Tiller does the job for Cyclones

AMES - To win its first Big 12 Conference game in almost two years, Iowa State was forced to turn to a backup quarterback who hadn't played in a month.

And neither Jerome Tiller, nor his teammates batted an eye.

“He stepped in and the kids rallied around him,” Coach Paul Rhoads said following the Cyclones' 24-10 victory over Baylor Saturday night at Jack Trice Stadium. “They have a lot of confidence in both those quarterbacks. There was no worry or no panic. They knew Jerome would come in and do the job.”

With starter Austen Arnaud nursing a bruised throwing hand, Tiller was summoned early in the third quarter.

He had no idea Arnaud was hurting.

“I was on the sidelines and coach said to warm up. I said, ‘Yes, sir,'” Tiller said.

Tiller immediately came in and scored his first career touchdown, a 20-yard dash off the right side. The red-shirt freshman from San Antonio showed some serious speed and acceleration.

“It was a designed call,” Tiller said. “I dropped back, saw the hole, took off and kept my eyes on the end zone.”

Tiller finished with 74 yards rushing and completed 7 of 8 passes for 48 yards.

He nearly had another scoring run in the fourth quarter, spinning out of a tackle in the middle of the field with nothing but open field ahead.

Tiller's legs got moving a little too quickly and he fell forward after a gain of 17 yards.

“The sniper shot me,” Tiller joked. “He took out both my feet.”

Arnaud is expected to be ready for ISU's 11:30 a.m. game at Nebraska this week.

Tiller's experience before Saturday consisted of mop-up duty in games against Iowa and Kent State. He looked comfortable against the Bears.

“He's matured a lot,” said tight end Derrick Catlett. “He was a little questionable in the beginning of the season, but he stepped in and picked up where Austen left off. He did a great job.”

So did Catlett and the rest of ISU's receivers.

Senior Marquis Hamilton (nine) and freshman Josh Lenz (seven) set or equaled career highs in receptions and receiving yards. Several of those grabs had a high degree of difficulty or came with defenders waiting to deliver a big blow.

“You are going to get hit regardless, you might as well catch it,” said Catlett, who matched a season high with five grabs, including a 4-yard touchdown.

The Cyclones (4-3, 1-2 Big 12) had an impressive night offensively, even without Arnaud and top tailback Alexander Robinson most of the second half.

Rhoads will know more about Robinson's condition today. The Big 12's second-leading rusher appeared to re-aggravate his injured groin on a third-quarter rush.

ISU held the ball for more than 36 minutes and converted 12 of 18 opportunities on third down.

With 454 yards Saturday - 240 of them rushing - and 512 the previous week at Kansas, ISU has topped 450 or more yards of total offense in consecutive games.

Next up are the Huskers (4-2, 1-1), who dropped out of both the Associated Press and coaches polls Sunday following a 31-10 home loss to Texas Tech.

The Cyclones are gaining confidence with each game and are two wins shy of bowl eligibility.

“It feels good,” linebacker Fred Garrin said. “We just know we have to keep paying and keep going and hopefully we can make our dreams come true.”

-Eric Petersen, Correspondent