Jaylen Raynor ironing out the wrinkles after ISU’s road loss to Iowa

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A narrow loss to a rival is a hard pill to swallow, but for Iowa State’s quarterback it’s all about responding, and uplifting teammates through times of adversity.

Jaylen Raynor understands that quarterbacks receive most of the blame from the fans following a loss, and he’s not afraid to admit that the Cyclones need improvement before they start Big 12 play. After all, Iowa’s defense exposed a lot of areas, and Iowa State has to pick up the pieces.

From struggling with the crowd noise on the road, to making mental mistakes, it’s no mystery that Iowa State’s offense still needs time to gel. However, there’s one aspect from the Cy-Hawk Rivalry that doesn’t concern Raynor, and it’s the Cyclones’ effort on offense.

“We played really hard in all three phases of the game, we played until the end, and nobody gave up,” Raynor said. “Literally everybody had each other’s back, but it just comes down to a few plays.”

Iowa State (1-1) got off to a fast start, and jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first half. Raynor played great early on, and led the Cyclones on a 10-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that took over five minutes off the clock. The offense was in business after Raynor connected with Vince Benetti for an eight-yard score, but that turned out to be Iowa State’s only touchdown of the evening.

Raynor regrets not keeping his foot on the gas in the second half, but knows penalties stall drives, and he can’t stand it. The Cyclones played clean through the first 30 minutes, but was flagged six times in the second half, which Raynor thought was unacceptable.

“Getting positive yards, and then having those taken off, and being behind the chains is obviously something that you don’t want to do,” he said. “That’s not a situation you really want to put yourself in when you’re playing a good defense like that, and that’s something we have to continue to get better on.”

Although Raynor didn’t turn the ball over, or absorb any sacks, Iowa’s defense never let him get anything easy. The initial plan for Iowa State’s offense was to establish the run, make the linebackers creep up closer to the line of scrimmage, and light them up with play-action passes downfield.

Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out well for Raynor and his teammates, and the sold out crowd at Kinnick Stadium became an issue in the fourth quarter. Raynor realized noise levels in Big Ten stadiums are on another level compared to the Sun Belt ones he played in over the past two seasons at Arkansas State.

“Obviously it played a factor with communication, but I think we handled it really well, and as far as substitutions, we messed it up one time, and gotta get that fixed,” the senior gunslinger said. “We communicated up front, got everybody on the same page for the most part, and it was an amazing environment.”

Once the smoke cleared, Raynor completed 10 of his 19 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Raynor didn’t throw any interceptions, nor did he lose any fumbles, and those are the positive aspects that he wants to build on. Regardless, the Cyclones finished with 255 yards of total offense, and that won’t cut it moving forward.

With the Cy-Hawk Rivalry now in the rearview mirror, Raynor is eager to redeem himself. He’ll have the perfect opportunity when Iowa State hosts a winless Bowling Green team back at Jack Trice Stadium Saturday. Raynor’s recipe for success on offense is simple too, but everyone has to do their part, and contribute.

“It just comes down to us executing, and doing what we do with running the ball, and being efficient in the passing game.”