this second quarter, and it was bombs away for Dillon Gabriel. This quarter, he hit a 54-yard shot to the Texas transfer Brennan Thompson (who made a phenomenal adjustment to the ball) and a 49-yard bomb to Jalil Farooq (who got away with offensive pass interference). Our last play of the first half was a pass to Drake Stoops in the back of the endzone, pictured above. Despite a missed field goal, the offense was rolling in the first quarter. Dillon Gabriel ran for a second touchdown early in the quarter; we hit a long field goal, our receivers made constant contested catches, our running backs were breaking tackles, and our offensive line played well. Considering the challenge we faced with Iowa State's defense, this was a pretty good second quarter.

The defense started... not well in the second quarter. The first play of the second quarter was a blown coverage, which allowed a 67-yard touchdown pass on third down. They continued gashing us on the ground on the next drive for Iowa State. They tore our defense apart and ran to the OU 30-yard line. At this point in the game, OU had given up 258 total yards early in the second quarter. Iowa State had the ball five times at this point. Remember that number for later. After a nice run stop and a couple of incomplete passes later, Iowa State kicked a field goal to make the game 21-20 OU. From there, Brent Venables decided he had enough. The next went for -5 yards, was a three-and-out, and a blocked punt by Peyton Bowen (his second of the year). Trace Ford tried to recover the punt in the endzone for a touchdown but couldn't snag it; the play ended in a safety. The next drive went for 8 yards and finished with an interception on third down by Gentry Williams. This is about the level of play OU's defense had for the rest of the game.

Score at the end of this quarter: 40-20 OU

3rd Quarter

The offense wasn't as good this quarter, but they were good enough. The first drive of the second half for OU was hard-fought. It was all through the air, and despite a couple of nice plays, it almost wasn't enough. On fourth and seven from the Iowa State 41-yard line, Dillon Gabriel threw a beautiful pass to Jayden Gibson, who made yet another spectacular contested catch, shrugged off a couple of tackles, and dragged a couple more into the endzone. After this, we all had a good idea that it was over, but we all wanted to be sure. The next drive was mainly on the ground; we had a couple of first downs, but it wasn't enough. Our offensive line had shown signs of that "impose your will" mentality but isn't there quite yet. Not a great offensive quarter, but not a bad one either.

The defense put on a clinic in the third quarter. After forcing back-to-back three-and-outs, the Sooners forced another one to start the second half. We got another three-and-out later in the quarter, with OU getting a much-needed stop on fourth down. Iowa State lost their ability to run the ball in the third quarter, and they tried their best to return to their success in the passing game. This was unsuccessful. All of our coverage issues from the first half were addressed and fixed. The OU defense from the past two games showed up big in the third quarter under the leadership of Danny Stutsman. Stutsman had a monster of a third quarter. No points were allowed in the third quarter,

Score at the end of this quarter: 47-20 OU

4th Quarter

The offense went into a shell in the fourth quarter, and I can't blame them. With the Texas game next week, we need every team member to be healthy and ready. We managed to get a field goal, so we could say we hung half a hundred. I only have two complaints about our offense in this quarter. First, our offense couldn't stay on the field long enough to keep Iowa State from racking up some more yards. Second, a hold from JJ Hester wiped out OU's biggest run of the season, a 60-yard gallop from Tawee Walker, who broke multiple tackles on the run. We did see Jackson Arnold come in a little after the halfway point of the quarter, but Venables didn't have him do too much. Not too much to say about the offense in this quarter.

Ted Roof and the defense played the scrubs for most of the fourth quarter and still dominated. Iowa State converted a fourth down and short on their last drive of the game, but that was the only thing of note they did in the fourth quarter. Our backup defense finished the second-half shutout by forcing multiple tackles for loss and shutting down the once-prolific running attack by Iowa State. Domination is all I can say about our defense in the fourth quarter and the second half.

Final Score: 50-20 OU

Observations

• I told you earlier to remember that on Iowa State's first five drives, they earned 258 total yards. In their remaining eight drives of the game, OU held Iowa State to only 94 yards.

• The work Emmett Jones has done with our receivers is nothing short of remarkable. The only deep ball that didn't hit was an overthrow. Almost all the others were in tight coverage. The whole game, our receivers played lights out.

• Dillon Gabriel continued torching defenses. He is a monster who is potentially playing his way into the NFL.

• I mentioned a few weeks ago that our pass rush needed serious work. They have put in the work. Rocco Becht was running for his life almost the entire game.

• The defense shut down Iowa State in the second half of the game, but the first half left much to be desired, both in coverage and against the run. These issues must be addressed quickly before facing the prolific Texas offense.

• Peyton Bowen is one of OU's best defensive players in a long time. His effect on the defense is on another level.

• Our offensive line is better. They're not where they need to be yet. But they showed significant improvement compared to where they've been in the last few games.

• Iowa State was 3-5 on third down to start the game. They were 1-10 the rest of the game.

Key Players

• Dillon Gabriel: 26-39, 366 yards, three touchdown passes, one interception. Eight runs, 37 yards, two touchdowns.

• Jalil Farooq: Five receptions, 81 yards.

• Nic Anderson: Two catches, 56 yards, one touchdown.

• Marcus Major: 19 rushes, 66 yards, four receptions, 17 yards.

• Billy Bowman: Three tackles, one solo, 41-yard interception return TD.

• Peyton Bowen: Four tackles, two solo, one blocked punt (second of the season).

Other Stats

• Offense: 26-39, 366 yards, 9.4 yards per pass, three touchdowns, one interception. 41 runs, 157 yards, 3.8 yards per carry, two touchdowns. 6-14 on third down, 3-3 on fourth down, 30 total first downs.

• Defense: 4/15 on third down, 1-2 on fourth down, allowed 5.5 yards per pass and 5.6 yards per run—16 total first downs.

I'm confident and terrified about what this game means for OU heading into Red River week. Because of this, I will choose to focus on this game with fantastic offense and phenomenal defensive adjustments. Boomer Sooner!

All stats above courtesy of ESPN.