AMES — Iowa State’s rushing attack had struggled to find its groove during the first two games of the season against North Dakota and Iowa.
In both of those games combined, the Cyclones could only muster up 175 yards on the ground on 50 attempts, across five different runners.
The leading carrier from those games was sophomore Abu Sama III, who had 94 yards on 22 carries. Sama, who was expected to continue his late freshman performance, had struggled to come to form in his second season with Iowa State.
But when it came time for Saturday’s game against Arkansas State, the Cyclones rushing attack came alive and shredded the Red Wolves defense for 237 yards and five touchdowns in their 52-7 win on Saturday.
This offensive output helped Iowa State set a new milestone in its history, as head coach Matt Campbell is now tied with Dan McCarney for the most wins as a head coach for the Cyclones with 56.
Sophomore Carson Hansen led the crowded running back room on Saturday, as he converted two touchdowns on nine carries for 58 yards. Both touchdowns would go down as the first two that Hansen would score in his time with Iowa State.
“It’s something you dream of,” Hansen said. “Credit to the offensive line because they blocked great this week.”
Along with the two scores, Hansen also had a hand in playing some defense for the Cyclones, as he recorded a forced fumble after an interception thrown by quarterback Connor Moberly late in the third quarter.
“It was cool to play defense for one play,” Hansen said.
Despite Hansen being the highlighted tailback Saturday, Iowa State had four different running backs get touches in this game, including two freshmen who also got their first scores of their collegiate careers.
Aiden Flora and Dylan Lee got their opportunity to shine in front of the home crowd, as each running back would find their way into the endzone on Saturday.
“[Flora] has been one of the highlights of fall camp,” Campbell said. “[Lee] has continued to impress and it fosters great competition and camaraderie across our team.”
In such a crowded running back room, it is hard to get an opportunity to get a chance to come into the game and make an impact, but because of what unfolded early in the game, both backs got their chance to shine in a big way.
“I’m really proud of those guys,” Hansen said. “They put so much work in and to see them get it done on Saturday is really cool.”
Although the running backs took control of the day, the passing game for the Cyclones was still effective, but this time the tight ends got a chance to get more involved aside from the star wide receivers.
Sophomore Benjamin Brahmer led the way for the tight end group with three catches for 73 yards. Brahmer made his impact felt after battling through an injury in this early season stretch.
Redshirt junior Tyler Moore was the only one in the group to score a touchdown in this game and finished his day with two catches for 17 yards along with the score.
“We got really good tight ends who can catch the ball, and if we can control the run game like we did today, we’re gonna be open in the pass game,” Brahmer said.
