The game came down to the defense
To put the blame solely on the defense would be short-sighted, after all, they were a reason that Texas was leading for the most part in this game. But they do shoulder some of the blame in this game. The offense failed to help them out, but the defense didn’t help a struggling offense either. Brock Purdy had thrown interceptions in three of the last four games, however, they didn’t force any on Friday.
One of the keys was getting to Purdy for them and they were only able to get the one sack. The pass rush just couldn’t win enough to really make an impact in the game. This offense did look better than it had in recent weeks but with the game on the line, the Cyclones marched right down the field in five plays to take the lead.