Kansas @ Iowa State preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 12, 2016 ) Iowa State 31, Kansas 24

One week after posting one of the biggest wins in school history, Iowa State tries to avoid an epic letdown Saturday against Kansas. The Cyclones went on the road to defeat No. 3 Oklahoma last weekend and now return home to face lowly Kansas, which hasn't won in its last 42 road contests.

Iowa State was a 28-point underdog against Oklahoma and trailed by two touchdowns in the first half before stunning the nation with a 38-31 victory. "We came in telling our whole team you have to believe for four quarters," quarterback/linebacker Joel Lanning told reporters. "Believe you can beat a top-five team in the country. That's what we did today." Iowa State now is in the opposite position as a big favorite this weekend against a Jayhawks squad that has allowed an average of 52 points during a four-game slide. Kansas coach David Beaty told reporters he's going to use Iowa State's upset win as motivation for his team. “I think there is a lot more parity in college football maybe than there has been over the last 10, 15 years," he said. "And the thing about it is, it’s still going to come down to who executes the best. Who executes at the highest level, the best, for the longest.”

TV: Noon ET, FSN. LINE: Iowa State -21.5

ABOUT KANSAS (1-4, 0-2 Big 12): The Jayhawks are facing a bit of a quarterback dilemma, as Peyton Bender and Carter Stanley both saw action - with limited success - in last week's 65-19 loss to Texas Tech. Bender has thrown as many interceptions as touchdowns (eight), while Stanley threw a pick as part of a forgettable 19-pass performance. “It’s one of those deals where we’re evaluating them every day anyway,” Beaty told reporters. “You’re only as good as your next. It doesn’t matter who you are. You’d like to have some consistency there, but hey, listen, the truth is, you’ve got to go with who you see in practice and how they’re progressing.”

ABOUT IOWA STATE (3-2, 1-1): The Cyclones had lost two of their previous three games - both at home - before dismantling the Sooners last weekend. Kyle Kempt passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start, caused by Jacob Park's leave of absence for an undisclosed medical reason. David Montgomery scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season, although his yards per carry is down over the last two games after three strong outings to begin the campaign.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Iowa State has won six of the last seven matchups.

2. Under coach Matt Campbell, the Cyclones are 0-9 when losing the turnover battle.

3. Kansas K Gabriel Rui is 8-for-9 on field-goal attempts and has not missed on 16 extra-point tries.

PREDICTION: Iowa State 44, Kansas 19