Ranking the Sooners' opponents in 2023: Iowa State

Editor’s note: This is part three in a series previewing each of the Sooners’ opponents in 2023. OUInsider will rank all 12 games by their significance, difficulty and entertainment value on a 1-10 scale. The previous installments focused on Arkansas State and Tulsa. This article previews Iowa State, which is ranked No. 10.

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The Iowa State Cyclones had one of the best stretches in program history from 2017-2021. They finished with a winning record in all five seasons — that includes a combined record of 39-25 — and even made a run to the Big 12 Championship game in 2020.

However, the Cyclones crashed back to earth last season. Matt Campbell’s squad finished with a 4-8 overall record and a 1-8 conference record, finishing dead last in the Big 12 standings.

A big reason for their disappointing season was their inability to win close games. Six of their eight losses came by seven or fewer points, which included a brutal 10-9 loss to Kansas State in October.

The Cyclones do have several key players returning from last year, but they don’t have many reinforcements coming. Their 2023 recruiting class ranked 41st nationally, per Rivals, and they’ve added just two players via the transfer portal.

The Sooners will matchup with the Cyclones in Norman on Sept. 30. Here’s an overview of Iowa State and what the Sooners can expect in 2023:

Significance: 5

Difficulty: 4

Entertainment value: 5

All time: OU leads series 79-7-2

Last meeting: Oct. 29, 2022 in Ames, Iowa (OU won 27-13)

2022 stats

Offense: 20.2 points per game (114th nationally)

Defense: 20.2 points allowed (18th nationally)

Key departures (2022 stats):

WR Xavier Hutchinson (107 catches, 1,171 yards, 6 TDs)

DE Will McDonald (36 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, 5 sacks)

LB O’Rien Vance (62 tackles, 10 TFLs, 3.5 sacks)

Key returners (2022 stats):

QB Hunter Deckers (3,044 passing yards, 66.1% completion, 19 TDs, 14 INTs)

RB Jirehl Brock (99 rushing attempts, 445 yards, 3 TDs)

WR Jaylin Noel (61 catches, 609 yards, 3 TDs)

LB Gerry Vaughn (71 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks)

Key additions:

* RB Arlen Harris Jr. (Stanford): The former four-star running back played one game for Stanford last season before redshirting.

* A pivotal year for Campbell: The Cyclones have experienced some of their best seasons in program history under Campbell. However, the pressure could be on for Campbell to recover from last season.

The Cyclones posted a 9-3 record in 2020 and were narrowly defeated by Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game. Since then, the Cyclones have been nowhere close to regaining that momentum. The team is 11-14 in the past two seasons and failed to make a bowl game in 2022.

If the Cyclones have another mediocre record in 2023, things could get tough for Campbell and his staff.

* New offensive staff: Despite a four-win campaign in 2022, the Cyclones had one of the best defenses in the country.

The problem was the offense. The Cyclones averaged just 17.4 points per game during conference play and failed to score over 14 points in six of those games.

In response, Campbell did a complete overhaul of his offensive coaches during the offseason. Campbell promoted Nate Scheelhaase, who coached wide receivers and running backs last season, to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Noah Pauley, formerly at North Dakota State, was hired as receivers coach. Campbell also hired a new offensive line coach and a new running backs coach.

The Cyclones haven’t had much luck against the Sooners historically, though they did beat Oklahoma in Norman back in 2017 (38-31). However, the two teams have produced some competitive games in recent years. Four of the last five games were decided by seven or fewer points.

The Cyclones do return some key pieces from last season and boast a new coaching staff. But the Sooners should be heavy favorites to beat them in 2023. The Sooners will be at home, they have the better team and it’s unclear if the Cyclones will be much different than they were last season, when the Sooners beat them 27-13 in Ames.