Iowa State Offensive Preview: Y'all Need to Chill

Youth Movement:

Things are looking brighter for the guys up north in corn country. Two underclassmen are making waves for this Cyclone team and for the Big 12 conference at large. Sophomore Allen Lazard is a great receiver who is lost in the scrum of all the other top receiving talent that is available in the league. He's no Corey Coleman but Lazard has been a hazard for some defense this season, totaling 573 yards this season through the air with three of his 43 receptions ending up in the endzone. The intriguing thing about Lazard is his length. Comparable to the Cowboys' Marcell Ateman. Six-feet-five-inches tall, Lazard is a matchup problem for almost every DB in the Big 12. Then there is redshirt freshman Mike Warren who has been the steady bell cow for the Cyclone offense. The Cyclones like to run the ball as a team and they can do it efficiently with a sturdy offensive line in front of Warren. Warren averages over 100 yards per game and, here's a stat all OSU fans wish could be true for the men in orange, 5.8 yards per carry. Both of these guys are going to be in Ames for little while longer, so get used to them producing against every team in the conference.

DayGame AHHHHHH:

Master of the NightGame..... It is truly a blessing that Oklahoma State does not have to play in Ames at night. Like Lubbock, weird stuff happens during #AmesAfterDark. Look at Texas, they had to endure it last week and go blanked. Not to bring up 2011, but if that game did anything for the program in Stillwater, it made sure the games in Ames are always as important as the top games on the schedule. Most national people will argue Iowa State is irrelevant, home or away, but Oklahoma State fans would beg to differ.

ONE OF US:

All this talk about the taboo two-quarterback system for the Cowboys, but they aren't even the only school in the conference that practices this. Texas sort of does, but Iowa State's is about as close to the Cowboys' system as it can get. Joel Lanning has been starting lately for the CyCardinalClones and has been been the dual threat option all season in Ames. Lanning will run the ball only about seven times a game, but like J.W. Walsh, while the yardage may not always be there, it is the look and change of dynamic that can cause problems for the defense. Then there is the passing threat in Sam Richardson, who the Cowboys have faced more of in the past. He's one of those guys that can sometimes appear to get the job done, but then can easily be a liability. Just like Mason Rudolph on the road. See ya Friday peeps! Oh and quit taking these CFP polls so damn personally. Let the players handle that stuff. They've done just fine so far.