Zach Petersen: DE · Iowa State · #55.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Zach Petersen
Holds up snap after snap without a weakness to attack. Fourth year in the Iowa State defensive front. One game to point at: 6 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss against Kansas — Week 5, 2021.
Play style
No single standout number, but nothing missing either — competent across the board.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
36 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 4 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
FOX61 Oct 28
The Des Moines Register Oct 23
Arizona Daily Star Oct 22
Wide Right & Natty Lite Oct 16Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Iowa State | 43 | 18 | 5.0 | 0.5 | 1 |
| 2020 | Iowa State | 19 | 7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | -- |
| 2019 | Iowa State | 41 | 23 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 1 |
| 2018 | Iowa State | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 107 | 49 | 12.5 | 3.5 | 2 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | L 17-27vs No. 10 Iowa | 7 | 1 | 2.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 3 | W 48-3@ UNLV | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 29-31@ Baylor | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 59-7vs Kansas | 6 | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 33-20@ Kansas State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 24-21vs No. 8 Oklahoma State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 31-38@ West Virginia | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 30-7vs Texas | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 38-41@ Texas Tech | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 21-28@ No. 12 Oklahoma | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 48-14vs TCU | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 17 | 4.0 | 0.5 | — | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
1%0 sacksTFL rate
12%5 TFL43 tackles · 5 for loss · 0.5 sacks.
4 seasons under Matt Campbell — 31-20 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 4.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Campbell
Pass share
48.6%
444 pass / 469 run
Plays / game
76.1
12 games
Team sack rate
4.4%
459 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
43 tackles in 11 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive linemen who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #168 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Iowa State, 4 sacks — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2018–2021
1 coachPlayed every college season under Matt Campbell.
