Iowa State’s often overlooked offensive line is becoming an area of strength

AMES — Sure, Hunter Dekkers made a fine throw.

Yes, Xavier Hutchinson rose up for an epic touchdown catch.

But the connection between Iowa State’s quarterback and top receiver served merely as the headline of the story for the Cyclones’ 21-play, 99-yard touchdown drive that essentially cemented a 10-7 win Saturday at Iowa.

So who were the ultimate supporting players?

The guys up front on the offensive line, who could continue to form a five-man source of strength in Saturday’s 1 p.m. home game against Ohio and beyond.

“When we first came off (the field) a couple of us asked, “How many plays was that?” Cyclone redshirt junior guard Jarrod Hufford said of the drive that helped snap a six-game Cy-Hawk series losing streak. “It felt like a long time — almost 12 minutes long, but I think our mindset as an offensive line (was) we were just going to take it to them. We were going to definitely be the more physical team and I think just being more physical, it didn’t make it seem like it was that many plays, but it was just over and over and over. And you could tell with their defense, it was like, ‘OK, let’s rotate the guys.’ So it was definitely quite an experience.”

Especially since projected starting right tackle Jake Remsburg missed his second straight game because of a lower-body injury. Backup Grant Treiber performed well in his stead and may need to continue to do so Saturday against the Bobcats (1-1). The Cyclones — who stand 2-0 for the first time since 2012 — may also be without backup tailback Cartevious Norton, who sustained a leg injury in the 42-10 season-opening win over Southeast Missouri State.

“Both of those guys are trending right there to being ready to go and, boy, I don’t think there’ll be any greater joy (than) to have those guys ready to play on the field,” ISU head coach Matt Campbell said. “I think they’re really close.”

So are the Cyclones’ offensive linemen, who play a position where improvements tend to come incrementally. They grind, toil and block so others can shine in the spotlight. They must be near-perfect while combining brute strength with detail-driven precision — and so far, ISU’s front five have proved to be adept at that balancing act.

“I think there is a lot of growth that we have seen in terms of where we would like to be with consistency,” Campbell said of his O-line, which allowed a sack on the Cyclones’ first offensive series but otherwise kept Dekkers’ jersey clean.

“The ability to play well through the first eight quarters of the football season on the offensive line, again, I think those are all positives when you do lose a guy like Jake. Jake was playing really well in fall camp and I think there’s a lot of credit there to Grant Treiber, and I would equally say the credit to (senior center) Trevor Downing, with what we’ve asked him to do to move inside and play center. I know he did it in the bowl game a year ago, but I really think that’s anchored us in a lot of ways. He’s the quarterback of the offensive line. From a strategic standpoint, he’s doing a lot of things for us.”

Good things. Great things, even — like that 21-play, 99-yard touchdown drive against an excellent Hawkeye defense. It started up front, where few care to look, but the groundwork for success always begins.

“Our O-line was phenomenal,” said ISU hybrid tight end and former North Scott standout Jared Rus. “It was the best I’ve seen our O-line play.”

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com