Cyclone’s Richardson searching for comfort

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Sam Richardson thinks about it all the time. The memory of his first game as Iowa State's quarterback is one he goes back to, trying to remember what it was like playing without being apprehensive.

In 2012 at Kansas, the ISU junior came in on Iowa State's third drive of the game and never looked back, completing 23 of 27 passes for 250 yards and four touchdowns in the Cyclones' 51-23 win over the Jayhawks. Richardson will be making his return to Kansas today, still carrying the memories from his first game.

'I was pretty pumped,” Richardson said. 'A little bit nervous, but just kind of taking the game as it came to me and that's something I try to remember back to just how easy that day was and not getting caught up in the game of football, just playing it and enjoying it. I use that all the time.”

'I just remember him coming in and doing a good job,” center Tom Farniok said of Richardson's last game in Lawrence. 'I just remember him clicking, the offense doing well, the o-line playing good. Just a good game.”

Iowa State (2-6, 0-5) will be search of another 'good game” at Kansas (2-6, 0-5) after losing handily to Oklahoma a week ago. The loss to the Sooners brought out two kinds of emotions and ISU offensive coordinator Mark Mangino has noticed a high level of energy leading up to the game against the Jayhawks.

'They're embarrassed and they're angry and you can see it by the tempo on the practice field,” Mangino said. 'They're embarrassed by their performance, give credit to Oklahoma, they did a tremendous job on defense, and they're angered by it. And they think they can do better and we saw that kind of intensity on the practice field.”

After setting a career high in completions and nearly duplicating that mark in each of the two weeks before the Oklahoma game, Richardson's productivity dropped a bit against the Sooners. His mark of 15-of-40 passing for 239 yards and one touchdown was due largely to the immense pressure brought by the defense.

Richardson also suffered a slight shoulder injury in the second half and the coaching staff used him cautiously this week in practice. Coach Paul Rhoads said Richardson will play today and is excited to see him get back on the field after a dip in his performance.

'I don't know if redeem is the right choice of words, but nobody was more displeased with how the offense played, how the team played than Sam was,” Rhoads said. 'He'll be chomping through preparation at to get to 2:30 Saturday.”

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