AMES — Now ranked in the AP top 25, No. 20 Iowa State will be back in action Saturday against Arkansas State. The Cyclones will enter fresh off a bye week after taking some time to rest, unwind and recover.
“I thought we took advantage of the bye week really well,” offensive lineman Tyler Miller said. “We were able to get time off and work on our scheme.”
The win against Iowa in the Cy-Hawk game instilled confidence in the team on both sides of the ball. The offense woke up to finish the job and the defense got crucial stops when they needed them most.
Now, with one last game before conference play begins, Iowa State has the opportunity to go undefeated in the non-conference portion of the schedule.
This game, in particular, has some added importance due to the fact that head coach Matt Campbell can tie former head coach Dan McCarney as the all-time winningest coach in Cyclone football history at 56 wins.
“Any success we’ve had is because we’ve had great coaches,” Campbell said. “Coach [McCarney] really laid the foundation and he laid the opportunity for all of us that followed him to be able to build and have success in this program.”
Campbell will get that chance against Arkansas State, a team that enters with a 2-1 record. The Red Wolves took their first loss of the season last week to then-No. 17 Michigan, the reigning national champion.
Against the Wolverines, Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor was held in check through the air and on the ground. He had his worst game of the season in both categories but is still the biggest piece of the Red Wolves offense.
Raynor has run for over 100 yards and thrown for over 700 yards across three games. He has five total touchdowns, three passing and two rushing, and has thrown an interception in each game.
The Iowa State linebackers will be tested once again against Raynor and senior running back Zak Wallace, who has 124 yards on 34 carries. Though he has not been able to play and will not for some time, linebacker Caleb Bacon has not strayed from helping his team and his fellow linebackers in any way he can.
“Literally, [Bacon] is in the hospital and Cael [Brezina] is sitting in the hospital bed and going through practice film with him,” Campbell said. “It’s been really rewarding to watch and it’s been rewarding to watch the guys who have played just continue to grow and get better.”
The Cyclones’ secondary will be lined up against a plethora of good Arkansas State wide receivers. Five players in its receiver room have either caught more than 10 passes, racked up over 100 yards, or have scored a touchdown.
Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht mentioned that this could be the week the Cyclone offense has a third pass catcher enter the picture. The bye week gave him more confidence that other guys can step up, rather than just senior wide receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll see on Saturday if those guys are going to be able to step up and become that third receiver,” Becht said.
In the running back room, this may be the week the run game gets going. Running backs Abu Sama III, Jaylon Jackson and Carson Hansen have been the guys in the backfield trying to get some production going.
However, not one of the Cyclone running backs has eclipsed 100 yards yet. Sama is likely to do so this week, at 94 yards through two games.
The matchup between Iowa State and Arkansas State will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+.
