ISU notes: Punt near midfield a swing play in 31-17 loss

AMES — Iowa State wide receiver Allen Lazard stretched all of his 6-foot-5 frame out in front of him, hoping he had enough on his third-down catch to move the chains. After a quick review from officials, they ruled he fell inches short.

That's when Coach Paul Rhoads had a decision to make. The Cyclones were set up on the favorable side of midfield and threatening to go up by two touchdowns if they ended up in the end zone. But in a 'unanimous decision as a staff,' Iowa State punted.

'Momentum was on our side at 10-3 and you've got a chance to pin them down inside the 20 for sure, I think we pinned them inside the 10,' Rhoads said.

On the ensuing Iowa possession, the Hawkeyes went 93 yards for a touchdown to knot the game at 10-10. Iowa State scored on its next possession, too, but the potential it had to score was easy to see in its 31-17 loss to Iowa on Saturday.

ISU defensive end Dale Pierson nearly caught Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard in the end zone for a safety after the punt, but Beathard ran for 44 yards on the next play to give the Hawkeyes (2-0) breathing room. The Cyclones (1-1) allowed 260 rushing yards, including 77 from Beathard, in the loss.

'You go for it and a lineman slips, they stunt into a play and you turn the ball over to them at midfield and you change the complete momentum of, potentially, the game and certainly the half,' Rhoads said. 'We were playing really good defense and had confidence in our defense to keep doing that.'

Role players Wesley, Ryen make impact on offense

On a night when two of Iowa State's top three receiving targets combined for two catches and 26 yards, senior quarterback Sam Richardson found himself looking toward a smaller target.

Five-foot-11 sophomore Jauan Wesley led Iowa State with four catches for 76 yards and a one-handed touchdown grab in his season debut. Wesley served a one-game suspension against Northern Iowa for an off-field incident in the offseason, but hauled in the 29-yard scoring pass to put Iowa State ahead 17-10 in the second quarter.

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For as clutch as he said his catch was, Wesley added he was trying to put it in the pass and figure out how to maintain the momentum that the ISU offense had in the first half. Allen Lazard had seven catches for 71 yards.

'We're going to go back and watch film and we're going to work on things we messed up on and continue to improve,' Wesley said. 'We've got a long season left.'

Red-shirt sophomore walk on Trever Ryen led the struggling rushing game with four carries for 23 yards after converting from wide receiver two weeks ago.

'At first I was pretty nervous, but I watched some film on them and knew where the hole could be,' Ryen said. 'Once I got to the second level I just tried to make a guy miss and make a big play.'

Tucker injured in second quarter

Nose guard Demond Tucker left the game in the second quarter with a sprained ankle and was carted to the locker room. He returned to the sidelines in the second half and wore a boot for the remainder of the game.

Rhoads said it is possible he could return for next weekend's game against Toledo.

'Guys still have to be in line because anybody is one play away from missing the whole game,' said linebacker Jordan Harris. 'Anybody can get hurt at any given time so Vernell Trent has to be ready.'

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