Each Monday during football season, coach Paul Rhoads and a selected group of players speak to the media about their Saturday performance and look ahead to their next matchup. With Homecoming and the Baylor Bears arriving this weekend, the team is concerned about its overall improvement and building on a 3–3 record that includes an 0–2 mark in the Big 12. A tough 41–36 loss to Kansas on Saturday showed the Cyclones can compete in conference play, but a win and getting things on the right track is the game plan bigger than X’s and O’s.

ISU coach Paul Rhoads

“Our run game remains consistent and effective. It was certainly fun to have Alexander Robinson back in there for a complete football game. Our passing game complimented Saturday what we did on the ground and allowed us to have our most complete offensive football game. Our challenge now is to respond to a second close defeat and to prepare with a single-mindedness and purpose for this Baylor football team.”

Q: How do you feel about moral victories?

PR: It just doesn’t exist. There’s growth and there’s improvement, that’s what we’re doing right now. We still lost two straight football games. We’d love nothing more than to be 5–1 right now, and we’re plays away from being that. That’s what losers say. That’s what the team that’s 3–3 says as opposed to the other. Our goal is, and our expectations are, to continue to improve as a football team, and we are doing that. We’re pleased with that. We’re not pleased with losing.”

Q: Do you fully expect Alexander Robinson to be out there on Saturday?

PR: Yes, he got mad at the medical staff yesterday because he wanted to run. They allowed him to lift, and we bike him, but he’s ahead this week of where he was last week, and you saw how he played and the results.

Q: There’s a depth chart change — Beau Blankenship (freshman running back from Norman, Okla. over Jeremiah Schwartz) moved up. What has he done to impress you?

PR: He has a burst, and he has an explosion about him that is probably second best to Alexander right now … we’re going to put him in a position to see if he’s capable of that. Jeremiah is and probably will remain a power back. Does that mean that’s a problem? No. But that’s what he is, and when you’re looking for the extra yards, we want to see if maybe Beau is capable of providing that for us.

Q: Last year Iowa State had a real problem with Baylor’s speed, what can be done to deal with that?

PR: They are a fast football team, they’ve got several gifted skill players that, given space, can make you pay for it. It’s something that we’re deficient in, and I don’t think that comes as a surprise to anybody. Our overall speed with all 11 guys on the field is not great; that’s why we’ve got to play so effectively in coverage and it’s why we don’t pressure as much.

Q: Do the players feel like it’s a start for a new of half of the season, as opposed to being on a two-game losing streak?

PR: No question. Our biggest challenge is preparing with a single-mindedness of purpose, and I certainly didn’t detect one bit whatsoever that that’s not the case with our football team at practice yesterday.

Austen Arnaud, junior quarterback

2009 stats: 87-for-157 attempts, 1,080 yards, eight TDs, four interceptions, six TD rushing

Q: How do you feel halfway through this season, compared to halfway through last year?

A: We’re 3–3. This time last year we were 2–4. There’s something different about this team. We felt Saturday as an offense that we couldn’t be stopped, and I think we just ran out of time.

Fred Garrin, senior linebacker

2009 stats: 39 tackles, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles

Q: Giving up so many points on defense, is that more a problem of tackling or execution?

A: Execution and tackling go hand-in-hand, and we gave up too many points to Kansas. We can’t put our offense in a position like that. It came down to execution, with our bad alignment and making plays when we had a chance to.

Derrick Catlett, senior tight end

2009 stats: 12 receptions, 163 yards, one TD

Q: Can you tell that the no-huddle offense is wearing defenses out?

A: Yeah. Coaches say that you don’t want to show weakness, but you can tell; a guy’s got his hands on his hips, he’s leaning back just gasping for air. We’ll feel like that sometimes, too, but we’re getting used to it as the weeks go on.

Q: Do you feel as comfortable blocking on the line as you do receiving out in the slot?

A: I’m not the most agile guy, so on the line is probably more my strength. I’ve just been working in practice every week. It’s starting to come a little bit more out in space.

Mondays are physical days off for the Cyclones — the team continues full-pads practices Tuesday through Thursday and will prepare for Saturday’s game against the Baylor Bears (3–2, 0–1), kicking off at 6 p.m. at Jack Trice Stadium.