Iowa State Football: Baylor presents interesting test for Cyclones in Ames

An underrated matchup to watch in the Big 12 in Week 11 takes place right in Ames between Iowa State football and the Baylor Bears.

To keep things going well for Iowa State football for the rest of the regular season, it cannot afford slip ups that could occur like in Week 11 against a program trending up in the Baylor Bears. For Iowa State football, heading into a huge Week 12 battle on the road against the Texas Longhorns with momentum is key to stay alive for a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Five games into the 2018 campaign, few pundits gave the Iowa State Cyclones a real shot at making a run to the Big 12 Championship Game. We all knew that head Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell was building something special with this program. It was just shocking that he picked up right where he left off at the height of the 2017 season.

Moreover, both Iowa State and Baylor are great stories around the country this fall. Baylor is one of the most improved teams in the nation with five wins already in 2018. Last year, Baylor was at the bottom of the Big 12 with only one win on the season. Now, Baylor looks like a shoe in for a bowl game under the direction of second-year head coach Matt Rhule.

Iowa State is a pretty significant two-touchdown favorite over Baylor in this meeting. The edge for the Cyclones is warranted with how hot the team is of late. Baylor is coming off a big win of its own last week, at home against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the dying seconds of the game.

Baylor will look to keep things rolling as a pretty significant underdog against Iowa State. To be able to pull off the big upset at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames on Nov. 10, it will have to slow down the true freshman sensation quarterback Brock Purdy.

Since Purdy took over under center, Iowa State looks like a completely different team and is contending near the top of the Big 12 standings. Iowa State is a legit contender in the Big 12 and Purdy has 13 total touchdowns and just two interceptions since taking over in a win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys earlier in the season.

However, Baylor does have what it takes to make this one interesting with an offense that doesn’t usually go away quietly. On paper, Iowa State owns the big advantage. Converting on that is harder than one might think against this stingy Baylor squad.