With the faint scent of bowl eligibility only two wins away, Cyclone fans came away confident from the 24–10 win over Baylor this past weekend, but nicks and bruises required quarterback Austen Arnaud and running back Alexander Robinson to leave the game. The backfield starters will be undergoing treatment throughout the week in order to play against Nebraska this Saturday, and overall improvements and strong practices have made Iowa State (4–3, 1–2 Big 12) one win better under first-year coach Paul Rhoads than the team has been in the last two seasons.

“I think we go about our business in the right way,” Rhoads said. “It is cliche in that we work one day at a time, one play at a time and one game at a time, and I feel blessed and fortunate that I have young men that have bought into that philosophy.”

The swelling of Arnaud’s throwing hand occurred early in the game against Baylor, and while he played through the pain for the rest of the first half, coaches felt switching to backup Jerome Tiller was the best option.

“It hurt for a little bit, but it didn’t hurt that bad, so I kept playing,” Arnaud said. “Once the cold got to it, it started to swell up, made it hard to grip the ball. I’m stubborn, and [offensive coordinator Tom] Herman took me out. It is what it was.”

Arnaud’s early performance didn’t suggest a problem, but even at Monday’s weekly press conference, his hand looked recently unwrapped and was indeed visibly puffy and more swollen than his left.

“The first throw into the dirt is what we wanted to get a good look at, and after that it was time to make a change,” Rhoads said. “When you’re in the middle of the game, you play through a lot of pain and a lot of issues, and Austen’s a tough cat.”

Tiller, a redshirt freshman, played most of the second half as quarterback for the Cyclones, and while he will remain the backup come Saturday game time, his 7-for-8 passing and impressive 20-yard touchdown run were greeted pleasantly by teammates and the coaching staff.

“Coach Rhoads has said that Jerome has to be one of the most improved football players we have on this team, from when he first got here until now,” Arnaud said. “He’s doing a great job for us. The speed he brings to the table is off the charts, and 7-of-8 passing, too. He had a solid second half for us.”

Robinson, Iowa State’s top offensive producer and the Big 12’s leading rusher, apparently reaggravated the groin injury he carried around since the Army game, and while Rhoads expects his back to play, he knows he won’t be performing at 100 percent.

His 105.3 yards per game on the ground leads the conference, and it is also good for fifteenth in the nation.

“I’m glad he’s not having to pay the bill for man-hours that he’s getting out of the training staff. He wears them out, as a champion-athlete tends to do,” Rhoads said. “Really, his status won’t be known until later on in the week, as has been the case since the Army game.”

Robinson didn’t score in the Baylor game, but his 83 yards helped contribute to the explosive 454 yards of total offense the Cyclones accumulated in the game. He too remains confident that his health won’t remain a concern leading up to the Nebraska game, and he expects to be out bolting around the corners in his No. 33 jersey.

“We’re just going to take it day-by-day, I’m going to keep thinking positive and the trainers are going to get after it when I get in there, and we’re just going to see what I can do,” Robinson said.

The team’s weekly improvements on the field have already become evident during Big 12 play, translating a two-turnover, 6-for-15 third down conversion performance in a loss to Kansas State two weeks ago into a win against Baylor that featured 74 percent passing and a 12-for-18 day converting third downs. Rushing for at least 200 yards in six of the team’s seven games, Rhoads feels both sides of the ball are on the same page and he hopes that translates into another win on Saturday.

“One of the greatest aspects of being a teacher is seeing the lights go on as your students grasp the concepts you teach them, and I think that’s taken place with our football team,” Rhoads said.

Players and coaches agree that Nebraska will provide the Cyclones a tremendous challenge on Saturday, not just because of the Cornhuskers daunting offensive line or the 85,000 fans in red that regularly pack Memorial Stadium. The Cornhuskers dropped from No. 15 nationally to out of the rankings following their 31–10 loss to Texas Tech last Saturday, so Rhoads knows that the Huskers need no more motivation to get their North Divisional title hopes back on track.

“This is very good Nebraska football team, that oh, by the way, just dropped out of the Top 25. They don’t have major issues, they’re a good football team,” Rhoads said. “[Coach] Bo Pelini will have that football team ready to play and we better come out fully taped and strapped up when we enter the field.”

6-foot-4-inch, 300-pound defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been living up to his billing as a Preseason All-American, leading the Huskers from the middle with 36 tackles, three sacks and nine tackles for loss.

“They’re really good. It starts up front with [Suh], and everybody is talking about him as one of the best, if not the best, tackles in the country,” Arnaud said. “He’s a for sure first rounder, but our offensive line has been playing well, too, so it’s going to be a test and a war in the trenches all day.”

Iowa State’s win over Baylor broke an 11-game losing streak in Big 12 play. This week’s 11:30 a.m. kickoff against the Huskers is in Memorial Stadium, where the Cyclones haven’t won since 1977. Nebraska has also won the last four meetings between the two divisional foes.