No. 14 Iowa State travels to Jonesboro, Arkansas, to take on Arkansas State in its last non-conference game of the season at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The Cyclones are sitting at 3-0 with two wins over Power Four conference opponents, jumping eight spots from the preseason poll that had them at No. 22. A win against the Red Wolves would give the Cyclones an undefeated record heading into conference play.
Being one of the teams that played in Week 0, the Cyclones could also be a little more fatigued going into game four compared to the Red Wolves’ third. The first road game in the United States may seem like an easy win, but Arkansas State will give the Cyclones a test.
“I think these are the things that we knew would be great challenges for this particular season,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said. “These are things we had addressed and really kind of tried to pound away at since January.”
The Cyclones get a bye week following the contest against the Red Wolves, but they need to get past them first if they want to keep climbing the rankings.
The game isn’t the only battle the Cyclones will be in. The temperature in Jonesboro has a high of 96 degrees, but it could have a feels-like temperature in the 100s on the field.
“It’s going to be hot everywhere, not just in Jonesboro, right?” Campbell said. “The reality of it is, I think the last scrimmage we had was, you know, at four o’clock and 107 feels-like temperature. And we had 124 reps.”
Iowa State has multiple opportunities to expose the Red Wolves on the field. Although the passing game has been working for the Cyclones, it may be time to delve deeper into the rushing attack.
In their game against Arkansas last week, the Red Wolves gave up a combined 323 rushing yards, including multiple carries over 50 yards. The Cyclones’ running back tandem of juniors Abu Sama III and Carson Hansen is yet to break off a run farther than 30 yards, so this may be the game to do it.
“Me and [Hansen] got a great relationship,” Sama said. “We always just push each other, you know, to always come on the field and just play our best. If I’m not my best, he’s gonna get me to my best. If he’s not his best, I’m gonna get him to his best.”
Sama currently has 113 yards and a touchdown this season and Hansen has 136 yards and no touchdowns, so the Cyclone offense does not have a clear lead back.
On the opposite side of the ball, the defense has its hands full with Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, who has thrown for 470 yards over two games and can be dangerous running as well.
“The reality of it is the respect first and foremost for Arkansas State,” Campbell said. “I mean, this will be the best quarterback, in my opinion, that from a mobility, throw ability, play-making ability standpoint that we’re going to play. He’s got all the tools. You know, we saw that last year against him here.”
The defense needs to be able to contain Raynor, or else he can make big plays happen through the air or on the ground. Arkansas sacked Raynor four times a week ago, and it might be crucial that the Cyclones can do something similar.
Sophomore defensive back Marcus Neal Jr. will be part of the action while slowing down Raynor. He leads the Cyclones with 22 tackles and was the first player to log a sack this season, despite playing in the secondary.
“That’s nice, you know, just to go out there and make plays,” Neal said. “I was just doing my job and that [sack] came, so it was just really nice.”
Despite being 1-1 and getting pummeled by Arkansas, Neal and the rest of the defense understand the weight this game could hold. They aren’t changing their approach whatsoever.
“You can’t just go in there and take them lightly, because they are a nice team with a nice quarterback, nice guys on the perimeter,” Neal said. “They will beat you if you let them.”
No. 14 Iowa State travels to Jonesboro, Arkansas, for a test against the Red Wolves at 3 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
