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Notebook: The streak finally ends
By Josh Johnston
Date Posted: 2009-09-19
KENT, Ohio - Iowa State snapped its 17-game road losing streak by beating Kent State 34-14 Saturday night.
Previous to Saturday night’s victory, the Cyclones last won on the road against Texas A&M on Oct. 29, 2005. ISU won that game 42-14.
Since then, ISU had lost at Kansas (24-21 in overtime) in 2005; at Iowa (27-17), at Texas (37-14), at Oklahoma (34-9), at Kansas State (31-10) and at Colorado (33-16) in 2006; at Toledo (36-35), at Nebraska (35-17), at Texas Tech (42-17), at Missouri (42-28) and at Kansas (45-7) in 2007; and at Iowa (17-5), at UNLV (34-31 in overtime), at Baylor (38-10), at Oklahoma State (59-17), at Colorado (28-24) and at Kansas State (38-30) in 2008.
“I’ve got a football team that’s very thrilled to have a road victory,” ISU coach Paul Rhoads said, “and very pleased to be at 2-1 right now.”
Nearly perfect on third down
Rhoads said one thing he wanted his defense to focus on was stopping Kent State on third down. Last week, the Cyclones’ defense allowed Iowa to convert 8 of 13 third down attempts. This week, ISU did better … much better.
“One of the primary things we talked about right before the locker room was being successful on third down,” Rhoads said. “(Kent State) ended up 1 of 12 on the conversion rate, so I’m very happy about that.”
The Flashes’ only third-down conversion came on an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Spencer Keith to wide receiver Derek McBryde with 6 minutes, 43 seconds left in the game.
Running the ball
Led by Alexander Robinson, the Cyclones rushed for 234 yards against the Flashes. On the year, ISU has rushed for nearly 200 yards a game.
“We’ve ran the ball effectively three games in a row,” Rhoads said. “If you can run the football like that, you’re going to be in ball games.”
Robinson did well finding holes in Kent State’s line and exploiting them for huge gains. His four rushing attempts in ISU’s first drive of the third quarter helped put the Cyclones up 34-7.
By running the ball, the Cyclones kept Kent State’s defense on the field, leading to sloppy plays and penalties. The Flashes racked up 69 yards on eight penalties.
Darks and Johnson make catches… finally
After failing to make any receptions in their first two games, wide receivers Darius Darks and Sedrick Johnson finally made their first catches.
Darks pulled down one catch for four yards, while Johnson made two receptions for eight yards.
Last season, Darks made 49 receptions for 477 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson caught 18 balls for 188 yards and three touchdowns.
By Josh Johnston
Date Posted: 2009-09-19
Sedrick Johnson made two receptions for eight yards Saturday, his first catches of the season. Last year, Johnson collected 18 catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns.
Photo by Daniel Doherty/Special to the Tribune
Photo by Daniel Doherty/Special to the Tribune
KENT, Ohio - Iowa State snapped its 17-game road losing streak by beating Kent State 34-14 Saturday night.
Previous to Saturday night’s victory, the Cyclones last won on the road against Texas A&M on Oct. 29, 2005. ISU won that game 42-14.
Since then, ISU had lost at Kansas (24-21 in overtime) in 2005; at Iowa (27-17), at Texas (37-14), at Oklahoma (34-9), at Kansas State (31-10) and at Colorado (33-16) in 2006; at Toledo (36-35), at Nebraska (35-17), at Texas Tech (42-17), at Missouri (42-28) and at Kansas (45-7) in 2007; and at Iowa (17-5), at UNLV (34-31 in overtime), at Baylor (38-10), at Oklahoma State (59-17), at Colorado (28-24) and at Kansas State (38-30) in 2008.
“I’ve got a football team that’s very thrilled to have a road victory,” ISU coach Paul Rhoads said, “and very pleased to be at 2-1 right now.”
Nearly perfect on third down
Rhoads said one thing he wanted his defense to focus on was stopping Kent State on third down. Last week, the Cyclones’ defense allowed Iowa to convert 8 of 13 third down attempts. This week, ISU did better … much better.
“One of the primary things we talked about right before the locker room was being successful on third down,” Rhoads said. “(Kent State) ended up 1 of 12 on the conversion rate, so I’m very happy about that.”
The Flashes’ only third-down conversion came on an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Spencer Keith to wide receiver Derek McBryde with 6 minutes, 43 seconds left in the game.
Running the ball
Led by Alexander Robinson, the Cyclones rushed for 234 yards against the Flashes. On the year, ISU has rushed for nearly 200 yards a game.
“We’ve ran the ball effectively three games in a row,” Rhoads said. “If you can run the football like that, you’re going to be in ball games.”
Robinson did well finding holes in Kent State’s line and exploiting them for huge gains. His four rushing attempts in ISU’s first drive of the third quarter helped put the Cyclones up 34-7.
By running the ball, the Cyclones kept Kent State’s defense on the field, leading to sloppy plays and penalties. The Flashes racked up 69 yards on eight penalties.
Darks and Johnson make catches… finally
After failing to make any receptions in their first two games, wide receivers Darius Darks and Sedrick Johnson finally made their first catches.
Darks pulled down one catch for four yards, while Johnson made two receptions for eight yards.
Last season, Darks made 49 receptions for 477 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson caught 18 balls for 188 yards and three touchdowns.
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