Iowa State football: 3 takeaways from season opening upset loss to Louisiana

1. Iowa State receivers look rusty in their first game of 2020

Brock Purdy had a rough game to start the 2020 season for the Cyclones. A year after completing more than 65 percent of his passes and averaging more than 300 yards per game at Iowa State, Purdy struggled to complete even half of his passes. Accuracy proved to be an issue as Purdy struggled to consistently put the ball in optimal position for his receivers.

By the end of the day, Purdy had thrown for only 145 yards and an interception on 16-of-35 passing. It was hardly the type of performance one would expect from a player touted as possibly the best Big 12 quarterback this season.

Purdy’s failures couldn’t be laid completely at the quarterback’s feet, though. When Purdy was on target, his receivers often left him down with drop after painful drop. Iowa State never could gain any real momentum through the air in large part because their receivers showed heavy rust from a long offseason of uncertainty.

Was it a case of Matt Campbell and offensive coordinator Tom Manning failing to get their charges prepared effectively heading into the season opener? Was it nerves among the receivers as they played in the midst of a pandemic? Whatever the case, Iowa State just didn’t look nearly as dangerous through the air as they did a year ago.