To Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, Baylor has the look of a team on the cusp of breaking out following a couple of gut-wrenching losses.
The 16th-ranked Cyclones (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) are going to do all they can to keep that from happening Saturday night when the Bears (2-3, 0-2) visit Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.
“I know they have not been rewarded the last two weeks maybe with a win,” Campbell said. “But, boy, how they’ve played and especially their ability to come storming back in some of these football games, the mentality, the toughness. We’re going to get a really, really good football team, maybe the best team we’ve played all season coming in here.”
The Cyclones are out to their best start since 2000, and a win over Baylor would make them 5-0 for the first time since 1980.
Iowa State's defense, which has ranked among the Big 12's top three for five straight years, is playing at its highest level in decades.
The Cyclones' 20-0 win at Houston last week marked their first conference road shutout since 1971. The 29 points allowed over four games are the fewest since the 1980 team gave up 20 and their average of 102 passing yards allowed per game is the best since at least 2000.
Baylor's offense gives opponents a variety of looks. The Bears rotate three to five running backs, and an empty backfield doesn't necessarily mean a pass is coming. Quarterback Sawyer Robertson will make his fourth straight start since taking over for the injured Dequan Finn. Robertson has passed for 787 yards and six touchdowns and has run for 116 yards and three TDs.
“It will be everything we can handle,” Cyclones defensive coordinator Jon Heacock said.
Baylor won two of its first three games, then went to Colorado and squandered a 14-point lead and lost 38-31 after giving up a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown that forced overtime. Last week, the Bears trailed BYU 31-14 at half but were within 34-28 before they turned over the ball on downs at the BYU 24 and threw an interception on their final possession.
“If we put halves and halves together, we’re not top 30, we’re top 10 — and I think they see that that’s a possibility," Baylor coach Dave Aranda said.
The Cyclones are being careful not to let their 4-0 record and national ranking go to their heads.
“Coach always talks about how they crown you king for a day, and we're king right now, but if we lose you'll be talking to me next week about how we lost,” defensive lineman J.R. Singleton told reporters.
Campbell said he never knows how 18- to 22-year-olds will handle accolades when they come.
“Unfortunately, our sport is extremely humbling,” he said. “As soon as you think you figured it out, you're going to get humbled fast. It's too competitive, too many good teams. You've got to be hungry and willing to sacrifice everything it takes.”
Third-year walk-on receiver Carson Brown made the most of his opportunity with Jaylin Noel battling cramps in the second half against Houston. Brown's 13-yard reception on a third-and-9 kept alive a Cyclones touchdown drive in the third quarter, and his block helped spring Abu Sama on a 77-yard scoring run in the fourth.
“I think Carson has had a similar journey as a lot of men in our program,” Campbell said. “They've had to work up the hard side of the mountain. He flashed early that he had talent. Then we had to find him the right spot.”
Baylor’s schedule through this week’s game features three ranked opponents that have combined to go 22-6, including 6-1 in Big 12 play. Including next week at Texas Tech, the Bears will face teams that have combined to go 26-7 and 8-1.
The tough losses to Colorado and BYU have created a team-wide sense of frustration, Aranda said, and he hopes his players turn that negative energy into a positive. Aranda said he was encouraged by the sense of urgency some of the captains conveyed in a team meeting.
“I think the response from the team after, and then the practice we had... We could build some momentum off of this," he said.
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