The Iowa State Cyclones have officially kicked off the season, and they started off the Jimmy Rogers era on a positive note. 

With a 38-10 win against Southeast Missouri, there was a lot to like about the performance for the Cyclones. The defense played really well, totaling six sacks as a team. 

Coming into the campaign, this figured to be the identity of the team, and it proved to be true in Week 1. The pass rush for Iowa State was fantastic, and the team really looked good on that side of the ball. 

On offense, there figures to be a little more work to do. Jaylen Raynor was able to make some plays both in the air and with his legs, but being a bit more efficient as a passer will be key. 

Furthermore, one area that the team will certainly be looking to do better at going forward is running the ball on the ground. 

Cyclones Will Need to Run the Ball Better

Even though it was a comfortable 38-10 victory for Iowa State, this is a group that is going to have to run the football a bit better. As a team, they totaled 31 rushes for just 108 yards on the ground. 

With a 3.5 yards per carry average, that simply isn’t going to get it done against most opponents. Fortunately, SEMO wasn’t able to take advantage of Iowa State’s struggles on the ground, but it is something to work on in practice this week for sure. 

When looking at the rushing attack for the team, Aiden Flora was the best of the bunch. As one of the few returning players for the program, he totaled 45 rushing yards on seven carries with one rushing score. 

Furthermore, Jaylen Raynor was able to use his legs as expected to help as well in this area. He totaled 32 rushing yards on seven carries to go along with a pair of scores. 

One player who was unable to get going on the ground was Cameron Pettaway. There are some high hopes for the transfer from Bowling Green, but with 10 yards on eight carries, the results early weren’t good. 

As the team gets prepared for a big game next week, running the football is going to be key. The Cy-Hawk matchups are usually hard-fought physical games, and this year will likely be no different. Being able to run the ball effectively will be key, and Iowa State must be a bit better.