Three Positives:
1. Adrian Martinez
- The numbers aren't as big as they were the last two weeks, but Martinez yet again proved himself to be the real deal and made plays when this team needed them.
2. The Defense
- Josh Hayes should be mentioned first, he made a ton of plays early on to help keep Iowa State mostly under wraps. But everyone else did a great job as well, despite the numbers still being there for Xavier Hutchinson, it still feels like they did a great job on him tonight.
3. Win before the bye week
- Getting this win was huge for the Wildcats. Now just six games remain in Big 12 play and they head into the bye week at 3-0 in the conference, guaranteeing at least a share of first place in the league when they kickoff in Fort Worth in two weeks. Going into the bye week with a loss in a game as tough and weird as tonight would have been tough. Instead player and fan momentum is alive and well. A win is a win.
Three Negatives:
1. Deuce Vaughn's Injury
- It is too early to know any detail behind this, but anything that might restrict Deuce or prevent him from being on the field is a huge hit.
2. Special Teams Woes
- Chris Tennant missed a kick again, although he redeemed it by making the ultimate game winner. Ty Zentner also had a few shaky punts and the kickoff after Ben Sinnott's penalty was dangerous as well. And despite Brooks' punt return TD against Missouri, the return game hasn't felt the same this year. It would be big if Malik Knowles could get one in the near future.
3. Penalties and Carelessness
- Penalties popped up again tonight on offense and defense in short yardage, 3rd down situations. Then the silly personal foul penalty on Sinnott (benefit of doubt to him though, TV was terrible at showing replays or giving context, so no clue what happened). The lack of discipline and lackadaisical nature leaked into the goal line fumble by Knowles as well. All are things that can get cleaned up, but penalties in critical situations keep rearing their ugly head.
I felt like those were the three biggest, but still some concern on critical down decision-making by Collin Klein. Plenty of time to discuss this deeper in the next week.
1. Adrian Martinez
- The numbers aren't as big as they were the last two weeks, but Martinez yet again proved himself to be the real deal and made plays when this team needed them.
2. The Defense
- Josh Hayes should be mentioned first, he made a ton of plays early on to help keep Iowa State mostly under wraps. But everyone else did a great job as well, despite the numbers still being there for Xavier Hutchinson, it still feels like they did a great job on him tonight.
3. Win before the bye week
- Getting this win was huge for the Wildcats. Now just six games remain in Big 12 play and they head into the bye week at 3-0 in the conference, guaranteeing at least a share of first place in the league when they kickoff in Fort Worth in two weeks. Going into the bye week with a loss in a game as tough and weird as tonight would have been tough. Instead player and fan momentum is alive and well. A win is a win.
Three Negatives:
1. Deuce Vaughn's Injury
- It is too early to know any detail behind this, but anything that might restrict Deuce or prevent him from being on the field is a huge hit.
2. Special Teams Woes
- Chris Tennant missed a kick again, although he redeemed it by making the ultimate game winner. Ty Zentner also had a few shaky punts and the kickoff after Ben Sinnott's penalty was dangerous as well. And despite Brooks' punt return TD against Missouri, the return game hasn't felt the same this year. It would be big if Malik Knowles could get one in the near future.
3. Penalties and Carelessness
- Penalties popped up again tonight on offense and defense in short yardage, 3rd down situations. Then the silly personal foul penalty on Sinnott (benefit of doubt to him though, TV was terrible at showing replays or giving context, so no clue what happened). The lack of discipline and lackadaisical nature leaked into the goal line fumble by Knowles as well. All are things that can get cleaned up, but penalties in critical situations keep rearing their ugly head.
I felt like those were the three biggest, but still some concern on critical down decision-making by Collin Klein. Plenty of time to discuss this deeper in the next week.
