AMES — When reflecting on Iowa State football’s best-ever finish, an 11-3 record in 2024, offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Taylor Mouser could only think of the plays that got away.
Despite playing a key part in the Cyclones’ historic season, the 34-year-old has been candid in sharing the play calls that could have been better, namely during the Big 12 championship game loss to Arizona State. Mouser collected bits of confetti from the Sun Devils’ postgame celebration and kept them as a motivational reminder in his office.
Now in his second year as offensive coordinator and playcaller, the No. 18 Cyclones are off to a 2-0 start. They opened with a 24-21 victory over rival Kansas State in Ireland. Iowa State returned stateside and thrashed FCS-power South Dakota, 55-7, in a game where it never punted.
Unsurprisingly, he’s fixated on the areas that can be improved.
“I think I’m still really sour, mad at myself for just the first fumble against Kansas State,” Mouser said when evaluating the offense’s performance in 2025. “Happy with the operation through the first two weeks, but you’re always hunting to the margins of what you can do better and how you can execute better, how you can get other people involved more. Not where we need to be by any means, but I still think when you have a guy like we have at quarterback, you always feel like you’ll have a chance, but we got a lot of little things to work on.”
The Cyclones have posted 842 yards of total offense through their first two games. They had 313 total yards against Kansas State and racked up 509 total yards in the win over South Dakota.
Mouser may be hard on himself, but quarterback Rocco Becht isn’t as harsh a critic. As the team’s signal-caller, he works closely with Mouser, and the two always have an open line of communication.
“He listens to my opinion all the time, and he wants my opinion more than I give it to him, so he gets it out of me here and there, which is good,” Becht said. “We have a really good relationship that I think has been able to grow over the past year and I think that’s why we’ve been able to start fast last week (over South Dakota) and really finish strong in the Week 0 game (against Kansas State).”
For Becht, this is the first time he’s gotten to work with the same offensive coordinator for consecutive years. When he first arrived in Ames in 2022, Tom Manning left after his sixth season at Iowa State to take a job on the Indianapolis Colts’ staff. The following year, Nathan Scheelhaase left after his lone season as offensive coordinator to take a job with the Los Angeles Rams.
Last year, Mouser made his debut as the offensive coordinator. This year, the added familiarity is going a long way.
“You have to have a good relationship because if you don’t, you’re never going to be on the same page, whether that’s a play you don’t like or a play you do like and we’re not running it,” Becht said. “Having that trust in one another in multiple years really helps a team out, especially on the offensive side, and helps a quarterback’s mindset and his mentality. Those first couple years, where we kept getting new OCs, were good for us because they kept moving onto greater positions, but it’s just hard for a quarterback to stay consistent.
“This year, it’s really good to have Mouser back as the OC and really have that connected relationship that we do.”
For Mouser, he’s only grown more comfortable in his role calling plays.
“Be bold and to roll the dice a little bit,” Mouser said of the biggest adjustment from his first to second year in charge of the offense. “It’s really hard to methodically move the football on people and there were times last year where I tried to do that, and it stalled our offense out.
“We have a really good quarterback and some good people, so let those guys go make plays for you. Probably just being conservative and nervous early last year is what I wish I could change. … When someone makes a mistake or suggests something, it works or it doesn’t work, but we’re able to make good adjustments, so I’m not as worried about that stuff. I’m not afraid to fail as much as I was early last year.”
After a shaky first half against Kansas State, the Cyclones’ offense gained traction and, in addition to key defensive stops, they were able to finish drives and hold the lead for good.
Against South Dakota, where maybe Iowa State would be inclined to play conservatively and not show too much game tape with rival Iowa looming in Week 3, the Cyclones started the game with a 66-yard completion, setting the tone for an offensive onslaught. Rocco Becht set a program single-game record for completion percentage, completing 19-of-20 passes (95%) for 278 yards and three touchdowns.
Offensively, the Cyclones have been spreading it out, with tight ends and wide receivers all playing a part in the passing game. In the win over Kansas State, six different players recorded at least two receptions. The Cyclones followed up by having 10 different receivers log one or more receptions in the lopsided victory over South Dakota.
“He cares about his players, he really cares about people and I think he equally has this humility about himself to be curious and use this great coaching staff around him and use the voices around him to put a product every Saturday that at least gives us the best chance to be successful,” head coach Matt Campbell said of Mouser. “I’m really proud of what Mouse has accomplished so far and obviously it will keep growing week in and week out.”
While the Cyclones have had success with a diversified passing attack through their first two games, Mouser would like to see more consistency from their rushing attack going forward. A strong start on the ground or being able to establish the line of scrimmage could pay dividends for the Iowa State offense long-term, but particularly against the Hawkeyes’ defense.
Iowa is coming off of 34-7 win over FCS Albany, but the Hawkeyes have long held a penchant for defense. Iowa State may be the sportsbooks’ favorite entering Saturday’s Cy-Hawk game, but history has shown that rankings and records don’t matter much and that close, hard-fought games should be expected.
Each of the last seven meetings in the Cy-Hawk rivalry was decided by 10 points or fewer. The Cyclones haven’t defeated the Hawkeyes at home since 2011. In addition to that, they have only won by two or more touchdowns twice over the last 40 years of the series. They don’t expect offensive yardage to come easily, but Mouser and his players are excited for the challenge.
“They suffocate you from all angles, so it’s a culture war as much as it is anything,” Mouser said of Iowa’s defense. “It’s a battle of toughness, it’s a battle of grit and most of the time, it’s going to come down to a play here and a play there. You don’t know which one it is and that’s what makes it so awesome and so scary at the same time.”
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football OC Taylor Mouser growing in second-year, ready for Cy-Hawk game with Iowa
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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