Training through adversity carried Iowa State through camp, into game week

AMES - Evidence of adversity could be found throughout last season's game tape as Sam Richardson sat and watched during the off-season.

When Iowa State felt the pressure, something negative was sure to happen.

Time and again, the Cyclones were in position to take control of a game or make a last-ditch effort to win. Although there was an exception or two, more often than not, they came up short. So the mission was simple - replay those scenarios in the off-season and learn why they happened.

'We kind of went into certain situations and put ourselves in the situations we were in last season when we had opportunities to finish a game or come back from a game to win it,” Richardson said. 'We've done training on it, but I don't think you'll get a grasp on it until you're in that situation.”

It might be a mystery how Iowa State will respond to adversity until it faces Northern Iowa in the season opener Saturday. But off-season workouts made one thing clear, they won't be short on high-pressure situations.

The Cyclones lost three games by four points or less a year ago - No. 20 Kansas State, at Texas and Texas Tech - with a chance to win each in the final minutes. But whether it was a big play on defense, a turnover or a stall out on offense, they all ended the same way.

So during fall camp, Iowa State got a face full of reality. The offense would be put in a long yardage situation, and was asked to move the chains. When the team looked for an example, it didn't have to look much further than when North Dakota State scored 34 unanswered points after Iowa State went up 14-0 early in last season's opener.

'We could put the score on the board and the teams on the board then have them turn around and look and say, ‘Here she was,'” Rhoads said. ''This was the final result and it's going to happen again. Let's be prepared to finish it positively.'”

'What they're learning from that is being in this position every day on the practice field is second nature and we know how to handle it,” said offensive coordinator Mark Mangino. 'Now we have to carry that over to the games. That's the challenge.”

Rhoads asked all of the ISU graduate assistants to go through each game last season, and compile a segment of the fourth quarter. Conversely, the defense was put in gamelike situations when they were asked to stop a touchdown in goal line situations and as camp progressed, the meaning those drills intensified.

'The reasons we were in those situations is because we didn't finish those games,” said linebacker Levi Peters. 'This year we're going to finish those games. We're going to be tough in the fourth quarter. That kind of gave us adversity and we said, ‘Here's our situation. Are you going to get it done in these games?'”

There was plenty of adversity for Iowa State the last time the Panthers came to Ames. UNI beat the Cyclones, 28-20, in Ames behind four touchdowns from David Johnson, but veteran offensive players like Richardson and a host of receivers, as well as a junior-college-laden defense has given reason to think there might be improvement.

But nothing is a guarantee.

'We'll see if we're ready to respond to adversity because she'll come,” Rhoads said. 'Not just once or twice, she'll come throughout the game and we'll see if what we've done in the off-season has been good enough.”

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