The Cyclone Sports Report Three Keys To Look For On Thursday Night:1)Can the Defense Dominate?-This will be South Dakota State's first game as a D-I Football Championship Subdivision team and this is a big step up in level of competition. Iowa State's defense needs to come out and make a statement by dominating the Jackrabbits from the start. If they can do this, some of their young back-ups will be able to get some much needed experience in the second half.
2)It All Starts Up Front-Nate Frere, Michael Tate, and the rest of the defensive tackles MUST step up this season if Iowa State wants to take that next step. If they can't control the line of scrimmage, linebacker like Jesse Smith and Michael Bibbs will not have as much opportunity to make plays which is crucial for this defense. However, if they do have outstanding years and defensive ends Rashawn Parker and Kurtis Taylor can put pressure on the quarterback, Iowa State's defense could be in for a very big season.
3)Will It Be A Shut Down Secondary?-Iowa State will likely have a very experienced secondary this season but improvements still must be made. The secondary last year allowed its opponents a .697 completion percentage which obviously must improve. While not all of this can be blamed on the secondary, the cornerbacks must do a better job in coverage. Competition was fierce in camp and while all four starters return from last season, only two of them will be starting on Thursday. Devin McDowell beat out Allen Bell for one of the starting cornerback positions and sophomore Zac Sandvig will be starting at strong safety for the injured Chris Brown.
The Defensive Depth Chart:
Defensive End
29 Rashawn Parker, 6-0, 246, JR.
55 Christopher Lyle, 6-3, 249, JR.
Defensive Tackle
81 Michael Tate, 6-4, 285, SR.
85 Bailey Johnson, 6-3, 276, SO.
97 Stephen Ruempolhamer, 6-3, 285, FR.
Defensive Tackle
62 Nate Frere, 6-1, 291, JR.
92 Jerrod Black, 6-0, 281, FR.
96 Austin Alburtis, 6-2, 275, SO.
Defensive End
47 Kurtis Taylor, 6-2, 253, SR.
25 Nick Frere, 6-2, 253, SR.
83 Travis Ferguson, 6-5, 244, SR.
SAM Linebacker
14 Michael Bibbs, 6-1, 234, SR.
10 Cameron Bell, 6-2, 237, SO.
Middle Linebacker
54 Jesse Smith, 6-0, 231, JR.
24 Deric Schmidgall, 6-1, 221, JR.
WILL Linebacker
43 Fred Garrin, 6-1, 221, JR.
16 Josh Raven, 5-11, 216, JR.
Cornerback
17 Devin McDowell, 5-9, 180, SO.
7 Kennard Banks, 5-10, 193, JR.
12 Allen Bell, 6-1, 190, JR.
Cornerback
11 Chris Singleton, 5-10, 191, SR.
23 Leonard Johnson, 5-10, 179, FR.
22 Ter'ran Benton, 6-1, 185, FR.
Strong Safety
4 Zac Sandvig, 5-10, 186, SO.
20 Brandon Hunley, 5-11, 207, SR.
Free Safety
2 James Smith, 5-9, 189, JR.
37 Mike O'Connell, 6-0, 200, SO.
21 Steve Johnson, 6-0, 210, JR.
Special Teams:
Placekicker
21 Grant Mahoney, 6-1, 151, FR.
25 Zach Guyer, 6-3, 180, FR.
Punter
13 Mike Brandtner, 6-1, 208, JR.
16 Daniel Kuehl, 6-0, 192, SO.
20 Chad Powell, 5-11, 186, FR.