Tag: jirehl brock

Iowa State starting RB Jirehl Brock leaves team amidst gambling investigation

Jirehl Brock, Iowa State’s starting running back and a key part of the Cyclones’ offense, has left the team amid the gambling investigation.

The annual Cy-Hawk rivalry game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones could be surrounded by some new storylines that continue to bubble up among each roster. Those storylines are the ongoing investigations that allege players on each roster made bets involving their own teams and teams within their universities.

The newest athlete involved is Iowa State starting running back Jirehl Brock. Brock has also been charged with tampering with records and is accused of making over 1,300 bets which are said to include Iowa State football games. News broke that Brock has chosen to voluntarily leave the team due to the investigation.

While this is an ongoing investigation, there are steep consequences should Brock be found to have placed bets on his own team. If Brock is found to have bet on the Cyclones while playing, he could be punished with permanent loss of eligibility from the NCAA.

Jirehl Brock has tallied 158 carries for 713 yards and four touchdowns as a member of the Cyclones. He was slated to be the starting running back and bring the most experience to the backfield.

Iowa State’s backfield now turns to a committee of talented, albeit young, backs to carry the load. Cartevious Norton is a sophomore that ran for 312 yards on 87 carries last year. Eli Sanders is a redshirt sophomore that had 47 carries for 197 yards.

For Iowa, it started with a trio of current and former Hawkeye players charged with tampering with records. That group featured backup kicker Aaron Blom, former Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen and former Iowa men’s basketball player Ahron Ulis.

In the weeks since, four more current or former members of the Iowa football program have been charged with tampering with records related to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s probe into sports gambling.

That group includes junior walk-on wide receiver Jack Johnson and student manager Owen O’Brien. Former Hawkeye wide receiver Arland Bruce IV and former Iowa defensive back Reggie Bracy are also among those four. Bruce transferred to Oklahoma State, while Bracy transferred to Troy.

Iowa State’s starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers is accused of placing bets on his own team and it is alleged that he placed these bets while under Iowa’s legal betting age of 21.

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2023 Season Preview: Iowa State brings pesky defense to Norman 

Iowa State has been a team who has given Oklahoma fits just about every year since beating the Sooners in Norman in 2017.

For the first Sooner conference home game, Oklahoma will take on the Iowa State Cyclones.

Iowa State has been a team who has given Oklahoma fits just about every year since beating the Sooners in Norman in 2017.

They play a gritty, hard-nosed defense led by Jon Heacock. They also return a decent amount of their production.

According to ESPN (ESPN+), the Cyclones rank 67th in returning production. They bring back 76 percent of their offense, which ranks 28th, and 51 percent of their defense, which ranks 95th.

Offensively they have a big task of replacing Xavier Hutchinson. Hutchinson was their go-to guy at wide receiver. He had over 1,100 yards last season.

Other than that, they return just about everyone else. Cyclones quarterback, Hunter Dekkers, returns. Their leading rusher in, Jirehl Brock, returns as well.

The key for the Cyclones is whether Dekkers can stay away from turning it over. Last season he threw 19 touchdowns but also threw 14 interceptions.

But head coach Matt Campbell has to figure out the offense. They ranked 83rd in the nation in total offense just a season ago. That was good for last in the conference.

Defensively they ranked fourth in total defense. They bring back four of their top six tacklers from a year ago.

But they lose their top three in tackles for loss and sacks. One of those was Will McDonald IV, who was drafted in the first round by the New York Jets in April.

They have to figure out how to generate pressure and develop that defensive line. But with Heacock at the helm, there shouldn’t be too much to worry about.

Ultimately, this game falls into a weird spot. Oklahoma should be riding a four-game winning streak, and the following week, they’ll play their Red River Rival in the Cotton Bowl.

This game will be talked about as a potential trap game for the Sooners.

We’ve seen far too often if you look ahead, Iowa State will beat you. We also have seen Heacock give Lincoln Riley and Jeff Lebby fits.

I think their defense keeps it close but can their offense take advantage? I’m just not sure about that.

Score Prediction: 20-17 Oklahoma

Predicted Record: 5-0

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Best pictures from Oklahoma’s 27-13 win over Iowa State

Relive the Sooners’ 27-13 win over Iowa State with some fantastic photos from the game.

The Oklahoma Sooners took care of business to move to 5-3 and 2-3 in the Big 12 with their 27-13 win over the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, Iowa. It wasn’t necessarily a dominating performance in any one phase, but all three phases made contributions on the way to the 14-point win.

[autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] had his fifth 100-yard rushing day of the season, and the defense recorded three interceptions, a sack, a tackle for loss, and a fourth down stop at the end of the game to secure the win.

[autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] led the way in the passing game with four receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown, but it was the special teams unit that made the biggest contributions.

[autotag]Zach Schmit[/autotag] was 2 for 2 on field goals and hit both extra points, but it was his touchdown that helped the Oklahoma Sooners the most, putting them up 13-3 in the first half.

The Sooners’ defense shut down the Iowa State Cyclones’ running game, holding [autotag]Jirehl Brock[/autotag] to 11 carries for 22 yards and just two yards per carry after coming into the game averaging five yards per carry for the season.

Quarterback [autotag]Hunter Dekkers[/autotag] was forced to throw it 57 times and although he put up a lot of yards, he wasn’t able to get the Cyclones in the end zone.

It was an important performance for a Sooners team looking to build momentum for the remainder of 2022 to carry into next year. Let’s take a look at some of the best photos from the Sooners win.

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5 Oklahoma Sooners to watch on defense against Iowa State

These five players need to have a big day for the Oklahoma Sooners defense against Iowa State.

Oklahoma resumes conference play on Saturday as they load up and head to Ames, Iowa to take on Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones. Oklahoma comes off their bye week rejuvenated and largely very healthy, with the only notable injury being that of impact defender Billy Bowman. Oklahoma’s defense has been playing without Bowman for weeks now, so they should be acclimated to life without their best defensive back.

With Bowman out of the lineup, new guys have been given opportunities to showcase themselves. While no one player has stood out, the coaching staff likes the open competition and is giving different players looks. The rest of the defense will also have to take their games to the next level, as the last road trip for Oklahoma ended with TCU scoring over 50 points on the Sooners.

Iowa State no longer has running back Breece Hall, who went head-to-head the last few seasons with the Texas Longhorns’ Bijan Robinson for best RB in the Big 12. They did return Xavier Hutchinson, and he’s taken his game to the next level. He’s the toughest skill player Oklahoma will be scheming to stop.

The Iowa State offense is anemic in comparison to the other Big 12 offenses Oklahoma has seen to this point. However, the Cyclones will get up for Oklahoma. As we get ready for kickoff, here are five defenders to watch for as Oklahoma takes on Iowa State.