Paul Rhoads saw a different guy when he looked at Grant Rohach leading into Iowa State’s game against Kansas.

After the Cyclones’ loss to Oklahoma on Nov. 16, Rhoads noticed a change in Rohach. Through Iowa State’s loss to the Sooners, he saw Rohach gain more confidence and poise going into practice Tuesday, Nov 19, which contributed to the Cyclones’ (2-9, 1-7 Big 12) 34-0 shutout against Kansas on Saturday, Nov. 23, at Jack Trice Stadium.

“Watched it again on Wednesday [in practice]. He was that same relaxed, confident guy,” Rhoads said of Rohach. “And I said as much to him, and that’s what he was tonight. Grant Rohach has very good ability, so does Sam Richardson. He played to his ability tonight, and he was surrounded by a bunch of guys that played that way also.”

On the cold, icy Senior Night, Rohach and the ISU offense racked up 502 total yards of offense. The redshirt freshman quarterback finished 15-of-20 passing for 300 yards and two touchdowns.

One of Rohach’s two touchdown passes came to running back Aaron Wimberly with 6:43 left in the first quarter. A broken play led to Rohach breaking to the right of the pocket, finding Wimberly in the middle of the field for a 58-yard touchdown.

Rohach said the first score was something that didn’t just give the ISU offense a confidence boost, but the entire team.

“I had to get out of the pocket a little bit, but I have faith in Wimberly that he was going to get that ball so no matter where I put it; I knew he was going to go get it,” Rohach said.

One of Rohach’s favorite targets against the Jayhawks (3-8, 1-7 Big 12) was senior wide receiver Justin Coleman. Coleman racked up 78 yards receiving on eight receptions.

On a night where running routes and changing directions was tough, Coleman said the ball was thrown more than he anticipated, but the matchup problem Iowa State could cause for Kansas defensive backs warranted throwing the ball more.

“I think the field and how it was affected, how they couldn’t come up and play short, so we just threw it and got it out of Grant’s hand quick and let us run with it,” Coleman said. “It was hard for them to do anything because they couldn’t change what they were doing.”

And with one game left in the 2013 season — an afternoon road trip to West Virginia — Rohach’s teammates also noticed a boost in his confidence.

“Even on the ice rink, he was more confident,” Jeff Woody said of Rohach. “He was delivering the football with accuracy and with just knowing where it was going to go rather than hoping it was going to go there. In weeks past we would try and force something in there just to make sure it gets in, where this time he was just letting loose and playing.”