NORMAN, Oklahoma – Iowa State has started a barrage of games that we haven’t seen this season. Quarterback Hunter Dekkers threw a touchdown pass, while Cyclones fans wondered why the team’s record quarterback was in the locker room in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma.

In that regard, very little worked in the Sooners’ 28-21 win on Saturday, and in another final against the Sooners, the brave Cyclones made their way to the OU’s 21-yard line, before a fourth pass to land. was intercepted near the end zone.

These were the immediate thoughts after a game in which, at times, the Cyclones (6-5, 4-4 Big 12 Conference) couldn’t get out of their own way. Now the mission is to regroup for when TCU comes to town next Friday.

Work through plays

For the first time this season, the Cyclones opened the playbook.

Fourth and 1 from their 19-yard line? First down, after a Breece Hall carry.

A courageous call with Dekkers catching a pass from Jaylin Noel at the Sooners 29-yard line?

Interesting call in a 7-7 game and just before halftime. Nice take from Dekkers too, except that the game was canceled because you cannot have two forward passes on the same game.

And then kicker Andrew Mevis ran for 29 yards on Iowa State’s first false punt this season, and possibly the first false since Campbell became the coach.

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Purdy was under siege all afternoon

Oklahoma chased the Cyclones quarterback all over the field. He was sacked five times and was trying to escape when he fumbled in the dying moments of the first half. Sooners’ Jalen Redmond recovered the loose ball and sent it back 42 yards into the end zone with 9 seconds left before halftime for a 14-7 Sooners lead at the time.

Purdy shook himself up and lived somehow to talk about it

The record Iowa State quarterback didn’t have a ton of protection on Saturday. Specifically, this was evident in a first quarter game, when he scrambled, collapsed, and got hit so hard he didn’t see it coming that some people probably wondered if he was. hurt.

He wasn’t. He arose, ran to the sidelines after the game of the third try. Campbell, meanwhile, spoke to an official, wondering if his quarterback was targeted. The replay (no review) showed Purdy was punched in the helmet by Perrion Winfrey’s shoulder pad, not his head.

Purdy is not only a remarkable quarterback, but he’s also tough.

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The reality for Mike Rose of having accepted the invitation to the Senior Bowl

As if we didn’t already know, with Mike Rose accepting an invitation to play in the prestigious playoff showcase in Mobile, Alabama on February 5, 2022 means he won’t be returning for another season in Iowa State. We thought so, and with Friday’s announcement, we now know it.

Technically, Rose, in terms of eligibility, a true senior, could have used her COVID year for 2022. Everyone thought it would be a long time, given that the All-American linebacker has nothing more to prove. at this level.

He is the reigning Big 12 defensive player of the year. He was on the All-American first team last season and will return in 2021. He had more interceptions last season than anyone in his position nationally, and he suffered injuries during which is officially his last Cyclone season.

All-American Charlie Kolar is also linked with the Senior Bowl, given that this phase of his career is officially over after his last game.

Good for both. They had the opportunity to train for a week in front of scouts from all the NFL teams. They earned the right to cap their Senior Bowl week by joining some of the nation’s top college talent in a game.

This is their first step into the future.

What about Purdy and the rest, you wonder?

Stay tuned.

Was the goal to win a Big 12 championship?

According to the players, yes.

“You talk about our goals since the start of the season to be in the Big 12 championship game, and it’s kind of out the window at this point,” said linebacker Jake Hummel after the Texas Tech game last Saturday. “It is obviously a huge disappointment within our team. It was our expectation, and we did not live up to that expectation.”

According to Campbell?

“My goal has always been one thing,” he said last week, in a comment that caught national attention. “And that’s to become the best version of ourselves that we can become. The challenge for this year’s team was to become the greatest overall team in Iowa State football history. now all of our goals are still intact from Coach Campbell’s perspective.

“Could our players have other goals and aspirations? Of course. Do I want them to have big goals and aspirations? Of course. But that was never said by me.”

But suppose Campbell doesn’t want championships? It would be wrong.

I went back to a Campbell media session in January 2017. The question was when he thought his program should fight for the championships.

“The reality of our team competing and winning a Big 12 championship has to be real,” he said after his first season as Cyclones coach.

So it’s not like he doesn’t want to win the Big 12. Of course he does. He’s a trainer. His argument last week was that the championships don’t define the seasons.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson has written for the Des Moines Register for six decades. Contact him at [email protected], 515-284-8132, and on Twitter at @RandyPete.