Cyclones vow to stay on track Friday

By Rob Gray, correspondent

Talk is cheap, but also can be costly.

Just ask Iowa State wide receiver Darius Reynolds, who said a lack of early focus last season against Kansas led to a stale start - but an eventual win - following a monumental road triumph at Texas.

“It was kind of more about bragging and boasting about the Texas victory and how we beat them (on the road) and everything,” said Reynolds, who plans to contribute to a better rebounding effort in Friday's game at Connecticut after Saturday's 44-41 triple-overtime win over Iowa. “This year, (Iowa's) already forgotten about.”

The 2-0 Cyclones face their first road test of the season.

Both victories have been come-from-behind efforts. And it's a short week, making the “could there be a letdown?” question a natural one to pose.

“Honestly, I think this team is different,” said ISU cornerback Leonard Johnson, who helped limit the Hawkeyes' Marvin McNutt to four catches last weekend. “But we won't find out until after the UConn game.”

The defending Big East Conference champion Huskies enter Friday at 1-1 - and stinging from a turnover-filled, 24-21, loss at Vanderbilt.

They could play as many as three quarterbacks, which presented somewhat of a preparation quandary for the Cyclones' defense given the shorter turnaround.

“It's hard, it's a big challenge,” ISU Coach Paul Rhoads said. “That was a great deal of the work (defensive coordinator) Wally (Burnham) and the staff were doing (Sunday). They ran out of grease board space trying to figure out the different plans because of that.”

The good news: UConn's quarterbacks all have struggled. Only one - Johnny McEntee - has thrown for a touchdown or interception. He's been picked three times with no scores attached.

“(At Vanderbilt) we ran the ball very well,” Huskies Coach Paul Pasqualoni said in this week's Big East teleconference. “We just can't turn the ball over. We can't miss a protection and we've got to avoid the negative play.”

UConn turned the ball over four times against the Commodores. The Cyclones are minus-five in turnovers, which ranks 114th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision programs.

The ISU offense has lost the ball seven times - with four coming in the season-opening, 20-19, win over Northern Iowa.

“We had a season's worth of jitters in that game,” said Cyclone offensive coordinator Tom Herman.

This week, anxiety shouldn't be a problem. It's guarding against the potential for that huge-win hangover that becomes a concern.

Last year against the Jayhawks, ISU managed just one touchdown in the first half before reviving for a 28-16 win.

“That was such a very big win,” Rhoads said. “We did struggle but we fought through that struggle.”

Another spectacular, then flat turnaround came in 2009, when a 9-7 victory against Nebraska at Lincoln was followed by a 35-10 drubbing at Texas A&M.

Cyclone cornerback Ter'Ran Benton hasn't forgotten that day, but doesn't dwell on it either.

“Full speed,” he said. “It's football. This is game that we love, so if we're going to take it easy - just like two years ago, we beat Nebraska and came back to Texas A&M and we lost. So we've just got to keep going fast.”

That philosophy applies to thinking, not talking.

“Friday's the game and what can you do but show up and play, you know?” Johnson said.