Date: October 10, 2015
Time: 2:30 pm
Good Guys: Texas Tech Red Raiders
Bad Guys: Iowa State Cyclones
Location: Jones AT&T Stadium | Lubbock, Texas
Weather: Partly Sunny, 20% Chance of Rain, High 73, Low 53
TV/Stream: FOX Sports Net (complete channel listing via LSUFootball.net)
Radio: Broadcast Affiliates and TuneIn App
Vegas: Texas Tech opens as 11.5 point favorites over Iowa State with the line moving as of this morning, favoring Texas Tech by 13 to 12.5 (via OddsShark)

Last Week: Iowa State manhandled Kansas, 38-13 in Ames on Saturday (ESPN box score). Sam Richardson was very efficient, completing 27 of 37 for nearly 270 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 picks. I would guess that Iowa State may have found their running back as freshman Mike Warren ran for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns while Allen Lazard grabbed 6 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown as well. The defense for ISU was terrific, holding Kansas to 38 total yards rushing and 250 yards through the air.

Get caught up on all of the Big 12 action at LandGrant Gauntlet

What’s at Stake: Iowa State won their first game out of the gate, beating Northern Iowa 31-7. The Cyclones then lost to Iowa, 31-17, and then lost to Toledo, 30-23, which is a bit odd as this was a common opponent of Arkansas and also beat Arkansas, but that game was much closer. Iowa State’s 4th game was against Kansas, see above, and as a result, the Cyclones are 2-2, 1-0 on the season, including their first conference win against Kansas.

Three Key Players:

1. QB Sam Richardson (6-2/217): Richardson has been quite good for Iowa State, completing 64% of his passes for about 255 yards a game throwing 7 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on the year. He’s completing passes at a 7.1 yards per attempt average and he’s pretty much been a short pass sort of guy. Richardson is relatively mobile, he’s not a statue, and runs the ball 8 times a game, but only nets about 5 yards a game.
2. RB Mike Warren (6-0/200): Warren is a true freshman who is averaging nearly 83 yards a game on the ground and he’s really become a revelation the past two games. Warren was hardly used in the first two games, getting 6 carries for 19 yards against Northern Iowa and 3 carries for 9 yards against Iowa. But against Toledo, he received a steady stream of carries, 21 carries for 126 yards and the aforementioned 18 carries for 175 yards against Kansas. It’s good news for Texas Tech fans thinking that Iowa State is figuring out their offense.
3. DE Dale Pierson (6-2/249): Pierson is a senior defensive end who leads the team with 7 tackles for loss this early part of the year and 6 sacks. So yes, he is, most likely, the guy that you’ll need to watch on the defensive line. The majority of Iowa State’s pressure came against Northern Iowa, 6 sacks, and Kansas, 5 sacks, with Pierson getting 3 sacks against N.I. and 2 against Iowa. I’d guess that the Iowa state defensive line is probably a bit underrated.

Miscellaneous: I do think that ISU is starting to figure things out, especially offensively and with the emergence of Warren. He’s helped a ton the last two games as ISU has run for over 200 yards the last two games . . . freshman DB Brian Peavy is your leading tackler at 27, while LB’s Jordan Harris and Jarnor Jones are at 26 and 25 respectively . . . Peavy is also your leading defender in the defensive backfield with 5 pass break-ups thus far this year . . . this is the start of a pretty rough stretch for Iowa State as they play at Texas Tech, then TCU and then go to Baylor . . . Allen Lazard is your leading receiver and he is a big-bodied receiver, 6-5/220 or thereabouts. He’s averaging about 5 catches a game and nearly 11 yards per catch. He’s more possession oriented, but he’s really good. Dondre Daley is your second leading receiver at 18 catches, but just 149 yards per game and appears to be a safety valve more than anything else, while D’Vario Montgomery and Jauan wesley are your deep threats . . .