Check Iowa State's scores against real opponents and the problem jumps out: 13 against Iowa, 17 against Utah, 10 at BYU. The Cyclones look like a different team against the softer part of the schedule, with 55 on Bowling Green and a 45-42 shootout win over West Virginia. One local columnist summed up the BYU loss in a headline that asked for an offense, any offense. Getting to 21 points against a team that scores the way Arizona has lately is the first thing Ames has to figure out.
Arizona's case is pretty simple. The Wildcats have won 4 straight, and the BYU loss in Provo is the only blemish so far. They beat Cincinnati 34-7 at home, and the West Virginia win came on the road with a fumble-return touchdown from Lee Molette III mixed in. The caveat is the defense. It held Cincinnati to 7, then gave up 31 in Morgantown, and that's the same West Virginia team Iowa State put 45 on. If the Cyclones show up with anything like their West Virginia offense, this turns into a track meet.
Neither team has another game on the schedule before this one, so both get time to heal up. That matters more for Arizona, which could get Richardson back from the hamstring and give Fifita a real receiver room again. It's a noon kickoff in Tucson for a Big 12 game that suddenly carries weight. Arizona is 2-1 in league play and has a real shot at staying in the conference picture. Iowa State is 1-2 and needs a road win just to get back to even. The Cyclones haven't shown they can beat a team this good on the road this season, and that's the story until they do.