With the introduction of offensive coordinator Tom Herman and his wide-open, no-huddle spread offense, ISU fans expected to see strong numbers put up through the air.

After Saturday’s 34-14 win at Kent State, however, air attacks have not done the most damage for the Cyclones.

“We’ve run the ball effectively three games in a row,” head coach Paul Rhoads said. “[We’re] somewhere around 200 yards per game, and if you can run the ball like that, you’re going to have a chance to win.”

Iowa State, led by running back Alexander Robinson, racked up 234 yards on the ground, bringing the season total to 628 yards in the first three games.

Robinson put up his second straight 100-yard rushing performance of the season, cutting and pounding his way through the Golden Flashes’ defense for 143 yards and a touchdown.

“Alexander took advantage of some holes that were opened up, but he’s partially responsible for opening those holes,” Rhoads said. “He pressed in certain spots that aided in those holes opening up and made the most of them down field.”

The game was Robinson’s fifth career 100-yard performance. Last season, the back only managed 465 yards in 11 games, with a season high of 101 yards against Colorado.

Robinson’s season total is now up to 335 yards, meaning the junior from Minneapolis, Minn., is averaging a career high of 108.7 yards per game.

“Any time you have the holes — that we have the holes that we had tonight, as a running back, you have to give a lot of credit to the offensive line,” Robinson said. “They’ve been going after it all year, and that’s something that I’m definitely thankful for.”

The offensive line for Iowa State likely had a great deal of success because of its tremendous size advantage. The five starters for the Cyclones average 326 pounds. The Kent State front four averages only 255 pounds.

“[Robinson] had a huge game for us tonight, and we lean on that guy because he makes a lot of big plays with his feet,” quarterback Austen Arnaud said in a post-game interview. “Our offensive line, give credit to them. They played physical tonight and have played nasty in all three games this year. We’re just trying to keep that going in our run game, and it’s going pretty well so far.

The Cyclones’ running game features more than Robinson, as Arnaud has rushed for 186 yards in the three games, along with three rushing touchdowns. Freshman running back Jeremiah Schwartz has also accounted for 85 yards on just 16 carries.

“It’s a point of emphasis, and if we’re going to continue to be a physical football team, which we preach all the time, you’ve got to be able to run the football,” Rhoads said.

Another point of emphasis, according to Rhoads, has been hanging on to the football.

In the first two games, the Cyclones’ runners fumbled nine times, losing six of them. Robinson was the only one not bitten by the fumble bug in the game Saturday, as Arnaud and Schwartz each turned the ball over by a fumble in the game.

Through the air, the Cyclones haven’t put up the numbers that the ground game has this year. The passing aspect of the offense is struggling at just 521 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions. Against Kent State, however, Iowa State was able to get 170 yards passing, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jake Williams.

The passing attack needed a good performance on the road to bounce back from a 113-yard, five-interception performance against Iowa.

“There are things about this offense that aren’t that tricky and aren’t that cute, and we’ve got to take advantage of that,” Rhoads said. “When you can throw and catch balls like we did, it tends to take care of your confidence and get you back moving forward.”

Still, the Cyclones have been anything but steady in their first three games.

Saturday’s game was the second 34-point performance from the offense thus far, but a three-point effort in week two showed a lack of consistency in the young offense’s execution. The Cyclones have also averaged 82 yards worth of penalties in the last two games.

“We’re very inconsistent right now,” Robinson said in a post-game interview. “That’s going to hurt us down the road if we don’t fix that.”