NCAA football: Iowa State attempting to be bowl eligible
The unranked Iowa State Cyclones are looking to become bowl eligible and can only do it with a win on Saturday 20 November over no. 15 ranked Missouri Tigers. Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel is trying to lead his Tigers to nine victories, making it
three seasons he has been able to accomplish that many.
Iowa State’s season so far
The Cyclones started with a victory over Northern Illinois, 27-10, but proceeded to lose their next two games against Iowa and Kansas State.
They got back into the win column with a victory over Northern Iowa and Texas Tech, but were defeated by former no. 10 Utah and followed that with another loss to former no. 6 Oklahoma.
They broke their two-game losing streak with a win over former no. 19 Texas and rolled that momentum into another victory the following week over Kansas.
Their heart breaking loss to Nebraska in overtime, 31-30, two weeks ago is still fresh in their minds, as it showed in their loss to Colorado last weekend.
This will be Iowa State’s last game of the season and if they wish to continue playing football into December or possibly January, a victory is needed.
Missouri’s previous games
The Tigers started their season with a seven-game winning streak over victims Illinois, McNeese State, San Diego State, Miami (Ohio), Colorado, Texas A&M and over former number one Oklahoma.
The streak was squashed by Nebraska and turned into a two-game losing streak when the Tigers were defeated the following week against Texas Tech.
Last weekend’s victory over Kansas State got the Tigers back into the win column but they will need some help if they are to make the Big 12 championship game.
Cyclones’ keys to victory
Starting quarterback Austen Arnaud had his football career ended in the loss to Colorado last weekend with a major knee injury, so back up Jerome Tiller will be the one lining up under centre.
Tiller will need to count on his wide outs and running backs to control the offensive attack. Senior running back Alexander Robinson and senior tight end Colin Franklin will have to be the ones to keep the
sophomore quarterback calm and relaxed, even though this has the potential to be one of the biggest games of their college careers.
"It's the same running plays and passing plays that we'll execute," Cyclones head coach Paul Rhoads said according to espn.go.com. "Things will change based on what we think we can do against Missouri, not
what we think we can do with Jerome over Austen."
Missouri’s keys to victory
Quarterback Blaine Gabbart will need to continue his passing prowess as he is currently completing 62.3 per cent of his passes despite the two losses the Tigers suffered.
"It meant a lot having the coaching staff all behind me because losing two tough games like that, your confidence is a little shaken," Gabbert said according to espn.go.com. "It was great to get back out
here, have a good day and get a win."
His two favourite receivers are T.J. Moe and Michael Egnew, who have caught 70 and 71 passes, respectively. They have also combined for nine touchdowns, helping the offence average 31.5 points per game.
Keep them involved and Missouri will be successful.
The Tigers defence has injuries, primarily to nose tackle Dominique Hamilton and linebacker Luke Lambert, but that has made the rest of the defence play harder. They allow an average of 17.5 points per game,
good enough for tenth in the country.
Prediction
Missouri 38 – Iowa State 27
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