I’ll start by saying I was right. In a way.
Before the season, I expected the Cyclones’ running back room to be electric. Or at least be filled with talent from top to bottom.
However, through most of the season, that was not the case. The room as a whole struggled to get anything going in most, if not all, of the games so far.
The win over BYU was different. It seemed that every running back could find success every time they touched the ball. The main three running backs – Abu Sama, Eli Sanders and Cartevious Norton – rushed for a total of 209 yards. By far the most of the season.
The room showed what it could do and what I expected it to do before the season even began.
Even Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell was impressed with the performance of the running backs and noted it as a big factor in the blowout win against BYU.
“I thought that running back room was phenomenal,” Campbell said.
The room as a whole finally showed the potential they have. The entire world caught a glimpse of what the room can do.
Iowa State has explosive backs across the board. Every running back has the ability to make big plays when it matters. That ability just has not been on display yet this season.
With how much talent the room had, a game like this past one was bound to happen.
“I’m not surprised at all. Just the talent we have on the offensive side of the ball… you get to the running back room, you got Abu Sama, Eli Sanders, Cartevious [Norton],” Jaylin Noel said. “Like, you could name everybody.”
Although you could name everyone, one name stuck out above the rest: true freshman Sama’s 110-yard day on the ground.
Sama was the first running back to hit the 100-yard mark, although Sanders came one yard shy against TCU. Most of Sama’s yards came on two explosive runs to the end zone.
“I mean, Abu Sama’s two runs are, man, I don’t know if we’ve seen that in a while,” Campbell said.
The last player that showed that dominant of a performance on the ground was most likely Breece Hall, who is the headline running back for the New York Jets. In fact, throughout the night, many fans compared Sama’s running performance and even style to that of Hall.
It was like seeing a ghost out there, as Sama showed off his Hall-esque ability to make big cuts and almost be a magnet to the end zone.
However, that performance came as no surprise if you had been watching Iowa State play all season. Throughout the season, we have seen what Sama can do on the ground and got glimpses of his true potential on the limited snaps he has gotten.
“We’ve seen spurts of Abu [Sama] this season. [Saturday] I felt like was his game that he came out and showed up,” Rocco Becht said. “He had a couple of big runs for us that really helped us win this game. We’re gonna need him next week and the rest of the season.”
I have been one of the biggest proponents of Sama throughout the season and have been calling for him to get more reps since the first week against UNI when I saw him burst out with a big 26-yard run.
Since I’ve been saying it since the start of the season, I’m not going to stop now. We need to see more of Sama going forward. He is the next great Iowa State running back, and he could be the guy to follow in the footsteps of someone like Hall or David Montgomery.
Although I can understand Campbell’s decision to give every running back a good chunk of reps. The room is talented, there is no getting around that. They just needed time to find their footing.
“I think sometimes you look at just one entity, but it’s never that,” Campbell said. “It’s really that collective group just getting better and in sync.”
Sama was not the only one with a big day. Of Iowa State’s six touchdowns, four were on the ground.
Sama ended with two, while Sanders and Norton each had one.
The group showed its ability to find open space and make big plays past BYU defenders. Sama was not the only one that made defenders look silly throughout the night.
“There’s multiple people that he was able to make miss,” Campbell said. “I think [Norton] did a really good job of that at times tonight. And then, I thought [Sanders] really set the tone for us at the beginning of the football game.”
Every running back showed what they can really do. Sama has shown his talents at times. Norton showed he can be that fall-forward type of back and push into the end zone. And over the back half of the conference season, Sanders has shown his ability to lead the room.
However, not every running back has been at their best on the same night. The running game struggled because of its lack of consistency.
That lack of consistency was nowhere to be found against BYU. The room was explosive all night long.
A performance like the one against BYU is promising for the room going forward. There is no running back that is older than a sophomore. There was bound to be a learning curve with how young the room is, but that was necessary to find its potential.
All the guys in the room needed to do was get comfortable and find their rhythm. If Iowa State wants to compete with strong teams like Texas and Kansas State, it needs to be well-balanced.
The Cyclones cannot just be a good passing offense. They need to get things figured out in the run game.
BYU was a good start.
“It being a young team, it was only a matter of time for guys to get comfortable, gain confidence,” Noel said.
Now the group has the confidence to take on any challenge ahead. With the potential we just saw Saturday night in Provo, Utah, there is no telling how good this running back room can be.
