Sept. 28, 2000
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Dave Campbell appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
Once upon a time the thought of the Iowa State Cyclones coming to town to take on the Baylor Bears would have been regarded by Baylor partisans as manna from heaven. The Cyclones were that bad.
The record book tells the story. The Cyclones have not finished on the top side of .500 since 1989 and they have not finished better than 6-5 since 1978. Going back to 1994, the Cyclones have been 0-10, 3-8, 2-9, 1-10, 3-8 and, last year, 4-7. The last time they came to Waco, in 1996, the Bears clubbed them, 49-21, and that was a mediocre Baylor team that won only a single game - the Iowa State game - in conference play.
But obviously the Cyclones have been inching forward the last two seasons.
And now, any Baylor partisan who pays attention to comparative scores will look at Iowa State and quickly say to himself, no manna there. Minnesota beat Baylor, 34-9. Ohio beat Minnesota, 23-17. And Iowa State beat Ohio, 25-15.
So Iowa State should be favored by 41 points when the Bears and Cyclones collide at Floyd Casey Stadium Saturday night (6 p.m. kickoff), right?
CYCLONES FOOTBALL spokesman Tom Kroeschell would never endorse that thought. But he does say, "This is the best team coach McCarney has had in his six seasons here. No question about that. We've won our first three games and now we have a week off to get ready for Baylor. People here are excited."
They are so excited that they are turning out in growing numbers. Last year they averaged 38,929 for their home games and they expect to surpass that figure this season.
Having just seen Dan McCarney's pupils defeat arch rival Iowa, 24-14, before 70,387 fans on the afternoon of Sept. 16, in a game that was televised, Cyclone fans have full reason to be excited. That victory, Iowa State's third victory in a row over the Hawkeyes, came on the heels of the season-opening 25-15 victory over Ohio and a 37-22 thumping of UNLV.
Those games were enough to convince Kroeschell that "this is the best defense we've had in years, and the best defensive line since the mid-1980s." Still, he said, "Sage Rosenfels is the guy who makes us go." And in talking about Baylor's loss of quarterback Greg Cicero for the season, he commented: "We'd be in about the same shape if we lost Sage Rosenfels."
ROSENFELS IS IOWA STATE'S 6-4, 221-pound senior quarterback who amassed 2,006 yards in total offense last season and won second-team Academic All-Big 12 honors (which means he not only is a gifted quarterback who can both run and throw, he's also smart, and those are the best kind).
Rosenfels had 59 yards rushing against Iowa, and it was his 5-yard run for a touchdown with 5:05 left in the game that nailed down the victory. For Iowa State's first three games he has completed 50 of 88 passes for 708 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed 80 steps on 18 carries for another three scores.
"He's a strong runner and a fine passer. The pro scouts really like him," said Kroeschell.
Iowa State's meal-ticket running back is a refugee from Texas high school football. Ennis Haywood, 5-11 and 206, is a Dallas Carter product who brings "more speed" to the tailback position than either of his more widely-known predecessors, Troy Davis and little brother Darren, could provide. He might not have as much wiggle as the Davis boys but that has not prevented him from rushing for more than 100 yards in each of the Cyclones' first three games. He will go into the Baylor game with a total of 374 yards on 79 carries (124.6 yards per game).
OPENING THOSE HOLES for Haywood, Rosenfels, fullback Frank Garcia (5-9, 225) and the Cyclones' other playmakers is an improved offensive line which features the play of senior center Ben Bruns (6-3, 295) and the player who has been a major surprise, Blinn Junior College transfer Lorenzo White. White, who did his high school playing at Lamar Consolidated, is a 6-5, 340-pound newcomer who has far exceeded what the coaches expected. Positioned at right guard, he joins Bruns in making for a dynamic combo in the middle of the Cyclone line.
Senior split end Chris Anthony (6-3, 204) is the team's possession receiver and a dependable downfield blocker, and junior tight end Mike Banks (6-4, 254) is a big wing who can both catch and block -- "super hands," said Kroeschell. "He made some phenomenal catches against Iowa."
But the wide receiver who can tear up a defense in a hurry is mighty mite J.J. Moses, only 5-6 and 170, but lethal as both a wideout and return man. A senior, he had a 58-yard run on a reverse for a touchdown the first time Iowa State had the ball against Iowa, and last year against Texas he had 267 total yards, including an 80-yard kickoff return.
WITH EACH SUCCEEDING game the Cyclones feel their offense is growing stronger. But it is on defense that they base their best case. Coach McCarney dotes on defense. Before taking on the Iowa State challenge he was Hayden Fry's long-time defensive coordinator at Iowa. Thus it is no surprise that his focus remains on the defense.
Heading up that defense is senior right end Reggie Hayward (6-5, 250), a second-team All-Big 12 choice last year who is being hailed as Iowa State's best defensive player since the team sent All-Pro Marcus Robertson to the NFL (Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans) 10 seasons ago. Senior tackle James Reed (6-0, 285) is also a highly-acclaimed defender.
But all of the starters in that best-in-years defensive line are juniors and seniors who have been well-schooled in the McCarney way of playing defense.
THE BEST LINEBACKERS are former Aldine (Tex.) high school quarterback Derrick Walker (6-2, 220) and a mid-winter import from juco ranks, 6-2, 236-pound Tyrone Tucker, a Miami, Fla., native who led his San Francisco City College team to the national juco championship (he had 15 tackles and two sacks in the title game last season).
The key Cyclone in the secondary is four-year starter Dustin Avey (6-2, 208) who usually makes his best plays at free safety. "He's the guy who keeps it together," said Kroeschell.
Junior Mike McKnight has been rather inconsistent thus far in his kicking but Carl Gomez is a four-year starter as the team's punter. He has a career average of 40.3 yards for 172 punts and owns three of the 10 longest punts in school history. But this season, of course, thanks to the play of Rosenfels & Co., he's having to punt less and less.
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Dave Campbell appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
