LINCOLN, Neb. – The ISU running game hasn’t quite found its place on the offense yet.

With Stevie Hicks and Jason Scales – the first and second string running backs, respectively – out with injuries, Greg Coleman was forced to step in against Nebraska on Saturday. Hicks attempted one rush in the first quarter and gained four yards before leaving the field. He was wearing street clothes when he returned for the second half and watched the remainder of the game from the sidelines.

“Stevie tried to give it a go – he couldn’t go, so we’ll go into another week, and try and rehab him and rest him,” said coach Dan McCarney. “He can go three quarters, 70 percent, 80, I don’t know, but if he can’t go 100 percent, he’s going to hurt our football team. That’s why we got him off the field right away.

“Hopefully, he’ll have a better chance next week, because he’s obviously our best man.”

Against Nebraska, Coleman had 20 attempts for 65 yards, averaging 3.2 yards per carry.

This season, the third stringer has 36 attempts for 123 yards, averaging 41 yards per game, with his longest carry at 11 yards. He averages 3.4 yards per game, and has two touchdowns so far.

His teammates said the contribution Coleman made has gone above and beyond what anyone expected to get out of him.

“I wouldn’t say he’s trying to fill the hole, I’d say he’s done it,” said quarterback Bret Meyer. “He ran the ball great [Saturday] and took care of the ball. He picked up some big blitzes.

“Greg played a complete game, and that’s what we expect from him, and that’s what we got.”

Coleman scored a crucial touchdown in the first overtime Saturday, rushing through the middle from 10 yards out to give the Cyclones a 20-13 advantage.

“[Coleman] stepped up big for us. We asked him to, we challenged him to, and he’s a good football player,” said receiver Austin Flynn. “He just needs to come out and play like it. I think he proved that today. I think he did what we asked him to – what we wanted him to.”

With the returns of Hicks and Scales unknown, Coleman may be getting even more calls this Saturday against Baylor.

“[Coleman’s] giving us everything he’s got, and I’m really proud of him,” McCarney said. “Ball security, durability, blocking, trying to get us extra yards – that’s not bad for a number three.”

For now, anyway, third string is who the Cyclones are running since he has proven to the team that he is capable.

“We went out there with our third tailback, and I’m real proud of him,” McCarney said.