Cyclone football coach Paul Rhoads.
Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads is not concerned about his team remaining on cloud nine too long. After a 37-23 win at 13th ranked TCU the Cyclones get ready for another challenge this weekend when they host fifth ranked Kansas State.
“That’s life in the Big 12 and our guys understand that. I don’t think there was any problem, them coming back down or this victory lingering, just like the last loss didn’t linger. Two things that make me very proud of where our program stands right now,” Rhoads says.
“We quickly moved ahead to preparation and what needed to be done, because if you don’t, the number five team in the country is gonna run you out of your own stadium.” Big road wins are becoming commonplace for the Cyclones who have beaten a rated foe away from home in each of the last three seasons.
“We had great preparation, we knew if we went down there and took that preparation and executed, that we could win the football game, and that’s exactly what we did. So there was not surprise in the result of the game,” Rhoads says.
The Cyclone defense needs to find a way to slow down a K-State offense that is averaging better than 43 points per game led by the running and passing of quarterback Collin Klein. Rhoads says it is uncanny how long it takes play to develop and you keep expecting someone to show up and make a tackle and they don’t.
Rhoads says it is tough to get the K-State offense off the field. The Wildcats convert on 54% of their third down opportunities by putting themselves in manageable situations and Klein is the reason for that. Sophomore Jared Barnett tossed three touchdown passes in his first start of the season at quarterback.
Rhoads says he needs to be consistent to hang on to the job as he is one of 11 guys and the quarterback position is the most important, but he says the quarterback does not have to do the job of two people. The Cyclone pass rush has shown improvement the last couple of weeks and Rhoads says much of the reason is the push from senior nose tackle Jake McDonough.
The game Saturday kicks off at 11 a.m.