College Football: Iowa State vs Ohio Week 3 preview, how to watch, more

The college football season is heating up, so we’ll get you caught up on some of the big matchups around the nation in Week 3.

Ohio Bobcats (1-1) vs Iowa State Cyclones (2-0)

@ Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, IA

How to Watch:

Date: Saturday, September 17th
Time: 2:00 ET
Channel: ESPN+

Betting Stats:

Spread: Iowa State -18.5 (-110)
Over/Under: 47.5 (-110)

Matchup:

After a successful CyHawk weekend, the Cyclones are looking to extend their winning streak against Ohio on Saturday.

The last time Iowa State started 3-0 was a decade ago in the 2012 season. If the Cyclones can continue to play well, having the best start of the decade shouldn’t be a tough mark to hit.

Iowa State has something to prove in the 2022 season, as the team came out of the gates hot. All the momentum will be in the Cyclones’ favor, as they are coming off an important win in Iowa City, Iowa.

For the first time in the Matt Campbell era, the Cyclones knocked off the Hawkeyes in the annual CyHawk matchup. The win ended a six-game drought that dated back to 2014.

Although the CyHawk win put the Cyclones in a good position to start Big 12 play strong, the win was anything but clean. Iowa State had three turnovers on the day, not including two punts which ended up getting blocked by the relentless Iowa defense.

Iowa’s offense wasn’t able to take advantage of the numerous opportunities Iowa State gave them, which opened the door for the Cyclones to take the win. Iowa didn’t play mistake-free either, having three turnovers of its own.

Arguably the biggest mistake of the game for Iowa, besides the missed field goal at the end of the game to send it to overtime, was Monte Pottebaum’s fumble on the one-yard line. This turnover led to Iowa State’s 99-yard march down the field to take the lead.

In the nearly 12-minute drive, quarterback Hunter Dekkers found his weapons constantly on each of the 21 plays. Running back Jirehl Brock also showed off his talents, nearing the 100 rushing yard mark, which he hit later in the game.

The drive was capped off with an Xavier Hutchinson touchdown to put up the game’s last points. Dekkers and the rest of the Cyclone offense had been struggling to finish drives with points on the board, so the 99-yard drive showed the poise the team needed to put the game away.

Although the win was long-awaited, Campbell knows his team can play better going forward. The Big 12 Conference is going to be a tough conference for wins, so figuring out issues early on will be crucial. The Cyclones will get the chance to find the flow of the offense when they play host to Ohio on Saturday.

Saturday will be the eighth meeting of the two teams, although it will be the first meeting in nearly 20 years. Iowa State is 7-0 in the series dating back to 1962.

Iowa State isn’t going to go easy on Ohio, though, as Campbell made it clear he wasn’t going to underestimate his opponent. Campbell has experience in the Mid-American Conference when he was the head coach of Toledo.

In his tenure in Toledo, Campbell pulled out an upset of his own, knocking off a high-ranked Arkansas team that was expected to breeze past the Rockets. Ohio had a strong showing in week one before taking on a ranked Penn State team in week two.

Ohio’s first week of the season was similar to Iowa State’s week one in how the team dominated in the air. Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke passed for 345 yards and four touchdowns, with one touchdown on the ground.

The Ohio run game was also hot against Florida Atlantic, with Sieh Bangura rushing for 114 yards on 23 attempts. The Bobcats played a solid game to win by three points over the Owls.

Week two saw a drop off in production for the Ohio offense, as they fell 46-10 to the Nittany Lions. Penn State is a top-25 team, so the loss shouldn’t give Ohio much to worry about.

Iowa State could put a similar challenge for Ohio if the offense can get hot. The Cyclone defense locked down both SEMO and Iowa and will look to continue the dominance on Saturday.

Players to Know:

Xavier Hutchinson – Iowa State, WR

2022 season stats: 19 receptions, 226 yards, four touchdowns

Hutchinson has had an explosive start to the season and is showing no signs of slowing down. In the first two games, he grabbed nearly 20 catches, scoring the majority of the receiving touchdowns on the team. Against Iowa, Hutchinson was targeted 19 times, half of Dekkers’ total passing attempts.

It’s clear that Dekkers and Hutchinson have great chemistry, and Hutchinson is a safety net to get Dekkers out of trouble. With Dekkers looking to improve on his mistakes from the Iowa game, expect Hutchinson to have another monster game against Ohio.

Jirehl Brock – Iowa State, RB

2022 season stats: 204 yards, one touchdown, 4.7 yards per carry

The CyHawk game was expected to be gritty and hard-fought, so Brock had plenty of opportunities to make his mark on the field. He didn’t disappoint, breaking the 100 rushing yard barrier for the second straight week. It’s clear watching Brock play that he has the talent to make a dent in any defense he matches up against.

His explosiveness, power and quickness were all on display against the Hawkeyes. Not only that, Brock showed how much of a threat he can be in the backfield, hauling in five catches for 18 yards. Brock’s only issue during the CyHawk game was his fumble while leaping in the end zone. Brock knows he can do better, so expect him to attempt to erase that mistake and come out with something to prove against Ohio.

Colby Reeder – Iowa State, LB

2022 season stats: Nine total tackles, one interception, two passes defended

In the first two games of the season, Reeder has been a big-play machine. Against SEMO, Reeder tipped a pass, leading to an interception deep in Iowa State territory. Reeder came up with an interception of his own in the CyHawk game, giving the Cyclones a great opportunity to put points on the board.

There’s a reason Reeder was named the Big 12 Co-Newcomer in the Big 12 weekly awards. If Reeder can buckle down and make an impact on every down, Ohio could have issues pushing the ball up the field.

Kurtis Rourke – Ohio, QB

2022 season stats: 464 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown

Rourke is an interesting player to evaluate in a big-game situation. On the one hand, Rourke’s performance against Florida Atlantic was outstanding, putting up 345 passing yards and four touchdowns. However, his outing against Penn State left much to be desired/

Rourke didn’t do much to help his team win against a tough Penn State team, but he also didn’t put them in a position to lose. Overall, his ability as a passer cannot be overlooked. If Rourke gets hot, the Iowa State defense has its work cut out.

Key Injuries: