Yelk hopes to shed the yoke of missed kicks

Iowa State kicker Tony Yelk is looking forward to his next opportunity to win a game for the Cyclones. Yelk missed what would have been a game-winning field goal on the final play of an Independence Bowl loss to Alabama. Yelk hopes the experience helps him in late game situations this season. He says it will hopefully make them more mentally tough this year. Yelk is locked in a battle with junior Adam Benike for the place kicking chores. He says he doesn’t know how things would be different if the kick at the end of the Alabama game was good. Yelk says he has put that kick behind him and is ready to move on. He says it was frustrating to know that kick might’ve made a difference. He says his teammates have been very supportive and he understands he has to be more consistent.Cyclone coach Dan McCarney says Yelk has bounced back well since the Independence Bowl. He says he doesn’t talk about it much and isn’t worried about keeping a constant psychological check on Yelk.McCarney says the competition should help the Cyclones get more production from the place kicker spot this season. He says he feels better about it this year and says they need better production than the 8 of 18 field goals they got last year.Iowa State opens the season Saturday night against third-ranked Florida State in the Eddie Robinson Classic.