The saying goes speed kills. Intimidating is probably more accurate, at least for the Iowa State defense.
That was the takeaway by coach Paul Rhoads after a 66-31 loss to the Red Raiders on Saturday. Now, the Cyclones will need to quickly come to grips with the athleticism of Big 12 playmakers before facing No. 3 TCU on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN2).
“Early success of theirs created fear in our guys, and we started playing to that instead of assignment football,” Rhoads said of the Red Raiders.
It was a rude awakening for a defense that exceeded expectations in the first five games.