What to watch for during Week 2 of the college football season

Louisiana at #23 Iowa State

The Iowa State Cyclones could make a huge leap forward in 2020, continuing the growth shown under head coach Matt Campbell. During his four years in Ames, the Cyclones have finished league play with a winning record three times, a feat almost unheard of since Iowa State joined the Big 12 back in 1996.

While their defense has been a big part of the resurgence, the Cyclones’ offense might be the reason to watch in 2020. Quarterback Brock Purdy is another intriguing option at the position when it comes to thinking about the draft, and in 2019 Purdy led the Big 12 with 306.3 passing yards per game. He finished the year completing 312 of 475 passes for 3,982 yards and 27 touchdowns, and he could finish with even better numbers in 2020.

Two more weapons on offense inlude tight end Charlie Kolar, who snagged 51 passes for 697 yards and seven touchdowns last year (a team-high), and running back Breece Hall who gained 897 yards on 186 carries as a true freshman last year.

Defensively, the reason people watch – and study – Iowa State is because of defensive coordinator Jon Heacock’s 3-3-5 defense. The Cyclones return a number of players to their back half, including linebackers O’Rien Vance and Mike Rose, cornerbacks Anthony Johnson and Datrone Young, and safeties Greg Eisworth and Lawrence White. JaQuan Bailey is back as well to terrorize passers off the edge, and his 18.5 career sacks are currently third among active players, and a school record.

The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns had a huge season in 2019, finishing the regular season with a 10-2 record and earning a berth in the Sun Belt Championship Game after winning the Sun Belt West. After their loss to Appalachian State – the second time they fell to their Sun Belt rivals in 2019 – they ended the year in the Lending Tree Bowl where they lost to Miami (Ohio).

Senior Levi Lewis is back after his first full season as the starter, and last year he was quite efficient, throwing for 26 touchdowns and 3,050 yards with just four interceptions. He’ll have Elijah Mitchell back along with Trey Ragas in the backfield, and the two running backs have a combined 5,203 rushing yards and 61 touchdowns over their careers.

On the defensive side of the football nose tackle Zi’Yon Hill is a stout player in the interior, coming off a second-team All-Sun Belt selection a year ago. The Ragin’ Cajuns return both safeties in Percy Butler and Bralen Trahan. Andre Jones is also a talented pass rusher off the edge.

Matchup to watch: Similar to Howell versus the Syracuse 3-3-5, I am fascinated to watch Lewis and the Ragin’ Cajuns offense against Heacock’s 3-3-5 schemes.

Draft prospects to watch: Both quarterbacks are worth watching, as Purdy could enter the 2021 draft with a solid season and Lewis also has an NFL future. Bailey is a good pass rusher provided he stays healthy, and Kolar could be an intriguing option at tight end for NFL squads.

Scheme notes: Before Venables there was Heacock, whose 3-3-5 defense has become the standard in the Big 12 for finding a way to stop the run while still working to contain the passing game. This defensive scheme uses three safeties on every down, with one of them serving as a hybrid safety/linebacker who gets involved in the run fit on every down. With the outside linebackers flexed outside, the defense can stay gap sound against the run but has numbers on the outside to help against the pass. Here is what that defense looks like before the snap:

At first blush, this looks like the defense is outmanned up front against the run. But if each defender fits his gap properly, the defense can still stop a running play:

The three down linemen and the linebacker each take a gap, and then the outside linebackers plus the third safety fill in the rest.

The philosophy behind this defense was articulated perfectly by coach Cody Alexander in this piece:

The box literally has nine players involved in the fit. By using a safety from depth (JS), the defense is ensuring it has an extra fitter in the box and most likely unblocked. What the Cyclones have done is squeeze everything into one gap in the middle of the formation. If anything bounces, it is cleaned up by a trapping CB to the boundary or the Sam LB patrolling the edge of the box to the field. Against the run, the trapping CB from the field can even make his way into the fit depending on how the offense uses the two WRs.

When this game kicks off, take some time to study what Iowa State is doing on defense. Because as linked above, you’re seeing this more and more on Sundays as well…