Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State defense must overcome fear, intimidation of Big 12 speed

Published Oct. 13, 2015 10:49 a.m. ET

foxsports

Speed kills. While that may be a cliche, just ask the Iowa State Cyclones defense: it doesn't mean it's a false statement.

After allowing 66 points and a school record for total yards to Texas Tech last weekend, things get no easier for the Iowa State defense against TCU this weekend.

Is Iowa State's unit simply overmanned, or are they intimidated by the talent of these scorching Big 12 offenses?

“Early success of theirs created fear in our guys, and we started playing to that instead of assignment football,” Rhoads said of the Red Raiders.

“We have to play faster, and we got a heavy dose of speed in space on Saturday,” Rhoads said, “and we didn’t need a wakeup call, but there is a realization of what’s ahead in the next seven games of conference play, and if we don’t adjust to it, we’ll see more outcomes (like) we did.”

(h/t Ames Tribune)