By AMES – There weren't many mistakes for Iowa State on either side of the ball in its comfortable 41-13 win over Cincinnati on Nov. 14, but perhaps that lopsided margin could be attributed to the Cyclones' ability to quickly make up for any errors.
On the ensuing possession after Cincinnati nabbed its second touchdown of the game late in the second quarter, Iowa State quarterback Jaylen Raynor threw a third-down pass that flew into the hands of the Bearcat defense for an interception. Cincinnati took over with favorable position in Cyclone territory.
In the previous week against Baylor, a muffed punt gave the Bears the ball in Cyclone territory. The Bears would score two plays later to break a scoreless start to the game, the first of many Baylor scoring plays that cascaded into a high-scoring victory for the Bears.
This time, Iowa State had a bigger 31-13 lead at the time of Raynor's interception, but the Bearcats had an opportunity to quiet Jack Trice Stadium and cut away at the deficit.
Instead of buckling like it did the previous week against Baylor, the Iowa State defense stood tall and mustered a fourth-down stop, taking down Cincinnati's JC French IV well before he reached the line to convert.
"It was big and I thought for the most part, being able to turn that back, I think we had 38 seconds left at the end of the half to where we responded and we had an opportunity there with the field goal," Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers said. "Yeah, I was happy with the defense the whole day, kind of responding and not letting anything slide as far as an error on offense or just a three-and-out or a punt."
The momentum coursed in only one direction from there: the Cyclones' way.
Iowa State (5-5 overall, 3-4 Big 12) had struggled on defense since Big 12 play began, allowing an average of 37.8 points per game to conference foes entering the contest against Cincinnati (5-5, 2-5).
On Saturday, the Cyclones mustered their best defensive showing yet to complement another high-scoring output on offense.
"Just that momentum swing, like it just creates that vibe," quarterback Jaylen Raynor said of the offense taking the field after a defensive stop or forced turnover. "It gets the juices flowing, and when we get the ball in midfield and in the red zone, we're trying to score points every time, so we have a lot of confidence and when we get the ball in that area. They did a great job of getting us the ball and creating those turnovers."
Iowa State surrendered 401 yards, but reached its goal of limiting opponents to 14 or fewer points.
Cincinnati's 13 points and 128 passing yards were the fewest allowed by the Cyclones against a power-conference opponent this season.
Iowa State also posted a second-half shutout, its first against power-conference opposition this season, and it tallied four stops on fourth down. The Cyclones also had four sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Cincinnati went just 2-of-10 on third down and 1-of-5 on fourth down.
"You set your goals, you work towards them, sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't," said defensive lineman Max Baloun, who had a sack and a fumble recovery. "We kind of haven't been hitting them. There's been some frustration, but to have the resilience to keep showing up and putting in the work and then come out and reach our goals now, it's definitely a lot of satisfaction."
Regardless of win or loss, the Cyclones had given up plenty of costly explosive plays all throughout the Big 12 portion of their schedule.
Against Cincinnati, they were able to keep them mostly bottled up.
While a quick three-play touchdown drive on the first possession of the game may have caused some anxious feelings of here-we-go-again, the Cyclones dug in their heels and minimized those big chunk plays and scoring opportunities for the remainder of the game.
"It's knowing that what we're capable of because we've shown flashes of it," Baloun said of the defense's resilience. "I think it's sticking together, not turning on each other. It's really easy to go blame someone else, but sometimes you have to take ownership of what you're doing and what your position group's doing. Just being resilient enough to show up every day and keep putting in work knowing that we can do what we set out to do."
In the loss to Baylor, the Cyclones first appeared to fix their defensive woes. They forced three-and-outs in each of the Bears' first four possessions and held them scoreless in the first quarter before things quickly broke down and Baylor started to get going.
While a frustrating turn of events, it was a learning opportunity for the Cyclones, who caught glimpses of potential after previous struggles.
"To take each drive as its own and each play as its own," Baloun said of what they learned from the loss to Baylor. "If something's going good for us, we still have to reset and treat the new drive like its own drive, not just because we had success in the past doesn't guarantee we're going to have it. Just because we had failure in the past doesn't mean we're going to have it in this drive, so it's resetting, responding to each drive and each play within that drive."
Instead of just one quarter of solid defense, the Cyclones were able to sustain it all throughout the game against Cincinnati.
While there have been ups and downs and losing stretches, the Cyclones haven't given up on finding solutions, particularly on the defensive end.
Their best defensive showing to date gives them hope for what's to come, as they are now one win from bowl eligibility. Two games remain: at UCF (Nov. 20) and at home vs. Kansas State (Nov. 28).
"Surely a group effort, proud of what we were able to accomplish," Rogers said. "We're moving in the right direction for sure, we need to make sure that we reset and play like this and work again."
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State defense learns from its past, draws a line vs Cincinnati
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/iowa-state-defense-learns-past-115424736.html