The Iowa State football team suffered a huge blow this week when it was learned that wide receiver Damien Groce will be shelved for the rest of the season with a broken right arm.

The senior wideout from San Bernadino, Calif., broke it when he dove for a pass and landed on his shoulder. The Cyclones realize it will be a huge loss.

“He’s an outstanding player, really an All-Big 12 receiver. He’s really broken up about it, and my heart goes out to him,” Coach Dan McCarney said.

The Cyclones will now be forced to rely on either Michael Brantley and/or J.J. Moses, both of whom have been sporadic in their effectiveness so far this season.

While Moses possesses the big-play ability that was his trademark as a prep star at Waterloo West, he has made very few plays in the course of running a regular route.

He excels when given the ball in an open-field area, such as a screen or a reverse, but has not yet shown the ability to excel in every down situations. The onus will now be on him to do just that.

Brantley, meanwhile, has three catches for 39 yards so far this season, and the senior has been in the system for five years now.

A year ago, Brantley made 11 receptions for 222 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown reception in the season opener against TCU.

Also expected to see more playing time are Kenyatta Burris and Reggie Moorer, both of whom have little experience on the field.

Expected to take a bigger role in the offense now will be split end Chris Anthony, who has not shown the ability to make the big catch down the field. On the season, Anthony has caught seven balls for 37 yards, a paltry 5.3 yard average.

Groce, meanwhile, has nine catches for 226 yards, good for an average of 24.4 yards, which is tops in the Big 12. Groce had 47 receptions for 640 yards and seven touchdowns, which placed him second all-time on the Cyclones’ all-time single season receiving touchdown list.

His touchdown this year gives him nine for his Iowa State career, placing him tied for eighth all-time with Luther Blue. Groce had several big plays this season, including an 80-yard touchdown catch against Iowa, and a 50-yard reception against the Cornhuskers.

“He worked extremely hard to put himself in a position to have a good year both academically and athletically and now his season is over,” McCarney said.

However, McCarney said that the depth at wide receiver should help the situation.

“We have a lot of talent and depth at receiver so we should be all right. I am very happy with the guys we have out there, we have a very good five-man rotation. Brantley, Anthony, Moses, Burris are all good, and (freshman Jamaul) Montgomery we are looking at, we might pull him out of a redshirt,” McCarney said.

The Cyclones rely mainly on a power running attack, which take the pressure off quarterbacks Derrick Walker and Sage Rosenfels, but the lack of a passing game has hurt when ISU falls behind.

The first test for the Groce-less Cyclones will come this Saturday against Missouri. ISU has not won a conference road game since 1991, when they were able to pull off a 23-22 upset in Columbia.

If they hope for a repeat performance, they will need several key contributors to step up in the absence of their best receiver.