Two days, 1,000 miles, one practice and a team dinner after losing to Big 12 South foe Texas A&M 35–10, the ISU football team is ready to move on.

Playing at Jack Trice Stadium for only the second time since September and returning injured players to the lineup, the Cyclones are prepared to learn quickly from their problems on the road against the Aggies and welcome their next challenge.

“You train yourself year-round as a football program both mentally and physically, so at this point in the season you have a chance to still be improving and growing,” said coach Paul Rhoads. “That’s exactly what we aim to do these last three games.”

Junior quarterback and team captain Austen Arnaud is projected as Iowa State’s starter for Saturday after seeing the field for only one play since his hand injury in the second half against Baylor three weeks ago.

“I try to keep the wrap on, just keep it immobilized and get my hand as much rest as possible,” Arnaud said. “I don’t like watching, I haven’t been used to it the last couple years, but it’s something I’ve had to deal with, so I’ve just been trying to help my team as much as I can.”

The coaching staff felt Arnaud had made progress day to day on gripping the ball, but just hadn’t been able to put the necessary velocity on it to be competitive against Texas A&M for an entire game.

Despite the issue in the previous week, Rhoads definitively put Arnaud as the projected starter for Oklahoma State.

“You gotta throw the ball in this league with good ball speed, otherwise you’re not going to sneak balls past the defense,” Rhoads said. “That was the only thing keeping him off the field. If we needed him to go out and run the offense … he could have done that.”

Redshirt freshman Jerome Tiller stepped up for his injured mentor, finishing off a Baylor victory, squeaking out a landmark win over Nebraska and passing 18-for-27 against Texas A&M in the loss.

The offense had been missing some key personnel around Tiller that accounted for struggles in play, but the young San Antonio native has plenty of time to grow around his team.

Arnaud was helping Tiller between drives on Saturday and showed he’s ready to get back to leading the team by jumping right to action when the freshman landed awkwardly after a hit. The team has confidence in both signal-callers, but Arnaud is captain for a reason.

“He’s one of our leaders, and the games have shown that we’ve played better when Austen is our quarterback,” said sophomore receiver Darius Darks.

Arnaud’s leadership ability, as well as his game experience, will be a reaffirming sight for Cyclone fans once he returns to the field, and No. 4 is ready to get back to action as well.

“I was elected captain and I feel like my role is huge. Even when I’m not playing — it’s so key for us to lead vocally and help out our guys that are playing,” Arnaud said.

The surprising return of Reggie Stephens, coming off of an appendectomy last Wednesday, is also expected in Saturday’s lineup. Stephens, a senior from Rowlett, Texas, had made 37 straight starts on the Cyclone offensive line before sitting out against Texas A&M.

“[His return] shocks me, and it shocked our training staff as a matter of fact — he’s a player that as the scouts come through, they think he’s an NFL player,” Rhoads said. “He’s got talent, he’s got intelligence. It will be very important to our overall team success to get him back in the lineup.”

Stephens’ return will bring some continuity back to the offensive line, which had moved around all members but left tackle Kelechi Osemele for the start on Saturday. The Cyclones lead the Big 12 in rushing yards and are also tied for eighth in the country for fewest sacks allowed.

Other planned changes to the lineup include a shake-up at running back and true freshman Josh Lenz’s constant climb up the depth chart.

High expectations surrounded Florida–transfer Bo Williams when he arrived to Ames, but his name had been withheld from the weekly “one-liners” due to alleged fumble problems in practice. Redshirt freshman Jeremiah Schwartz was given the look as Alexander Robinson’s backup, but following week eight the coaching staff decided to shake things up and give Williams the nod to split late time with Robinson.

It paid off with a 44-yard run on Williams’ first carry as a Cyclone and the second-longest play of the day.

“Bo has certainly been coached up since the game was over, but there are still things that he has got to improve about his game. He’s always been capable of providing explosive plays — but you can’t just put a person in to run a couple plays,” Rhoads said. “We thought [Jeremiah] had the opportunities needed, that he should have been making those yards in those games and we needed to give someone else an opportunity.”

Lenz, a 5-foot-11-inch wide out from Dubuque, had already seen considerable playing time as a punt returner this year and led the team in catches against Texas A&M. His move in front of Darks on the roster signals another change in direction from the coaching staff.

“He’s a guy that can make people miss, and we don’t have a lot of those guys. He was a natural fit for this offense from the first day we looked at his high school tape,” Rhoads said of Lenz.

Concerned with a 5–4 record that leaves Iowa State still one win from bowl eligibility, the return of the Arnaud-Robinson combination and the improved health of a monstrous offensive line has lifted the spirits of the recuperating squad.

The healing process will be brief, but with No. 18 Oklahoma State coming to town Saturday for a nationally televised game, the aches and pains won’t hurt too bad. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.