Iowa State Cyclones tight end Stevo Klotz (49) runs for a touchdown around Cincinnati Bearcats’ star Jiquan Sanks 9) during the third quarter quarter in the week-12 NCAA football at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
AMES – Iowa State’s offense looked lost and disorganized in the first half, the offense, but with the help of a revived defense, rose up in the second half to beat Cincinnati, 34-17.
The Cyclones are now 8-2 overall and 5-2 in Big 12 play.
Let’s get into it.
The Stevo Klotz Game
There’s no question who’s getting the hypothetical game ball in this one – it’s No. 49.
Stevo Klotz, a fifth-year senior at tight end & fullback, gave Iowa State a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, catching a ball wide-open after sneaking by defenders.
Later, he would extend a Cyclones drive, running 22 yards down the field on a fake punt.
With starting tight end Ben Brahmer still injured, and both Gabe Burkle & Tyler Moore getting banged up last week at Arrowhead Stadium, the Cyclones needed someone to step up.
Klotz took that assignment and ran with it. He officially finished with 32 yards on three receptions, but had a big block late that aided in a 32-yard Rocco Becht run as Iowa State tried to close it out. When they needed it, 49 was there.
“It’s Stevo,” coach Matt Campbell said after the game. “He was incredible today for us… To see (Burkle) and Stevo step in and have, obviously, some critical catches. We’ve had that (fake punt) in our back pocket here for the last couple of weeks and have been waiting for the right opportunity and just executed it. What Stevo would tell you is it’s the other 10 guys that execute.”
It’s a bit ironic – while Klotz played a big part in many of the memorable moments in the game, he was also the receiver on what was probably the low point for anyone in the stands or at home rooting for the Cyclones.
An ugly first half
Late in the second quarter while trailing 10-7, Iowa State failed to convert on its first two plays of the drive, then threw a screen to Klotz on 3rd and 13 that gained one yard.
It was the second of back-to-back three-and-outs, and the offense had left no signs of being capable of moving the ball.
With two straight losses weighing on the team and some cold weather to add to frustrations, there were some boo’s raining down from the crowd following after the sequence.
On multiple occasions, Iowa State ran the ball after lining up in 1st and 15 situations, netting short gains if not being stopped at the goal line.
I’ll dive more into the play selection throughout the game in Monday Musings, but for as ugly as it was at times, it was equally as unpredictable in others.
The unexpected
When was the last time you remember Iowa State running a fake punt? It’s probably fitting the Cyclones saved it for the matchup with Tyson Veidt – Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator who spent eight years with the current staff across the field.
There were plenty of unexpected things that followed that I wanted to wrap up in quick hit form.
-Iowa State saw the return of junior linebacker Will McLaughlin, who had sat out the first nine games of the season after having back surgery to repair a herniated disk in August.
“Absolutely not,” McLaughlin said when asked after the game if he thought Veidt had expected him to play Saturday. “I had this game circled from day one.”
The in-state linebacker had been recovering and rehabbing his injury throughout the season in hopes of getting to play against his former coach, and did so, totaling four tackles in his team’s victory.
“I was having a blast out there,” McLaughlin said. “(My back is) good. I feel 100 percent. I had so much fun being back out there… Coach Veidt – he’s a lot of who I am today, along with coach Kratch. I think I got the best of both worlds with both of those coaches.”
His return is welcomed, especially with the amount of injuries the team has seen at the linebacker spot.
McLaughlin added that he and the staff are exploring a redshirt year, as well. He would keep his eligibility so long as he only appears in three more games this year.
-Backup quarterback Connor Moberly got a little bit of run, appearing in the game for three plays during the win.
Each time, Moberly wasn’t the one throwing the ball, but that may have just been a coincidence.
“I think (Moberly) is a guy we have a lot of excitement about, just because he brings a different dynamic,” Campbell said. “I think he can run and throw it a little bit – obviously, Rocco Becht can too. We’re just trying to diversify who we want to be offensively. (Freshman running back) Aiden Flora had a couple of great runs – he’s a kid that keeps playing really good football for us, as well. I just think for us, it’s about how we can continue to diversify and keep opening up the offense so we can be unique in critical moments.”
The freshman had a five-yard rush, and was a part of a trick play that nearly found another new face on the offense his first touchdown.
-Iowa State may have found ‘a guy’ that could become their third wide receiver in Frisco, Texas native Brett Eskildsen.
The true freshman caught his first pair of receptions as a Cyclone on Saturday, both coming in critical situations that resulted in first downs.
“I really feel like it’s the story,” Campbell said. “We just keep coming, and they come from everywhere and they keep playing to the standard of excellence the program is about. Guys have to keep stepping up in critical situations, and they keep doing it.”
Eskildsen’s performance on special teams, which likely aided in him seeing the field at the wide receiver spot this year, even drew a comparison to Darien Porter, a player Campbell has referred to as ‘elite’ in the special teams department.
“Brett’s been incredible for us, really all fall on special teams,” Campbell said. Then, boom, he gets a moment, and he takes advantage of it. I’m really just happy for him because I think he’s going to have an incredible career here. He’s really played great football. If you guys have watched, he’s with (Porter) on punt team. They’ve been truly incredible all fall. He’s played for us on kick return and has played for us in our punt block unit… so just really happy for him.
“In terms of critical catches, he shows up,” Campbell said. “But again, that’s the story, right? Every game, win or lose, someone is stepping up in a critical moment and playing great football for us.”
That was the story again, as the Cyclones picked up their eighth win of the year.
Now it’s on to Utah.
