Oct 4, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Iowa State Cyclones running back Abu Sama (24) carries the ball against Cincinnati Bearcats safety Christian Harrison (5) in the second half at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
AMES — There’s no cheat code to uncover, nor a magic bullet to deploy.
Iowa State’s miscues in the margins in last Saturday’s 38-30 loss at Cincinnati stemmed from uneven execution in all areas of the game.
There’s just one boring-sounding way to fix errors of that type — and Cyclone head coach Matt Campbell highlighted it this week.
“You go back to work,” said ISU’s 10th-year mentor, who hopes that additional labor pays off for his team (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) against foundering Colorado (2-4, 0-3) at Folsom Field in Boulder. “It’s kind of what we talked about on Sunday. Proud of who we are, proud of how we responded, yet not proud of some of the moments that lagged in the game. Those are things we all own. The nice thing is, it happened in all three phases of the game. It wasn’t one side of the ball, or (the other) side of the ball. Really. We had lags in all three phases, and you’ve gotta go back to work.”
That could mean focusing on the trenches, where that toil’s most arduous and rewarding. The Cyclones rushed for 150-plus yards for the second time in the past three games against the Bearcats, but the backfield’s in flux as top tailback Carson Hansen is questionable after being concussed last week. If he’s unable to go, that likely means fellow top back Abu Sama would shoulder the bulk of the load in the run game — as he did last Saturday while hurdling and sprinting to a season-high 96 yards on the ground.
“We’re working on it every day,” said Sama, who’s averaging 4.5 yards per carry this season. “Every day we know the offensive line, they’re gonna give it their all, and they know I’m gonna give them mine, also. It’s just knowing that we have each other back for any game, just complementing each other, and we know that there (are) gonna be big things (coming).”
The Buffaloes, meanwhile, are allowing a Big 12-worst 180 yards rushing per game and could be somewhat depleted on their defensive front. So expect Sama — and Hansen, if he’s available — to find roam to roam behind their experienced offensive line.
“If we give these guys lanes, they can really hit them,” said ISU tackle Tyler Miller, who shares his team’s longest streak of starts (33) with quarterback Rocco Becht.
The same could hold true for Colorado’s rushers unless the Cyclones’ front seven on defense sheds the erratic play that was on display in the loss to the Bearcats. Cincinnati rushed for 214 yards in the first half alone last Saturday and some of the holes backs such as Evan Pryor powered through were massive. But that humbling experience — coupled with a loss — should help steel ISU’s defense against the Buffaloes’ struggling run game.
“Some of us in our leadership group talked about this being a maybe a good thing for us in the long term,” said Cyclone linebacker Caleb Bacon, who ranks second on the team in tackles with 32. “Getting (that) loss coming now, compared to getting it in November, December. (We) talk about adversity being a good thing. That’s what I feel for this team right now — it’s something that we’re able to respond to early in the season and come out and finish the season strong.”
To do that, ISU must revert to its norm. To show that, the Cyclones will have to prove on Saturday that last week’s mistake-strewn performance at Cincinnati was an aberration and not the beginning of a troubling trend. Hence, the need for added “work,” which could guide ISU back onto a winning path.
But will it? No one knows for sure, but Campbell’s convinced the toughness he’s tried to instill in his team will bubble up when it’s needed most — and the execution will match it.
“It wasn’t an effort deal,” Campbell said of last week’s shortcomings. “It wasn’t an attitude deal, and it wasn’t even a not-know-what-to-do deal. It was just an execution deal (and) we’ve got to be better. There’s only one way to attack that, and that’s work.”
