It wasn't the prettiest game (in fact it was very sloppy at times), but we finally snapped our road losing streak. For that, I could not be happier for the program! It's tough for the program to move forward if they have to keep answering questions about events under previous regimes. I am glad they won't to have continue answering this particular one about the road losses.
The biggest areas of concern at first glance are the turnovers. We put the ball on the ground and gave Kent State opportunities to get back into the game. Against a better opponent, they would've made Iowa State pay. I also thought the offense was rolling in the first half, and that they had a hard time readjusting to adjustments Kent State made in the 2nd half. The win was by a comfortable margin, but if we could have stopped shooting ourselves in the foot with turnovers and/or penalties, I think we could've put up 50 on this team. It's just the difference between a large conference team that needs some work and a large conference team looking to make an impact this year.
The strongest areas is that our offensive line played well, and Arnaud bounced back from last week as I had expected. Arnaud went 13/21 for 1 TD (no INTs), and rushed for 2 TD (he did fumble once though). As a team ISU rushed for 234 yards and averaged 5.6 yards/carry. After hearing about Beau Blankenship from the coaches, I thought it was cool to see him get a handful of carries.
We could've playe dbetter, but at the end of the day, this is the first time Iowa State has won on the road in almost 4 years! I will post more of a break down tomorrow morning, but I'm going to enjoy this tonight!
What were your quick thoughts on the game?