Texas Football: 3 takeaways from a close home win against Iowa State

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Oct 15, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Hunter Dekkers (12) calls a play from the line of scrimmage during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Takeaways for Iowa State

Head coach Matt Campbell cannot be happy about his team’s record this season. The Cyclones have lost four consecutive games, all of them in the Big 12. What’s worse is all four losses are by one possession, two of them by three points. One of the reasons that reared its ugly head today is the lack of a running game.

Iowa State leading rusher Jirehl Brock had 33 yards last week against Kansas State, and just four yards on two carries this afternoon. The Cyclones averaged just 2.6 yards per rush attempt against the Longhorns’ defense. Quarterback Huner Dekkers did have his best game this season, leading Iowa State in passing and rushing today. Dekkers threw for 329 yards and ran for 30 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Cyclones kept Bijan Robinson from hitting big plays — he had just one run over 20 yards — but he ground out 135 rushing yards. Bijan got those tough yards when Texas needed three or four yards for a first down.

Cyclone fans are going to be upset about the end of the game. The fumble on Dekkers was a bang-bang play; that was hard to find evidence he was down. Matt Campbell wanted that play reviewed for targeting; it was not.

That said, Campbell will focus on the lack of a run game and the ability to finish late with a lead.

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