The Iowa State Cyclones are getting set for a matchup against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday, and coming off their bye week, they should be fresh and ready to go.
With Iowa State being right in the middle of their season and having a .500 record, the team should be pretty pleased with how they have performed thus far. This was never going to be an easy campaign for the Cyclones with all of the talent the team lost.
However, credit should go to the program for being as competitive as they have been so far. Jimmy Rogers has the team ready to play, and there have been some nice surprises with players like Aiden Flora having an incredible year.
Week 8 is going to present the Cyclones with another major test. The Wildcats will be entering this game as the 25th-ranked team in the country and hungry to continue to build momentum. Unfortunately for Iowa State, they are going to be coming into this matchup with a major disadvantage in a key area.
Arizona Has Far Better Passing Attack
While the identity of the Cyclones might be to run the football and play good defense, the passing offense has been a disappointment. Coming off their bye, Iowa State will need to see more from Jaylen Raynor and the passing offense if they are going to be able to compete and pull off the upset.
So far this season, Raynor has totaled just 1,001 passing yards and seven touchdown passes in six games. While he does help out on the ground, the Cyclones will need him and the passing offense to be much better.
On the other side of the field, they are going to be facing the very talented Noah Fifita. The talented quarterback is off to a great start and has been leading this Wildcats program to success.
So far, he has totaled 1,756 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns. It is going to be a major challenge for Iowa State to try and defend. Even though it isn’t going to be realistic for Raynor to outperform Fifita, keeping it close will be key.
Overall, the Cyclones are obviously an underdog on the road against a Top 25 team, but they have played some good opponents so far and are no stranger to playing a team in the Top 25. However, they have come up short in all of those matchups, and they will need more from Raynor and the passing attack to pull off the upset.
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