No. 24 Iowa St. goes for 3-0 in Big 12 when Texas Tech visit
Iowa State fans celebrated the Cyclones’ first home win over Oklahoma in 60 years deep into this week.
As for the team itself, once the postgame party ended in the locker room, it was on to Texas Tech.
“Whether it’s a win or loss, we know the reality is you’re judged at the end of the season, not from game to game,” coach Matt Campbell said. “Sometimes that can be hard for everybody else. In our walls, our kids understand that. We’re trying to get better one day at a time. We’ve never been result-driven. We’ve always been process-driven.”
Wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson said he and his teammates know the win over OU won’t mean as much if they stumble at home against the Red Raiders (1-2, 0-2 Big 12) today.
“We all relished the moment and enjoyed it all together,” he said. “We have great leaders to remind us this is a new week and this is a new opportunity against a really good opponent.”
The Cyclones (2-1, 2-0) are looking to open conference play with three straight wins for the first time since 2002 and only the second time since 1950.
All three of the Red Raiders’ games have been close, starting with a 35-33 win over FCS Houston Baptist. They lost 63-56 in overtime to Texas after squandering a 56-41 lead with under 3 minutes to play in regulation. Last week, they led 21-17 at Kansas State early in the fourth quarter before losing 31-21.
“We’re this close to getting it together,” Tech defensive lineman Tony Bradford Jr. said, holding his right thumb and index finger an inch apart. “We just have to do a better job as a unit and as a team taking all the work we’ve done in practice and moving it to game day. When we do, man, watch out.”