AMES, Ia.—It shouldn't have been a six-point game, Iowa State's 16-10 escape from a northern Iowa team that didn't finish its spring season until April.
It wasn't a four-touchdown difference, as if the odds had been unintentionally set, but it shouldn't have included a hold-your-breath finish, as it did.
If the Cyclones are as good as we think, then what happened before the 61,500-fan sale at Jack Triss Stadium must be a blip. This cannot be routine. No offense to the very good Panthers of Mark Farley, but it should have been a two-point victory.
And I don't mean two area goals.
But, when the game ended, it was not a two-point victory. Farley said that Iowa State was a team its people should have defeated. That's exactly what he should say. They have an impressive group.
But FCS teams defeating top-10 teams are historical events in nature because this should not have happened.
Does Matt Campbell's team deserve top-10 status? If you're selling on Cyclones, I suggest you take a breath. Let's put that to a halt after next Saturday's Cy-Hawk game against a Hawkeye team that opened the season on Saturday by crushing Big Ten rival Indiana.
Let's wait until the All-American tight end plays Charlie Kolar. He missed Saturday with a right leg injury and I believe he will play on Saturday. Iowa State needs as much experienced firepower as it can muster.
Let's see how much cyclones improve next week before the state of Iowa declares it wasn't worth the hype. Let's not forget: People were writing off the 2020 Cyclones after they lost against Louisiana in the opener. Let's not forget, the state of Iowa had a historic season.
If we've learned anything from Campbell's 64 games as coach, it's to be wary of jumping to conclusions. The team that lost against Louisiana defeated Oklahoma two weeks later. The team that lost at Oklahoma State won five in a row.
The team was struggling with UNI on Saturday... well, you get the point. Let's wait and see.
We'll learn more about cyclones after next Saturday's Psy-Hawk bash.
"It wasn't pretty, but we're still glad we got the W," said All-American running back Bryce Hall. "We didn't play right. The defense did its job. The offense didn't do what they should have done. We just have to go back to the drawing board and come back and practice and get better."
As good as Hall is, it's not beyond self-evaluation. He knows he will do better than 69 yards on 23 carries. He knows that there were times when he should have run through this hole, but wrongly tried to run through another.
We know he can do better too. We have seen what this team is capable of at its best.
What we saw on Saturday was not a mile away.
"We let some mental errors slip through," Hall said. "I didn't do my best. We're glad we won the game, but we all know we can do better."
With regard to crime, no one would disagree. Things need to get better. quickly.
With respect to defense, it's a different story.
That side of the ball is actually the reason Iowa State starts 1-0 instead of 0-1.
Interception by Ishim Young and Datron Young. The linebackers brought it up. On the defensive line, Will McDonald, notably, UNI quarterback Will McElwain was on the run.
They are the reason for this season's opening win, as well as the stable special teams play.
Still, it was keen that the defense was to preserve the breakthrough with almost a minute to play, UNI's final right starting at its 10-yard line before the clock runs out to be heard in the world of college football. There was trouble.
The John Haycock defensive plan on that drive was no deep pass, knowing that Farley had already used up all of his team's timeouts. No one is going crazy by McElvain. Short ending only.
"We've been there before," said linebacker Jake Hummel. "We had complete confidence in our ability to stop them."
I think every Iowa State fan in the stadium shared Hummel's confidence. I went around the meeting at halftime. I took the pulse of the fan, which was then the lead of 13-10 cyclones. Even as the Iowa state flirted with disaster, I didn't feel a smidge of skepticism.
Maybe they were happy to be back in the stadium again. Maybe they remember that, when you're Iowa State football, nothing comes easy.
"See how we win the football game here," Campbell said after the game. "You run the ball. You stop the run."