Netten, special teams a factor in Iowa-ISU series

AMES - Aside from his love for producing videos, Cole Netten stays under the radar in his daily life.

He prefers it that way.

Just hours after the Iowa State kicker nailed a 42-yard field goal to give the Cyclones a three-point win against Iowa last season, Netten wasn't out celebrating. He was at home, hanging with friends and playing video games.

The significance of the game-winning kick wasn't lost on Netten. But as he's learned, the pitfalls of getting too high or too low can be his undoing. Reactions of his heroics from classmates and professors weren't over the top, and conversely, he didn't get much grief from Hawkeyes fans.

'Not death threats, luckily. I probably would have had some if I missed it,” Netten said, joking. 'That's a good thing I didn't have any of those, but a lot of positivity. Even friends and family who are Hawkeye fans are like, ‘I'm always cheering for you no matter what.' It lasted for quite awhile.”

Iowa State and Iowa will face off again Saturday, but Netten has tried to approach the game with a clean slate. The red-shirt junior was just 1-for-3 against Northern Iowa - with misses of 38 and 41 yards - and his lone make was a 24-yarder.

Netten hit 11 straight field goals to start last season, but missed five in a row between last season and the season opener. Given the Ankeny native's history - he's 25-for-35 in his career - Iowa State Coach Paul Rhoads wasn't concerned about the misses. He just wasn't pleased.

'One was jitters; that's what he gave me on the sideline,” Rhoads said. 'I get that to a certain extent, especially with the opening game, stadium and crowd and all that. The second one was fundamentals and technique so that's what we've got to make sure he fixes. He will.”

Netten grew up an Iowa State fan and in that time, roughly 20 years, the Cy-Hawk series has been dead even. Both have won two of the last four and those games were all by six points or less, so when Netten enters Jack Trice Stadium, he knows it could very well come down to his leg again.

'The more you miss, there's more pressure, but you've got to have a short memory,” Netten said. 'You've got to know your team has confidence in you and that your coach has confidence in you and most importantly, you have confidence in yourself.”

Several matchups in the last decade have prominently featured special teams. Iowa State used five field goals in 2007 to grab a 15-13 home win and held Iowa without a touchdown in 2012 for a 9-6 win.

The Hawkeyes have used special teams to score wins in the series, too, most recently an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown by Andy Brodell to catapult Iowa to a 17-5 win in 2008.

In a stroke of chance, ISU punt returner Trever Ryen also returned an 81-yard punt for a score in the season opener, adding to what was already a prolific night on special teams. Ryen and Allen Lazard combined for a school record 193 punt return yards.

Ryen defied conventional punt-return practices when he picked the ball up after four bounces, but he saw his wall of blockers and followed them to the right.

'We'll bring the wall to you. You just run to us and we'll help you out,'” Ryen said, remembering what he was told. 'I didn't really look. Right as I got it, I just kind of took off and went over there and they had it all set up for me. I just took it to the house for them.”

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