The Iowa State Cyclones were able to finally snap their four-game losing streak in a shocking upset win over the TCU Horned Frogs. 

Coming into the game, there really wasn’t any reason to believe that the Cyclones could have gone on the road and pulled off an upset based on how they were playing. Furthermore, considering how they looked in the game, it was even more shocking to see the final outcome. 

Offensively, the team really didn’t have much in this one. Carson Hansen was able to eclipse 100 rushing yards, but it wasn’t easy. The Horned Frogs limited him to under four yards per carry, and they made him earn everything. 

Due to another poor performance by Rocco Becht, it was shocking to see the team be able to go on the road and win this one. Fortunately, the defense and special teams were able to make some big plays to help secure the win. With the victory, Iowa State was once again able to receive a positive bump in how they are viewed nationally. 

Chris Vannini of The Athletic (subscription required wrote about the Cyclones rising significantly in their power rankings following an upset win. Following Week 11, they moved up from 48th to 39th. 

After free-falling in the power rankings the last few weeks, it was good to see the Cyclones move up into the Top 40. If they had lost to TCU, they very well could have been outside of the Top 50, looking in on their bye week. 

With injuries once again being an issue for the team, the bye week will hopefully help get some of their defensive players back for the final two games of the year. Even though they might not be able to compete for a Big 12 title, winning the last two games would bring them to a very respectable 8-4 regular-season record. 

While that might be a disappointment based on the preseason expectations for the program, a few move wins would make the year feel a lot better. Furthermore, even though some of their goals may have been altered, two more wins might be able to get them back to near the Top 25, which would be a nice accomplishment. 

Hopefully, the team will get healthy and work on some things during the bye week to improve going forward. Despite the win and the move up in the power rankings, it wasn’t an overly strong performance. 

The Iowa State Cyclones were mired in a brutal slump over the last few weeks. After starting the season 5-0, they had lost four consecutive games, sending their season into an ugly spiral.

Heading into their Week 11 matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs, expectations were very low. It is hard to blame any fans who weren’t bullish on their chances of winning, especially with their recent form.

However, the Cyclones overcame the odds, picking up an impressive come-from-behind victory. Trailing 20-6 in the fourth quarter with 13:30 remaining in the game, Iowa State scored the final two touchdowns of the game to win 20-17.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cyclones ultimately ended their four-game losing streak, becoming bowl eligible in the process. There were a few standout performers in the game, but linebacker Kooper Ebel really stood out.

One of the best players on the team, head coach Matt Campbell had nothing but praise for his junior linebacker’s performance against TCU.

“If you’d been missing Kooper Ebel the last four weeks, I don’t know if there’s a better defensive player in the Big 12 right now than him,” Campbell said, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network (subscription required). “He’s playing with an elite accelerated vision. He’s playing with unbelievable toughness. He leads. He never comes out of the game. When you need to make a play, that guy is there to make a play.”

Ebel led the team with 11 combined tackles on Saturday afternoon, including one tackle for loss. He helps set the tone for the Iowa State defense, being all over the field, making plays, whether it is against the run or the pass.

There are a lot of great defensive players in the Big 12, so Campbell’s calling his linebacker the best player on that side of the ball in the conference is major praise.

In the nine games heading into the matchup with the Horned Frogs, Ebel had recorded 51 total tackles, 4.0 of which were for a loss, with 1.0 sacks and one pass defended.

He is second on the team in tackles, behind only safety Marcus Neal, who has 70. His 5.0 tackles for loss are the third most, behind only Neal, with 9.0, and fellow linebacker Caleb Bacon, who has 6.5.

Ebel is one of seven players with at least one full sack for the Cyclones’ defense this year, and one of six with a forced fumble, as well.

That kind of production has been crucial to Iowa State’s success on that side of the ball this year.