TLDR: Iowa State just found its best offensive weapon of the season, and now the Cyclones get to test him against a Utah team that hasn't slowed down all September.
Utah rolls into Ames unbeaten and riding a dominant win over rival Utah State, while Iowa State enters off a bounce-back rout of Bowling Green behind Aiden Flora's breakout game. The number says this could get lopsided, but Iowa State's defense already showed it can hold a ranked offense down even when its own offense sputters.
Devon Dampier has been sharp all year, and his cleanest week yet came against Utah State, throwing for 253 yards and two touchdowns while Braden Pegan racked up 122 yards on eight catches in a 33-0 rout. Iowa State counters with Jaylen Raynor, who leaned on the ground game more than the pass in a loss to Iowa two weeks ago, and now has to find a way to slow down a Utah attack that's rolling.
The Cyclones didn't need Raynor to save their season last week — Aiden Flora did it himself, ripping off touchdown runs of 61 and 42 yards and adding a 66-yard punt return score in a 55-7 blowout of Bowling Green at Jack Trice Stadium. It was a career day for Flora, and it's the kind of explosive-play threat Iowa State will need again against a Utah defense that hasn't been tested by anything resembling a Big 12 offense yet.
Both teams are coming off wins, but only one of them came against a team that mattered. Utah beat a rival; Iowa State beat a MAC team that had just given up 55 the week before. The gap between those two results is exactly what the board is leaning on six days out.
What gets lost in Iowa State's 2-1 record is that its defense actually held Iowa's offense to just 16 points in that loss, even while giving up 284 total yards and generating zero sacks. It's a bend-don't-break profile, not a bad one, and it's the closest thing either side has faced to a real offense this year.
OutJ. Bailey (WR) — Bailey is dealing with an undisclosed injury, and it is unclear when he will return.09/01
Utah hasn't left much doubt through three weeks — 480 total yards against its rival, a clean two-touchdown week from Dampier, and a defense that's mostly cruised. Saturday in Ames is the first week either program finds out what it looks like against a team that's actually being tested back.
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Utah Utes at Iowa State Cyclones — No. 17 Utah Rolls Into Ames As A Heavy Road Favorite | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush
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