AMES, Iowa—Quarterback Austen Arnaud and running back Alexander Robinson have been the heart and soul of an Iowa State team that has quieted many skeptics with a 4-3 start.
The Cyclones (4-3, 1-2 Big 12) got quite the scare, though, when both players left Saturday’s 24-10 win over Baylor with injuries, and Iowa State will closely watch the health of Arnaud and Robinson heading into Saturday’s game at Nebraska (4-2, 1-1).
Arnaud bruised his throwing hand in the first half against Baylor. Robinson, who has been battling through a sore groin since a win over Army on Sept. 26, aggravated that injury in the third quarter against the Bears.
Coach Paul Rhoads said Monday that he expects Arnaud to be ready by Saturday, but Robinson’s status won’t be known until later in the week.
Arnaud slammed his hand on an opposing player’s helmet on his fourth play of the game. He played into the third quarter, throwing for 166 yards, but the halftime layoff left his hand too swollen to continue playing effectively.
Arnaud rested during Sunday’s practice, allowing much of the swelling in his hand to subside.
“Once the cold got to it, it started to swell up a little bit. It was hard to grip the ball, but it’s not as hard anymore,” Arnaud said.
Robinson, a junior, has been a revelation for the Cyclones despite missing significant time against both Kansas State and Baylor because of his injury. Robinson is the Big 12’s leading rusher at 105.3 yards per game.
“It’s frustrating, but there’s always going to be bumps in the road,” Robinson said. “It’s really how you deal with the adversity. I’m just going to keep pushing through it.”
If Arnaud suffers a setback because of his hand injury, the Cyclones would turn to redshirt freshman Jerome Tiller, who played in relief of Arnaud against Baylor.
Tiller was 7-of-8 passing for 48 yards in the win over the Bears, but it was his legs that drew the most attention. Tiller carried the ball 10 times for 74 yards, including a 20-yard TD run on a designed draw in which he cut to the edge and blew past Baylor’s defense.
“You run the ball as effectively as he did, and all of a sudden the confidence level rises fast. Don’t discount that for how much it affects your ability to throw the ball,” Rhoads said of Tiller. “Jerome probably played better than he’s practiced over the course of the last two or three weeks too, which was very encouraging to see.”
If Robinson can’t go, the Cyclones would give the bulk of the carries to freshman Jeremiah Schwartz. Unlike Robinson, he prefers to run over opponents rather than use the space afforded by Iowa State’s spread attack to dash past them.
Schwartz has rushed for 214 yards on 49 carries this season, and Rhoads said he’s the most complete back Iowa State has outside of Robinson.
Iowa State also has concerns about a player who isn’t hurt, kicker Grant Mahoney.
Mahoney’s woes began against Kansas State on Oct. 3, when his game-tying PAT in the closing moments was blocked. Against Baylor. Mahoney went just 1-of-4 on field goal attempts, missing from 30, 35 and 50 yards.
Mahoney started the season hitting six of his first seven field goals—including two from 50 yards—but he’s just 3-of-7 since.
Though Rhoads called the field goal unit “suspect” on Monday, he said he will stick with Mahoney.
“My confidence in him has not weakened. If I’ve got an opportunity to hit a 50-yard field goal against Nebraska, I’m sending him on.” Rhoads said.
