Ten games into the season, the ISU offense is getting on a roll.

After struggling for much of the year to find a rhythm or perform consistently, the experienced group has averaged 365 yards per game and has scored 28.7 points per game over the last three games.

And, since rushing for a season-low 59 yards against No. 6 Oklahoma on Oct. 16, the Cyclones (5-5, 3-3 Big 12) have rushed for 196 yards per game since.

“We’re running the ball well right now,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads. “I think that’s two-fold, I think that’s how the offensive line is playing and I think Alexander Robinson is back to form.”

Leading the surge is the play of the senior running back Robinson, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of those three games, and is closing in on the 1,000-yard mark for the season for the second straight year.

“For whatever reason, he’s playing faster, stronger, is seeing things better,” Rhoads said. “Some running backs get into a groove. He’s in a groove right now.”

Robinson had a season-high 31 carries against Nebraska on Saturday and gained 101 yards, pushing him to 826 yards on the ground this season.

He also four catches for 29 yards, including a 14-yard score in the third quarter.

“I was feeling pretty good physically before the game, and I think I’ve gotten myself into a little bit of a rhythm,” Robinson said.

One of the reasons for Robinson’s most recent success has been his health, a problem in the past for the Minneapolis native.

Even though Robinson did miss part of the Cyclones’ games against Utah and Oklahoma with foot and ankle injuries, the ISU coaching staff was able to lighten his load by using freshmen running backs Shontrelle Johnson and Jeff Woody. However, now that Robinson has returned to near 100-percent health, his carries per game have increased from 13 per game over the season’s first seven games to 24 in his last three.

“[Running back’s coach] Ken Pope does a nice job of making adjustments to certain personnel based on play selection and the freshness of a player,” Rhoads said.

The play of the offensive line has also improved as of late, leading to more holes for Robinson to run through.

A unit that returned three starters from the 2009 season, a year that the ISU offense was third in the Big 12 in rushing yardage.

“It’s usually what you see at the end of the season,” said left tackle Kelechi Osemele, who has started 25 straight games along the ISU front line. “Teams start to gel a little bit, they start to get a feel for where the holes are going to be.”

Cyclones prepare to face unsettled Buffaloes’ program

Tuesday, Colorado released coach Dan Hawkins from his coaching duties after five years leading the program. The Buffaloes were 19-38 under Hawkins, who was hired in December of 2005.

The release of the Buffaloes’ coach means that former assistant coach Brian Cabral will act as the interim head coach through the end of the season.

Several of the ISU seniors were in a situation similar to Colorado’s in 2006 when former ISU coach Dan McCarney coached the season’s final two games, knowing he was likely done as the coach at the end of the season.

“They’re going to be thinking, ‘Let’s do it for us, let’s do it for the team,'” said ISU quarterback Austen Arnaud, a redshirted freshman during McCarney’s final season. “They’ll want to go out on top and they’re going to play really hard on Saturday.”

Iowa State beat Missouri 21-16 in McCarney’s final game as the ISU coach, something that the players remaining from that team said makes Colorado dangerous Saturday.

“There’s no throwing it in,” Arnaud said. “Those guys are going to play harder than they ever played this year.”

Lamaak recovering from injury

ISU center Ben Lamaak missed the Cyclones’ game with Kansas due to a knee injury, but returned to play nearly the full game against Nebraska on Saturday. Despite playing injured, Lamaak led the Cyclone offense, particularly the ground game, to 360 yards.

“He was hurting, and to go out and play against that defensive line and be able to perform at a high level like he did, I think he graded out as our second-best offensive lineman for the game,” Rhoads said.

Lamaak, a senior, has 41 career starts for the Cyclones and may be a selection in next April’s NFL draft.

“Here’s a guy that, in a few months, has got a chance to be drafted or get into an NFL camp,” Rhoads said. “He’s out there playing hurt against one of the best defenses in the country, and he’s doing that to help his football team win football games.”

Overall, the team’s health has improved over the past several weeks.

Robinson has recovered from his foot and ankle injuries, Lamaak is back after injuring his knee and Arnaud, who was injured against Nebraska, walked without a limp on Monday after having his ankle heavily wrapped and iced following the game.

“I believe that every team has an identity, and one thing we talked about our identity yesterday was toughness,” Rhoads said. “Part of that toughness is being healthy through 10 football games.”