In one week, we went from -13 yards rushing and 6 sacks given up to 321 yards rushing and 1 sack given up. We went from having a sieve standing in front of our quarterback and running backs to having a brick wall that moves down the field like a steamroller. We switched from a starting lineup of LT Michael Shumard, LG Matt Allen, C Kevin Matthews, RG Patrick Lewis, RT Lee Grimes to a starting lineup of Shumard at LT, Lewis at LG, Matthews at C, Evan Eike at RG, and Grimes at RT. Can shuffling around our guards really have that much of an impact? For one game, it sure seems to have worked.

I know Sherman challenged the masculinity of his team before this game. I know Sherman challenged the offensive line, in particular, because they haven't been getting it done this season. I am sure after a pathetic performance against Kansas State, the players were embarrassed, and anxious to prove themselves; Tech just happened to be the next opponent. However, Tech's defensive line is actually pretty decent. Heading into the game, they were in the top 10 in sacks in the nation, with 23 in only 7 games at that time. They had a decent pass rush. Whatever Sherman told our offensive line, it worked, as they protected Jerrod very well for the night, giving up only one sack. More importantly, they provided a good pocket for him to pass, as he was only hurried twice all game. Jerrod had enough time to scramble for 71 yards on 10 carries, which is counting the sack where he lost 11 yards; that is good protection and good blocking.

Iowa State, our upcoming opponent on Saturday, is 62nd in the nation in rushing defense, giving up a solid 137.5 yards per game; not terrific, but not bad, either. Tech was 24th in the nation in rushing defense before we faced them Saturday; our offensive line's performance pushed them all the way down to 57th in the rankings, and added another  27 yards to their per game average for rushing yards given up. That is a dominating performance by an offensive line. We will have to wait and see if our success continues against an Iowa State team that is on a little bit of a roll after beating Baylor and Nebraska in the past two weeks. The Cyclone's run defense has moved from 77 to 67 to 62 in the past two weeks, so they are improving against the running game as the season goes on. Iowa State will be a good challenge for our offensive line, and a way to gauge if our line has truly turned the corner.