Texas Football: Ranking the difficulty of every remaining opponent for Longhorns

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AMES, IA – SEPTEMBER 28: Defensive end Malcolm Roach #32 of the Texas Longhorns leaps to tackle defensive back De’Monte Ruth #6 of the Iowa State Cyclones as he rushed for yards in the first half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on September 28, 2017 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

2. Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Nov. 17

Location: Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX

If the Horns got both Texas Tech and Iowa State on the road, the remaining five games of the 2018 campaign would be much scarier. However, Iowa State should be an easier task at home than it would be on the road. Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, IA, promises to be one of the tougher tests for the Horns next year.

True freshman Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy completely turned around this season for the Cyclones. Under head coach Matt Campbell, Iowa State is proving that last season was not a fluke with victories over top five teams at the time in the Oklahoma Sooners and TCU Horned Frogs. Purdy helped Iowa State get back to that point of success seen in 2017.

In just two starts this season, Purdy led the Cyclones to a road victory over Oklahoma State in a true shootout. Then, Purdy led Iowa State to one of the biggest upsets of the season so far in the Big 12 over West Virginia two weeks ago. The duo for Iowa State in the backfield including Purdy and star running back David Montgomery will still be difficult to contain for Texas.

Montgomery had his best individual performance of the year against West Virginia with 189 rushing yards and one touchdown. If both Montgomery and Purdy are still playing at that high of a level when the Texas defense has to face them, it could be a tricky outing for defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.

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