Sooners: Previewing The Iowa State Offense

Oklahoma’s set to play its ninth game of the season on Saturday when they host Iowa State (3-5).

Wednesday, November 4th 2015, 6:49 pm

By: Brett Coppenbarger


Oklahoma’s set to play its ninth game of the season on Saturday when they host an Iowa State (3-5) team that’s coming off its biggest win of the season last week when they shut out Texas 24-0. Here’s what the Sooners can expect to see out of the Cyclones when they kickoff at 6 p.m. inside of Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium. Check back later this week to get a glimpse of the ISU defense.

11/2/15: Watch Bob Stoops' Press Conference

Fresh face at quarterback

Iowa State may have four losses on its resume, but quarterback Joel Lanning is undefeated in his lone start of the season against Texas, and the Cyclones may have a gem in their redshirt sophomore gunslinger. Lanning completed 19-of-37 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 64 yards in the win.

What Lanning can do with his legs is what the Sooners should be most concerned about. He’s capable of making the right throw, but Lanning’s a physical runner that doesn’t run out of bounds or shy away from contact. Lanning’s a more dynamic playmaker than former quarterback Sam Richardson, and should be the main reason Iowa State can remain optimistic about the future.

OU’s pass rush will need to force Lanning into poor decisions and that should be somewhat easier for the defensive front this week. Charles Tapper is coming off his best game of the season against Kansas and was named Big 12 co-defensive player of the week for his performance, and there’s a chance Devante Bond will be back in uniform for OU. Iowa State will also be without one of their top offensive linemen Daniel Burton, who was injured last week against Texas.

The Cyclones average 422.9 yards of offense per game, so it’ll be interesting if they’ll be able to reach that number against an improving OU defense.

Familiar face at running back

The Sooners are plenty familiar with Iowa State running Back Mike Warren, who’s second in the Big 12 in rushing with a 119.2 rushing yards per game average. Warren’s from Lawton, Oklahoma and Bob Stoops definitely had his eye on the young speedster.

"We thought he was a great player, really liked him. Actually we were in a situation where Samaje was already committed and if Joe wasn't going to work out... he was our next guy. He's a great player...speed, tough, excellent cuts, all of it," Stoops said

Warren averages 6.2 yards per carry and has four touchdowns on the ground. Freshman running back Joshua Thomas also gets carries for the Cyclones, and has 205 yards and six touchdowns.

Plethora of receivers

Just like the Sooners, the Cyclones have plenty of capable playmakers outside at receiver. Sophomore Allen Lazard averages 67.4 receiving yards per game and has found the endzone three times. Quenton Bundrage has four touchdowns for ISU to go with 365 receiving yards this season.

D’Vario Montgomery, Jauan Wesley and Dondre Daley each have over 230 yards receiving on the season along with two touchdowns apiece.  Lazard is a legit deep threat for ISU and has a 74-yard touchdown to his name.

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