AMES – The Cyclones are heading to Iowa City this weekend with hopes of taking back the Cy-Hawk trophy from No. 21 Iowa. They will have to do so with multiple injuries to key contributors.
Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell was the bearer of bad news Tuesday, revealing what Cyclones fans had feared; that linebacker Caleb Bacon was going to be out for an extended period of time after suffering a lower leg injury in the first quarter against North Dakota.
“[Bacon] had surgery on Sunday and he’ll be out for a while,” Campbell said. “I do think he’ll be back here at some point later in the season.”
Bacon is one of two starting linebackers that will be out of the game Saturday. Linebacker Will McLaughlin will be out again after being a last-minute scratch last week against North Dakota.
“[McLaughlin] is still a while out for him to get back on the football team, but we do expect him back here later as well,” Campbell said.
That’s 106 tackles, 13.5 TFL and four sacks worth of 2023 production that Iowa State will have to replace Saturday. The Cyclones’ linebacker depth will certainly be put to the test.
“We got some really good, young guys that are going to be able to step up, and I think they’re going to do a great job,” defensive lineman J.R. Singleton said.
The reserve linebackers will have to step up if Iowa State wants a chance of winning this game. In defensive coordinator Jon Heacock’s patented 3-3-5 defense, the linebackers have a ton of responsibility. With one less defensive lineman on the field, linebackers must be able to fill gaps and stop the run.
That was the biggest cause of North Dakota’s success on the ground, and it will have to change Saturday for the defense to succeed.
The Cyclones are also battling injury problems on the offensive side of the ball, though they don’t seem to be getting good news.
“The one positivity there is maybe the possibility of getting some of the guys back on the offensive line this week,” Campbell said.
Running back Abu Sama III and tight end Benjamin Brahmer look to be ready to go Saturday after being limited against North Dakota with injuries. They need to be at full capacity if Iowa State wants to get anything going against Iowa’s defense.
Going back to last season’s matchup against Iowa, it happened to be Rocco Becht’s first true test as the Cyclones’ quarterback and it didn’t go great. Becht went 23-for-44 with 203 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Becht should be much more equipped for the challenge this time around.
“Having that year of experience and seeing not only that defense from Iowa, but seeing it from multiple different teams we played last year, certainly allows you to have the confidence to know, what the challenges this defense can present and how do I do a great job of taking care of the football,” Campbell said.
Last season, Becht threw a pick-six that would ultimately be the difference in the 20-13 defeat as he is determined to not have that happen again.
“I know I’m better than that,” Becht said. “I have to continue to take care of the ball and approach this game with that as my priority.”
Becht will have to be at the top of his game if he hopes to lead the Cyclones to a victory despite the rash of injuries that have hit the team.
Iowa State is set to take on Iowa in the annual Cy-Hawk game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. The game will be aired live on CBS.
