Cyclones looking for big bang

AMES — Explosive plays often occur naturally through busted coverage or tricks. That's certainly been the case for Iowa State.

Against Kansas, the Cyclones used offensive lineman Jake Campos as a decoy while wide receiver D'Vario Montgomery ran the seam and was hit for a 33-yard gain late in the second quarter. The reception set up a late touchdown and gave Iowa State a 17-0 lead.

'Big plays can be game changers, but they certainly can ignite you from a momentum standpoint, too,' said Iowa State Coach Paul Rhoads. 'They've got to stay an active part of what we're doing.'

Not only has Rhoads and the offense set goals for explosive plays in future games, but it's been a part of the game plan through the first third of the season. The ISU offense has set a goal of creating six explosive plays and, according to Rhoads, has met that mark in each game.

In the win against the Jayhawks, the Cyclones created 11 'explosive' plays — five rushing and six passing. Iowa State set its definition of a big play at 12 yards for a run and 16 yards for a pass, but quarterback Sam Richardson knows the offense will have to consistently get higher numbers to keep up with other Big 12 offenses.

'As an offense, we can kind of get stuck trying to be a possessive offense, where we don't take a lot of shots down field as much as we should,' Richardson said. 'Especially with the run game how it is now, you'll see more of those down field throws. We'll take what we can get and see those explosive plays unfold when we get them.'

Red-shirt freshman running back Mike Warren amassed four of the five big runs — highlighted by his 62-yard touchdown burst — but was able to help set up the pass through play action.

Sophomore wide receiver Allen Lazard caught passes of 19 and 20 yards — both of those drives ended in touchdowns — and said while there are techniques at the line of scrimmage to help receivers get open, big plays can't always be forced. Part of how explosive gains happen is because of how the defense reacts to the play.

'Just let it happen,' Lazard said. 'You try to (get big gains) every play, but some plays it's just really hard to.'

Richardson had a nearly 73-percent completion rate against Kansas and threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Two interceptions were certainly blemishes on his day, but racking up 512 yards of offense and 38 points against a conference opponent highlighted the positives more than the negatives.

'The win will certainly give him added confidence,' Rhoads said of Richardson, 'and I think he'll probably play a little bit lighter from here on out as far as how he's able to move around because the burden has been lifted off his shoulders.'

When Iowa State takes on Texas Tech Saturday, the Cyclones will face the last-place Big 12 defense that gives up 581 yards of offense. Although the numbers are slightly skewed since the Red Raiders played TCU and Baylor in back-to-back weeks, Richardson sees an opportunity for the ISU offense to build on the explosive plays.

'I think six plays, explosive plays, we're setting the bar pretty low,' Richardson said. 'I mean the defenses you see are pretty much man-to-man and you've got to make those throws down field, especially as an offense in the Big 12. You've got to put up points.'

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