AMES - They don't sport any gaudy numbers, and they're even missing their best player, but the Golden Gopher offense is still worrying the Iowa State football coaching staff in preparation for their New Year's Eve meeting with Minnesota in the Insight Bowl.
The Gophers (6-6) rank last in the Big Ten in both scoring and rushing offense and rate just third from the bottom in passing offense. But it's not the numbers that have head coach Paul Rhoads and defensive coordinator Wally Burnham concerned, it's the sheer number of looks they'll see from Minnesota.
"I think you can see the pro-game influence on the offensive side of the ball. They certainly run a lot of ball formations," said Rhoads. "That's very challenging for our group, to just get aligned to begin with."
For Burnham, the Gophers' ability to show various formations will force him to prepare his unit for a lot of looks.
"They'll be in I-backs, they'll be in no backs, they'll be in one back, they'll be in two tight ends, three tight ends, so we're having to prepare for all that," said Burnham. "They want to throw the football, that's their mode of operation, but they might come in and say 'We're going to run it against Iowa State,' and we might see 60 runs."
"From breaking them down and getting our scouting reports ready and our gameplan together, we've had to lean a lot on what they've done (during the season)," Burnham added. "We've got a lot of info, and we just introduce a little every day."
The Gopher passing took a major step backward after they lost star receiver Eric Decker in mid-October with torn ligaments in his foot. Despite missing Minnesota's last four games, the senior still leads the team in receptions (50), yards (758) and touchdowns (5).
The aerial attack does get a shot of athleticism when head coach Tim Brewster splits backup quarterback MarQueis Gray out wide as a receiver, sharing the field with starter Adam Weber. The freshman is a triple-threat to catch, pass or run wherever he lines up and gives the Cyclones another wrinkle to worry about.
"I don't know how much Gray will play quarterback, but he'll lineup back there and run the ball and we know we'll see him out at receiver," said Rhoads. "That's not anything different than they've done for a good part of the season."
The Cyclone defense has been far from dominating this year, but their ability to come up big in key situations has been uncanny. ISU ranks near the bottom of the Big 12 in nearly every defensive category, but rank second in red zone defense, allowing opponents to score in only 68 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line while forcing nine turnovers down in deep.
ISU also ranks behind only BCS National Championship game participant Texas in the Big 12 in forcing turnovers, with 30 on the year.
The linchpin to the Cyclone defensive effort will be, however, their ability to deal with everything the Gophers will throw at them.
"They lost their best receiver, but their tight end (A.J. Barker), he's a good receiver, he's their go-to guy now it seems," said Burnham. "They got a big ol' fullback for when they go I-back. They run him up the middle a lot and use those big (offensive linemen) and get two double teams on your inside tackles and just see how much yardage they can get.
"You know, it's tough. We're getting ready for a lot of different things."
