The Iowa State Cyclones return to action on Saturday with a visit to 22nd-ranked Northern Illinois. The Cyclones were idle last week and coach Dan McCarney says the time off allowed them to heal up and put the loss to Iowa behind them. He says they don’t have good feelings from the game, but they have refocused and moved on. McCarney says they only have one loss, not nine, and he’s pleased with the way the team has responded.McCarney says offensive lineman Bob Montgomery could see action after missing the first three games with a broken foot. Montgomery’s return would help a unit that has had difficulty establishing a ground game as he’s the anchor of the line. McCarney says Montgomery has helped the team in a lot of ways even though he hasn’t been in the first three games. He says it’ll help even more to have his 300 pound body out there blocking. Two blocked punts were costly in the loss to Iowa and McCarney says until that problem is solved, opponents will use a heavy rush. McCarney says “the blood’s in the water” and N-I-U will come after them early in the game to try and get another block. Running back Michael Turner has been a key for the Huskie offense and Cyclone nose tackle Nick Leaders says the defensive front will need to be strong. He says they send a lot of linemen at you and try to push you out of the way.Leaders says the Cyclones will need good hands on defense with great tackling, especially against Turner who is a big back.
