AMES, Iowa – After seeing its bid for a school-record eighth consecutive home win denied in a one-point defeat to bitter rival and nationally ranked Iowa, Iowa State looks to rebound Saturday. The Cyclones wrap up their non-conference schedule with a matchup against visiting Louisiana Monroe, which has been off two weeks after absorbing a one-point overtime loss at Florida State.
TV: Noon ET, FS1. LINE: Iowa State -18.5
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The Cyclones needed three overtimes to hold off Northern Iowa 29-26 in the season opener before falling at home to No. 18 Iowa 18-17. Iowa State's last five games dating to last season have been decided by a total of 14 points, and coach Matt Campbell expects a daunting challenge from the Warhawks of the Sun Belt Conference. "You're talking about a team that's got a senior quarterback who has had an outstanding career and played good in his first two football games. A tremendous tailback, an entire offensive line that's coming back," Campbell said. "Defensively, almost their entire front seven coming back. ... It's a defense that creates a lot of havoc and then offensively, as skilled as anybody we've played." ULM overwhelmed Grambling State 31-9 in its season opener and rallied for 31 points in the second half at Florida State before a missed extra point in overtime spelled its doom in a 45-44 setback.
ABOUT LOUISIANA MONROE (1-1)
The Warhawks feature a solid offensive balance with a ground game led by junior Josh Johnson, who rushed for 126 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries versus Florida State after racking up 173 yards and two scores on only 10 attempts in the opener. Senior quarterback Caleb Evans accounted for four touchdowns at Florida State, directing ULM to four touchdowns and a field goal on its final six possessions of regulation. Senior linebacker Chase Day is the leader of the defense, amassing 20 tackles -- three for losses -- and collecting an interception in each of the first two contests.
ABOUT IOWA STATE (1-1)
The Cyclones need to get their ground gain untracked after managing 91 yards rushing last week, including 34 from Brock Purdy, who has thrown for 554 yards and three touchdowns while completing 72 percent of his passes. Another focal point at practice this week was forcing mistakes -- Iowa State is minus-3 in turnover margin and has forced only four in its last six games. "Somebody said, ‘You get lucky in turnovers.' I just think it's not luck," Campbell said. "It's you've got to pound away at it, you've got to keep driving away at it. Those are things where we've been in position to make some of those plays, we just haven't made them so far."
EXTRA POINTS
1. Iowa State ranked 10th nationally in rushing defense at 73 yards per game.
2. The Warhawks are 0-11 all-time against Big 12 opposition.
3. Iowa State DE JaQuan Bailey has registered 18.5 sacks in his career, tied for the most in school history.
PREDICTION: Iowa State 33, Louisiana Monroe 23