Cyclone linebackers in the 'grind'

AMES - His team was down 40 points. It was late in the fourth quarter. He'd already played the entire game.

Didn't matter.

Linebacker Jake Knott - and pretty much the rest of Iowa State's starting defense - wasn't going to ask out of the lineup last Saturday in Utah's 68-27 blowout win, despite the potential for only bad things to happen.

“It doesn't matter the score,” Knott said. “We all want to be out there.”

That's both good and bad.

Knott and his running mate, A.J. Klein, are the Cyclones' leading tacklers and playmakers heading into Saturday night's game at No. 6 Oklahoma. They're doing it all at a young age.

Coach Paul Rhoads wouldn't mind seeing his two sophomores get some rest. He said Monday during his weekly news conference there likely would be a change in practice routine.

“They are banged up and tired,” Rhoads said. “They've played 80-plus snaps each of the last two weeks. We'd like to be able to rest them.”

Problem is, there's not a lot of depth at linebacker. Options are limited.

“It's a grind, but I know it's what the team needs and what I want to do,” Knott said. “When I came here I wanted to play every single snap I could. I'm getting that chance now. It's a great opportunity for me and A.J.”

The Sooners have run 425 offensive plays in five games, second-most in the Big 12 Conference. For a third-straight Saturday ISU will be facing a hurry-up offense.

“They try to get off like 95 snaps a game or something crazy,” Knott said. “It's going to be faster than the last two weeks. They go at an even faster pace.”

Speed kills

Utah's overall speed gave ISU fits a week ago.

The Cyclones are bracing for more of the same this week against an Oklahoma team that also has above average speed.

“It's every bit as good (as Utah's),” Rhoads said.

Where ISU saw the biggest difference was on special teams. Utah returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score and had two punt returns of more than 40 yards. The Utes' speed was a big reason for those big plays.

“It's hard to accurately gauge something like that until you see it,” Rhoads said. “We thought Utah was a lot faster on the field than they were on film.”

Tiller's back

Injury is the reason third-team quarterback James Capello - and not backup Jerome Tiller - entered the game last week when starter Austen Arnaud was pulled late in the loss to Utah.

Tiller was in uniform but was nursing a knee injury. He is healthier and will be Arnaud's backup this week at Oklahoma, Rhoads said this week.

“Jerome could have played but by the time the score got to where it was, it would have been very foolish on my part to put him in there and put him in danger,” Rhoads said.