Frustrating season ends with a thud as Iowa State blown out by No. 4 TCU

Travis Hines, Des Moines Register
·3 min read
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Iowa State wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson is dragged down by TCU linebacker Dee Winters during the first half of Saturday's Big 12 Conference game in Fort Worth, Texas.
Iowa State wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson is dragged down by TCU linebacker Dee Winters during the first half of Saturday's Big 12 Conference game in Fort Worth, Texas.

FORT WORTH, Texas – About the only thing you can give credit to the Iowa State football team for was not leaving much to mystery Saturday.

So many of the problems and issues that have plagued the Cyclones this season were on full display early as No. 4 TCU took a 24-0 lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 62-14 victory to seal its undefeated regular season and send Iowa State into a critical offseason.

It was the most lopsided loss for Iowa State in coach Matt Campbell’s tenure and the program’s worst since losing 71-7 to Baylor in 2013. The Horned Frogs scored more points than any other team has against Campbell’s Cyclones and it was the most against Iowa State since the 66 it surrendered to Texas Tech in 2015.

The loss gives way to the first time in Campbell’s seven-year tenure that Iowa State’s program trajectory is not met with near-universal optimism after a campaign that saw the Cyclones go 4-8 overall and 1-8 in the Big 12.

The most pressing issue, though, is an offense that failed to improve throughout the season, was clearly the Big 12’s worst and ranked among the least productive in the nation.

A step back after a program-record five-straight bowl appearances is certainly understandable and even predictable. But an offense that proved itself incapable of competing with Big 12 defenses plunged the 2022 season into something more ominous than a simple rebuild after the departure of some of the best players in program history.

Iowa State averaged 14.22 points in Big 12 play this season while TCU, the conference’s best offense, approached 40 points per game.

Hunter Dekkers, who left the game with an injury early in the third quarter, showed potential as a first-year starter at quarterback with a big arm and capable legs. But his 14 interceptions are among the most in the country and helmed a wholly unproductive unit.

The rushing game dealt with injuries to starters Jirehl Brock and Cartevious Norton, and entered the final game of the season averaging fewer than 85 yards per game during conference play. That's nearly 40 yards behind the league’s second-worst rushing attack.

Such struggles wiped away what was, outside of its performance against TCU, an excellent season from the Cyclones' defense, perhaps the best unit during defensive coordinator Jon Heacock's seven-year tenure.

It also exacerbated the special teams inconsistencies, which included two missed field goals, a botched snap on a punt and a TCU kickoff return to the Iowa State 36.

All of it coalesced into the worst Iowa State season since Campbell’s first in 2016 and is certainly in contention for the most frustrating one of his tenure after a 3-0 start gave way to the 1-8 finish.

At minimum, the season will spur significant self-evaluation from Campbell and Co., though the major questions will be if it's a catalyst for changes to either the offensive staff or the offensive philosophy, both of which have been stalwarts in the Cyclones’ run of success of the previous five years.

Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or  (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football's offense again a no-show in loss at TCU