ISU Returns to Big 12 North Action

10.23.2006 | Football

By: Iowa State University

Iowa State (3-5, 0-4) travels to Manhattan, Kan., looking for its first Big 12 Conference win at Kansas State (4-4, 1-3) ... Iowa State is coming off a 42-26 loss in Ames against Texas Tech ... Kansas State, which started the season 3-0, is coming off a 41-21 loss at Missouri, the Wildcats' first loss to a Mizzou team since 1992 ... Iowa State has won the last two games against the Wildcats with a 37-23 win at KSU in 2004 and a 45-17 victory over Kansas State last season in Ames ... Iowa State leads the series 48-37-4. despite 10 straight losses to the Bill Snyder-led Wildcats between 1993 and 2003 ... Kansas State leads the series in Manhattan, 22-21-1 ... the Cyclones pulled within two points of Texas Tech Saturday, trailing 28-26 with 8:05 left in the third quarter ... but Texas Tech struck back with two TDs to secure the final margin ... an Iowa State defense that had allowed only two scoring playsof 20 yards or longer in the season's first seven games, gave up three such plays against Texas Tech ... Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney, the Dean of Big 12 coaches in his 12th season, has coached five of ISU's seven-win teams in the history of Cyclone football ... Saturday's game is MAC's 138th game as the winningest football mentor (55 wins) in school history ... McCarney is the ninth-longest tenured coach in Division I-A ... MAC is 2-9 against Kansas State ... junior QB Bret Meyer is Iowa State's all-time career passing leader with 6,545 yards ... he ranks second among all active NCAA Division 1-A non-senior quarterbacks with 7,157 yards of career total offense and is one of five active quarterbacks to have passed for at least 6,000 yards and rushed for 600 yards ... of Todd Blythe's school-record 25 career TD grabs, 22 have come from Meyer, also an ISU record holder for touchdown passing tandems ... I-Back Stevie Hicks owns 10 career 100-yard games and now ranks seventh on the all-time ISU career rushing list with 2,601 yards ... Iowa State LB Alvin Bowen leads the Big 12 and the nation, averaging 13.4 tackles per game ... middle linebacker Tyrone McKenzie is second in the league and tied for fourth nationally at 11.4 tackles per game ... a record crowd of 55,518 fans watched Iowa State beat Northern Iowa ... Iowa State hosted 55,338 fans in Jack Trice for the Nebraska game, Golden Rules Night, the No. 2 crowd in school history.

LAST WEEK: TEXAS TECH PASSES BY IOWA STATE, 42-26

In a see-saw game, Iowa State drew within 28-26 on a 5-yard TD run by Jason Scales with 8:05 left in the third quarter, but Texas Tech came back with an 8-play, 76-yard drive that was capped by a 32-yard TD pass from Graham Harrell to Shannon Wood and a 35-26 Red Raider lead with 3:31 left in the third quarter ... Harrell hit on 31-of-40 passes for 368 yards and an Iowa State opponent record six touchdowns ... Texas Tech overcame 14 penalties that cost the Red Raiders 129 yards to outgain Iowa State 475-221 ... Iowa State held Texas Tech to 2-of-7 on third-down conversions but the Cyclones were only 3-of-15 on third down ... Texas Tech jumped to a quick 14-0 first-quarter lead before Iowa State answered on a 5-yard TD pass from Bret Meyer to Ben Barkema and a personal-long 52-yard field goal by Bret Culbertson that closed the gap to 14-10 with two minutes left the initial quarter ... Meyer scored on a 10-yard run to make it 21-17 Texas Tech with 5:19 left in the first half ... Bret Culbertson's 23-yard field goal made it 28-20 at halftime ... Meyer hit on 14-of-34 passes for 146 yards and the TD with two interceptions ... ISU TB Stevie Hicks gained 56 yards on 10 carries before leaving the game an injury ... the game was Iowa State's first without DB DeAndre Jackson, who was lost for the season the previous week and WR Austin Flynn was limited to holding on kicks because of injury issues.

IOWA STATE HAS A 48-37-4 LEAD IN THE SERIES

Iowa State held a 47-24-4 series advantage through the 1989 season before Kansas State under head coach Bill Snyder ran off 13 wins in 14 years over the Cyclones ... after Iowa State's 27-23 win over a No. 18 Kansas State team in 1993, Kansas State won in Manhattan by an average score of 47.8-12.8, including the Cyclones' 9-3 2000 Insight.com Bowl team that got whipped 56-10 at KSU ... in Ames, Kansas State won by an average margin of 39.8-8.2 ... that all changed in the last two Iowa State bowl seasons ... Nov. 20, 2004 ...Iowa State rallied from a 23-9 fourth-quarter deficit with four touchdowns, including three in the last 3 1/2 minutes, to beat Kansas State for the first time since 1993 and earn a share of the Big 12 Conference's North Division title ... Iowa State won for the first time since 1988 in Manhattan ... ISU played turnover-free football and converted four Wildcat turnovers into 17 points ... Nov. 5, 2005 ... Iowa State scored three touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the second half as the Cyclones purged the ghosts of past Wildcat encounters in Jack Trice Stadium with a 45-17 win over Kansas State ... it marked the first time ISU had beaten KSU in consecutive seasons since the 1988-89 campaigns.

KANSAS STATE HEAD COACH RON PRINCE

Prince, hired to replace the legendary Bill Snyder, won his first three games and now stands at 4-3 ... he is a Junction City, Kan. native who graduated from Appalachian State in 1992 ... he has coached as an assistant at Alabama A&M (1993), South Carolina State (1994), James Madison (1995-97), Cornell (1998-2000) and Virginia (2003-05), the last two years as Cavalier offensive coordinator.

THIS DATE IN HISTORY (Oct. 28); BIG WIN OVER MISSOURI IN 2000:

Ennis Haywood rushed 23 times for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns and freshman free safety Marc Timmons returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown as Iowa State clinched its first winning season since 1989 with a 39-20 over Missouri in a night game in Ames.

FOUR ISU HOME NIGHT GAMES A RECORD FOR ONE SEASON

Iowa State has played a record four home night games while all three road contests have been daytime affairs.

IOWA STATE FOOTBALL -- BIG 12 BOWL LEADER

Only Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma have gone to more bowl games (6) than Iowa State (5) since the start of the 2000 season.

Bowls since 2000:
6 - Texas Tech, Texas and Oklahoma
5 - Iowa State, Nebraska
4 - Kansas State, Colorado
3 - Oklahoma State, Texas A&M
2 - Kansas, Missouri
0 - Baylor

MEYER AMONG MOST EFFICIENT ISU QB's...

Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer has developed into one of the most efficient quarterbacks in Iowa State history with 39 career TD passes to 25 interceptions.

MEYER ONLY JUNIOR MEMBER OF ELITE 6,000/600 CLUB

Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer is one of four current collegiate quarterbacks with 6,000 yards passing and 600 yards rushing...the others...

Total Offense, Pass Yards, Rush Yards
Kevin Kolb, Houston, Sr. 12,150 11,458 692
Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech, Sr. 8,774 7,354 1,420
Jared Zabransky, Boise State. Sr 7,908 7,098 810
Drew Stanton, Michigan State, Sr. 7,652 6,252 1,400
Bret Meyer, Iowa State, Jr. 7,157* 6,545 612
*Leads all active non-seniors

MEYER IS IOWA STATE OFFENSIVE HUB

Affirming quarterback Bret Meyer's contribution to the Iowa State offense are the number of plays per game he executes during his career relative to other active NCAA players:

1. Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii, Jr., 48.8
2. Luke Getsy, QB, Akron, Sr., 42.6
3.. Kevin Kolb, QB, Houston, Sr., 41.2
4. Bret Meyer, QB, Iowa State, Jr., 40.0
5. Reggie Ball, QB, Georgia Tech, Sr., 38.7

BLYTHE RANKS HIGH AMONG NATION'S ACTIVE WIDE RECIEVERS

CAREER YARDS PER CATCH
Name YPC
1. Todd Blythe, Iowa State, Jr. 18.9
2. Najah Pruden, Kent State, Sr. 18.8
3. Jason Hill, Washington St., Sr. 18.2
4. Johnnie Lee Higgins, UTEP, Sr. 17.2
5. D'Juan Woods, Oklahoma State, Sr. 17.0

CAREER TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS
Name TDs
1. Dwayne Jarrett, USC, Jr. 33
2. Jason Hill, Washington St., Sr. 31
3. Jarrett Hicks, Texas Tech, Sr. 29
4. Eric Deslauriers, Eastern Mich., Sr. 26
Johnnie Lee Higgins, UTEP, Sr. 26
6. Todd Blythe, Iowa State, Jr. 25
7. Jeff Samardzija, Notre Dame, Sr. 22
8. Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech, Jr. 21
Vincent Marshall, Houston, Sr. 21

RUMBLE, YOUNG MAN, RUMBLE

Iowa State senior FB Ryan Kock scored his 16th career touchdown against UNI on his 76th career carry ... last season he tallied 13 TDs on just 54 carries ... Kock set an ISU single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a fullback with his touchdown in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State last season ... the previous record was nine, set by Tom Watkins in 1960 ... Watkins scored a total of 10 touchdowns that year, with the 10th being on an interception return ... Kock was ninth on ISU's single-season rushing touchdown list (all positions) ... he had the longest rush of his career, nine yards against Nebraska this season.

TURNOVER MARGIN A KEY TO VICTORY

Coach McCarney has put a premium on increasing the number of turnovers forced by his defense ... when Iowa State has finished the season ahead in turnover margin and points off turnovers margin, the Cyclones have posted a winning record (2000, 2001, 2004, 2005).

TRADITION OF BALL SECURITY

Counting lost fumbles by the whole team, ISU is fourth in Division I-A in fewest fumbles lost since the start of the 1999 season and leads the Big 12 Conference by a wide margin.

NO PARTICULAR PLACE TO GO

Iowa State's rush defense allowed 102.7 ypg last season, the best among post-WWII Cyclone squads.

PICK A LITTLE

Bret Meyer's 2005 interception-free streak reached a school-record 155 attempts before a third-quarter pick at Kansas ... Meyer's stretch spanned over 22 full quarters and parts of six games ... the previous school record was 141 attempts, set by Todd Bandhauer in 1997 ... this was the first time since the inception of the Big Six Conference in 1928 that ISU has gone four consecutive games (OSU, A&M, KSU, CU) without throwing an interception.

MEYER AMONG NATION'S MOST EXPERIENCED QBs

Among non-senior quarterbacks, only Michigan's Chad Henne can match the starting experience of Iowa State's Bret Meyer -- (through games of Oct. 21):

Player Yr. School Starts
Kevin Kolb Sr., Houston 44
Chris Leak Sr. Florida 40
Brady Quinn Sr. Notre Dame 40
John Stocco Sr. Wisconsin 33
Jared Zabransky Sr. Boise State 33
Bret Meyer Jr. Iowa State 32
Chad Henne Jr. Michigan 32
James Pinkney Sr. East Carolina 32

IOWA STATE'S 2006 TEAM CAPTAINS

The Cyclones have four captains for the 2006 season: Junior quarterback Bret Meyer, senior wide receiver Austin Flynn, senior defensive tackle Brent Curvey and senior defensive back DeAndre Jackson.

McCARNEY'S CYCLONES IN THE NFL

An indicator of Iowa State's continued improvement under Dan McCarney is the number of ISU student-athletes who have gone on to the professional ranks ... ISU's NFL players at the start of training camp are all McCarney products: Jordan Carstens (DL, Carolina), Reggie Hayward (DE, Jacksonville), Ellis Hobbs (DB, New England), James Reed (DL, Kansas City Chiefs), Sage Rosenfels (QB, Houston), Oliver Ross (OL, Arizona), Seneca Wallace (QB, Seattle), Tony Yelk (PK, Atlanta), Tim Dobbins (LB, San Diego), LaMarcus Hicks (DB, Detroit), Landon Schrage (DS, Baltimore), Steve Paris (S, Baltimore), Nick Leaders (NG, Baltimore).

WATCH LIST MANIA

Several of Iowa State's players have been recognized as ranking among the nation's best at their respective positions:

Bret Meyer, QB Maxwell Award; Davey O'Brien Award; Archie Manning Award
Scott Stephenson C Rimington Award; Lombardi Trophy
Brent Curvey DT Outland Trophy/Nagurski Award; Lombardi Trophy

TOUGH SCHEDULE

Based on 2005 records, Iowa State's 2006 football schedule is the second toughest nationally:

1. Duke .639 (92-52)
2. IOWA STATE .633 (93-54)
3. Northwestern .624 (88-53)
4. Florida .620 (88-54)
5. Cincinnati .610 (86-55)
6. Michigan .607 (85-55)
7. Colorado .606 (86-56)
8. Arizona .603 (85-56)

Iowa State and North Carolina face the most 2005 bowl teams in 2006:

1. IOWA STATE 9
North Carolina 9
3. East Carolina 8
Maryland 8
Duke 8
Colorado 8

BAUM NO. 1 IN BIG 12 IN PUNT RETURNS, TD VS. UNI

Iowa State punt returner Ryan Baum, a former walk-on was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week Sept. 30 after racking up 103 yards on four returns against UNI, including a 65-yard return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter that tied up the game ... Baum's average of 17.3 yards per return leads the Big 12 and ranks him sixth nationally ... Baum's career average stands at 15 yards on 21 career returns ... the only Cyclone with a better career return average with at least 20 returns is James "The Eel" McMillion, who averaged 15.91 on 53 career returns between 1991-93.

CULBERTSON CONSISTENT/52-YARDER VS. TEXAS TECH

Iowa State placekicker Bret Culbertson has been a consistent performer and is the all-time ISU leaders in PAT and field goal accuracy ... he has been successful on all 68 of his career PAT attempts, the school record for the longest streak of consecutive successful PAT tries ... he hit on both of his field-goal attempts against Texas Tech including a career long 52-yarder:

Consecutive Successful PAT attempts:
1. Bret Culbertson, 68 , 2004-
2. Jeff Shudak, 56, 1989-90
3. Tom Goedjen, 50, 1972-74
4. Ty Stewart, 44, 1991-93
5. Reggie Shoemake, 39, 1970-71

Culbertson has hit on five-of-six field-goal attempts this year, including a 39-yarder against Toledo, a 24-yarder against UNLV and a 32-yarder at Iowa ... the 6-6 junior is 20-of-23 lifetime inside 40 yards ... when you add in his extra-point efforts, Culbertson is 93 of 100 (.900) as Iowa State's kicker and ranks at the top of Iowa State's placekicking performance lists.

All numbers below are career numbers from 1962-2006...

Highest PAT percentage, min. 50 att.
(only NINE players meet the minimum)

1.000 (68-68) - Bret Culbertson (2004-06)
.985 (65-66) - Adam Benike (2002-03)
.968 (92-95) - Jeff Shudak (1987-90)
.962 (76-79) - Tom Goedjen (1972-74)
.955 (85-89) - Alex Giffords (1979-82)
.938 (106-113) - Jamie Kohl (1995-98)
.933 (83-89) - Scott Kollman (1975-77)
.928 (77-83) - Ty Stewart (1991-94)
.926 (50-54) - Reggie Shoemake (1970-71)

Highest FG percentage, min. 25 att.
(only EIGHT players above .600)

.781 (25-32) - Culbertson
.742 (23-31) - Benike
.734 (58-79) - Shudak
.667 (22-33) - Rick Frank (1985-86)
.647 (44-68) - Stewart
.632 (43-68) - Giffords
.627 (37-59) - Kohl
.618 (21-34) - Shoemake

Highest percentage, all kicks, min. 50 att.
.930 (93-100) - Culbertson
.907 (88-97) - Benike
.862 (150-174) - Shudak
.831 (143-172) - Kohl
.825 (66-80) - Frank
.818 (99-121) - Kollman
.815 (128-157) - Giffords
.807 (71-88) - Shoemake
.801 (121-151) - Stewart
.757 (56-74) - Tony Yelk (2000-05)

THEY WERE IOWA STATERS

Iowa State has had more than its share of NFL and collegiate coaches who worked at ISU before gaining further coaching recognition:

Name/at ISU Known As
Pete Carroll/assistant coach, 1978 USC head coach
Mack Brown/assistant coach 1979 Texas head coach
Joe Bugel/assistant 1973 HC NFL Arizona, Oakland
Dave Campo/assistant 1983 HC NFL Dallas Cowboys
John Fox/assistant 1984 HC NFL Carolina
Jimmy Johnson/assistant 1968-69 HC NFL Dallas/Miami
Glen Mason/assistant 1975-76 KU/Minnesota head coach
Jackie Sherrill/assistant 1968-72 HC Pitt/TX A&M/Miss. St.

Not to Mention the Head Coaches
Pop Warner (1895-99) Yes THAT Pop Warner
Johnny Majors (1968-72) Won 1976 NC at Pitt/HC Tennessee
Earle Bruce (1973-78) HC Big Ten Champion Ohio State

2005 REVIEW: ISU NETS FIFTH BOWL IN SIX YEARS

Iowa State's defense and the continued improvement of the Cyclone offense led by sophomore quarterback Bret Meyer helped ISU erase an 0-3 Big 12 start for the second straight season and earn the school's fifth bowl berth in the last six seasons under head coach Dan McCarney ... the season included a 23-3 win over No. 8 Iowa, the sixth Iowa State win over its intrastate rival in the last eight seasons ... three of ISU's losses came in overtime ... the Cyclones ruined Homecoming at Texas A&M with a 42-14 win over the Aggies and beat Kansas State in Ames (45-17) for the first time since 1983 ... Iowa State's last victory was a memorable 30-16 win over No. 22 Colorado (ISU's first victory in Ames over the Buffaloes since 1983) ... Iowa State lost to No. 14 TCU, 27-24 in the Houston Bowl ... Meyer finished the season with 2,876 passing yards, second in school history ... wide receiver Todd Blythe finished the season as the third 1,000-yard single-season pass catcher in Iowa State history ... Blythe and center Scott Stephenson were tabbed first-team all-conference performers by the Big 12 coaches ... but the story of the 2005 Cyclones was defense ... led by all-Big 12 defensive tackle Brent "Big Play" Curvey and all-conference nose guard Nick Leaders, the Cyclones allowed opponents an all-time defensive low of 102.7 rushing yards per game and just 10 rushing touchdowns ... the yardage total was nearly 40 yards under the school record of 139.2 set in 2004 ... Iowa State allowed a school-record low 2.98 yards per rush ... linebacker Tim Dobbins, cornerback LaMarcus Hicks and free safety Steve Paris also earned all-Big 12 honors.