The ISU football team left Iowa City feeling bruised and beaten up.

Despite a discrepancy in rushing yardage — No. 9 Hawkeyes out-rushed the Cyclones 275-78 — and score in the 35-7 loss, likely the biggest loss for the Cyclones was the loss of a starter on an inexperienced defense.

Middle linebacker Matt Tau’fo’ou suffered a broken fibula in the loss to Iowa, and is now out indefinitely. Coach Paul Rhoads said Monday he is still uncertain on the timetable for Tau’fo’ou’s return.

“Safe guess, six weeks for sure he’ll probably be out of action,” Rhoads said.

ISU cornerback Ter’ran Benton suffered a similar injury last year in the Cyclones’ 9-7 win over Nebraska. Benton missed the season’s final four games, but was healthy and prepared for play in the Insight Bowl against Minnesota.

However, Benton’s timetable wasn’t crystal clear due to the long stretch between the regular season and the Cyclones’ Dec. 31 bowl date.

“Ter’ran got back in time for bowl preparation,” Rhoads said, “but it’s hard to gauge when he would have been ready to play a game before that bowl date.”

In the absence of Tau’fo’ou, the Cyclones will be forced to shuffle their defensive lineup.

Sophomore A.J. Klein is currently listed as the team’s starting middle linebacker, after starting the season’s first two games at the strong-side linebacker position. Klein’s shift to the middle then opens up a hole on that strong side, a hole likely to be filled by sophomore Matt Morton or freshman Jeremiah George.

Morton, a 6-foot, 207-pound sophomore, made three tackles in limited action against Iowa.

Rhoads said Morton brings speed to the linebacking corps, even though his size doesn’t match up with Klein’s 6-foot 1-inch, 240-pound physique.

“There’s a strength and explosiveness that he brings with that speed,” Rhoads said, “and I don’t think you always have to be 230 pounds to play linebacker if you can be where you’re supposed to be and be physical doing it.”

George, a newcomer to the defense, is a hyped freshman from Clearwater, Fla., who has yet to see the field through two games this season.

“He’s a physical player,” said linebacker Jake Knott, starter at the weak-side position. “He’s got a lot of improving he could be doing. I think he’s got a tremendous upside and he’s going to help us out in the future.”

Rhoads said the defense might also move to a nickel package, one where it lines up with five players in the secondary and just two linebackers. Benton and defensive back Jacques Washington would be most likely be the players to fill that role.

“The linebacker area is not a position we’d really like to put Ter’ran and Jacques,” Rhoads said. “We’d rather have them out covering on wide receivers. But, if we have to just because of depth and reasons beyond our control, they might have to play in there some.”

Washington, an Owasso, Okla. native, played running back in high school and chose to come to Iowa State as a cornerback over offers from nearby Tulsa and Kansas State, schools that wanted to use him as a safety.

Throughout the fall, Washington has seen practice time at both safety and the nickel positions.

“It’s kind of hard learning both spots because nickel and strong safety kind of contrast,” Washington said.

The 6-foot, 200-pound redshirt freshman is also listed behind Morton at the strong-side linebacker position.

Despite never playing linebacker, Washington only lacks seven pounds on Morton and isn’t even the smallest of the young position group.

During his recruiting process, Washington said the one position he didn’t want to play was linebacker.

“Now, I have no problem with it,” Washington said. “Basically, I’m learning all of the positions on the defensive side.”