Iowa State sophomore running back Breece Hall (28) runs through the Texas Tech defense. Hall rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-15 win for Iowa State on Oct. 10.
Photo Courtesy of Iowa State Athletics/Russell Luna
By: Sam Stuve
The Iowa State Cyclones had an efficient offensive outing, which led to a 31-15 victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday.
Campbell said he is proud of the way the team played for three quarters and that the team is continuing to grow.
Iowa State’s offense totaled 516 yards, 302 passing and 214 rushing.
Sophomore running back, Breece Hall gained 135 rushing yards on 27 attempts and scored two touchdowns.
Hall is now the first Cyclone start the season with four consecutive 100-yard rushing efforts since 2000 (Ennis Haywood had four), the first Cyclones to have consecutive 100-yard games since David Montgomery in 2018 and the second Cyclone to have multiple 100-yard games against Texas Tech (Montgomery is the other Cyclone).
Junior quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 302 passing yards, completed 32 passes on 43 attempts and threw two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Iowa State’s offensive lineman controlled the line of scrimmage against the Texas Tech defensive line.
This was despite Iowa State being without redshirt sophomore Trevor Downing who has been out with an injury this since the Louisiana game.
Also, redshirt sophomore Joey Ramos went down with an injury in the first half and was seen in a walking boot on the sidelines after that.
Redshirt freshman Jake Remsburg stepped in and helped create running lanes for Hall and protected Purdy on pass plays.
Junior tight end Chase Allen said Remsburg came up “huge” for the team and praised the offensive line.
Going forward, Campell said that the offense is focused on being a balanced offense.
“We’ve always been an offense where we have to take what the defense gives you,” Campbell said. “So when they (opposing defenses) give us the opportunity to run, we’ll run and when they give us the opportunity to pass, we’ll pass.”
Hall said, “I feel like our o-line has been doing really well and that next man up mentality really shows with them…they hold everyone accountable and the whole o-line has done a great job of communicating with the running backs.
On defense, the Cyclones held the Red Raiders in check.
Redshirt junior linebacker O’Rien Vance said the Iowa State defense prevented the Texas Tech offense from having big plays because everyone on the defense was simply “doing their jobs.”
“Everybody, when we had the play calls put in, did their jobs and we were able to get them (Texas Tech’s offense) off the field,” Vance said.
Iowa State’s redshirt junior lineback O’Rien Vance makes a tackle on Texas Tech’s freshman receiver Myles Price. Iowa State defeated Texas Tech 31-15 on Oct. 10.
Photo Courtesy: Iowa State Athletics/Russell Luna
Campbell said the offense did well in controlling the pace of the game, which led to Iowa State holding a 40:51-19:09 advantage in time of possession and limited the opportunities for the Texas Tech offense.
The Red Raiders didn’t score an offensive touchdown until late in the fourth quarter.
Iowa State’s first drive of the game saw it drive down to the Texas Tech four-yard line, where Iowa State tried a 21-yard field goal.
Senior Iowa State kicker Connor Assalley had his kick blocked and Texas Tech senior defensive back Zach McPhearson returned the ball for a touchdown to give Texas Tech a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Purdy got things back on track for Iowa State by marching down the field again.
Hall punched in the first touchdown of the game for Iowa State on an 11 yard run with 4:31 left in the first quarter.
The Cyclones scored a touchdown early in the second quarter on a two-yard pass from Purdy to senior tight end Chase Allen.
Hall scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run to give Iowa State a 21-7 lead with 5:31 left in the second quarter.
The Cyclones led 21-7 at halftime.
Purdy threw his second touchdown pass of the game, this one to junior tight end Charlie Kolar, to give Iowa State a 28-7 lead with 3:06 left in the third quarter.
The Cyclones increased their lead to 24 with 12:08 left in the fourth quarter after a made 26-yard field goal by Assalley.
Redshirt freshman Isheem Young got ejected from the game with 11 and a half minutes left for targeting and will have to miss the first half of the Cyclones game on Oct. 24 against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The Red Raiders scored their first offensive touchdown of the game after junior quarterback Henry Colombi connected with sophomore wide receiver Erik Ezukanma on an 18-yard pass.
The two-point conversion attempt was a success and the Red Raiders trailed the Cyclones 31-15 with just under five minutes left.
The onside-kick attempt by the Red Raiders failed, but the Red Raiders got a defensive stop and got the ball back with 2:46 remaining, trailing by 16 points.
Iowa State got the defensive stop it needed to hold onto a 31-15 victory over Texas Tech.
The Cyclones have won five straight against the Red Raiders.
In the Big 12, the Cyclones are tied for first with the Kansas State Wildcats and Oklahoma State Cowboys at a record of 3-0 (ISU is 3-1 overall).
Texas Tech is now 1-3 (0-3 Big 12) this season.
Iowa State has a bye next week and their next game is on Oct. 24 against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
