ISU kicker Mike McKnight gave the Cyclones special teams a much needed boost with a perfect afternoon Saturday in the Cyclones 37-22 victory over the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. McKnight, a junior, was a perfect 7-of-7 to account for 13 of the Cyclones’ 37 points. McKnight kicked three field goals and four extra points. “I’m really proud of Mike McKnight, with the kicks that he made. He had an outstanding week of practice, and he kicked [Saturday] like he did all week. That’s all I ask of him,” said Cyclone coach Dan McCarney. In the season opener, the Cyclones kicking game struggled as McKnight missed a field goal and an extra point while freshman kicker Tony Yelk also missed an extra point. The missed field goal came from 50 yards, which is not an easy distance, and McKnight was more upset over the missed extra point. McKnight went back to the drawing board in practice and found results Saturday as he was not bothered by a stiff wind coming in from the south. “I just did my usual thing in practice. That one kick last week was just bad and I went through and made sure my mechanics were very sound and that nothing was going wrong at all,” McKnight said. “During pre-game when we kick, that’s when we judge what’s going on with the wind. I was hitting kicks from 42 to 45 yards into the wind that were going very straight. A cross wind can do something to a kick but the winds were straight out there today.” The wind effect was very obvious on kickoffs. With the strong wind at his back, McKnight was blasting kickoffs out of the end zone, but facing the wind, he could only get it to the 10-yard line. “We were trying to kick knuckleballs into the wind. Just try and keep the ball down because if it gets up in the air, it’s going to die. With a 25 mile per hour wind and an open end like that, it’s just like a wind tunnel,” McKnight said. McKnight drilled field goals of 26, 34 and 40 yards Saturday to raise his season mark to 5-of-6 on field goal attempts. Last season, McKnight struggled with inconsistency and finished the season 7-of-13 on field goals. McKnight has taken a lot of heat from critics and Cyclone special teams coach Bobby Elliott was happy to see his kicker come through with a big day. “Mike McKnight did a super job. We’re so happy for him because he’s taken some abuse because there’s a lot of pressure on him, and boy I was glad to see him fight through all of that. He’s a good kid with a great attitude about things,” Elliott said. McKnight received plenty of encouragement from his teammates with every kick he made. “My teammates were very supportive. They were giving me high fives and a slap on the back and everything. It’s a real nice feeling to have everybody back me,” McKnight said. The Cyclone offense tallied 436 total yards Saturday but the Cyclone offense stalled on occasion, allowing McKnight to come in and provide three points. “It was really great seeing Mike kick like that, and I feel great for him. He worked really hard in practice, and he came through big for us with those field goals. Kicking against that wind isn’t as easy as it looks and he was right down the middle on extra points,” quarterback Sage Rosenfels said. McKnight will look to keep his momentum going Saturday at Iowa and is looking forward to doing his part to help the Cyclones make it three-in-a-row in the intrastate rivalry. “I’m excited to go there. I’ve never played at Kinnick Stadium before, and the rivalry is so good that I can’t help but be excited,” McKnight said.