CYber CYd Football: Messiah's Musings, Week 7

Iowa State travels to Waco, Texas to play Baylor in its Big 12 road-opener. In order to give Cyclone fans an inside look at the Iowa State football team, senior wide receiver Euseph Messiah will be posting a weekly blog at cyclones.com on Friday of each week throughout the football season.

Messiah has a clean slate to talk all things related to his life, academics, Cyclone football and other daily hurdles of being a Division I student-athlete.

Week 7
Hey Cyclone fans! Welcome to the seventh edition of my weekly blog, “Messiah's Musings.” This week we have our second Big 12 conference game as we go down to Waco, Texas and take on Baylor. We would loved to have finished last week's game against Kansas a little differently, but of course there's nothing we can do about it. Instead, all week we've been preparing a great gameplan for the Baylor Bears and we'll be ready this Saturday night for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.

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As we were preparing for our game this weekend in Texas, coach Chizik pointed out something to us that many of us were not aware of. After starting out 2-4 my freshman year in 2004, we came back to beat Baylor 26-25 in Waco (our last game there) and won five of our last six games, including a 17-13 win over Miami, OH in the Independence Bowl. Does everyone remember that thrilling come-from-behind victory over Kansas State in Manhattan, where we scored three TDs in the final three minutes to win 37-23 and become bowl-eligible? That is one of my favorite Cyclone memories.

Since I came to ISU in 2004, we've won two of four Big 12 games in the state of Texas, including that famous 42-14 win over Texas A&M in 2005, my redshirt freshman year. If I remember correctly, we went down there and absolutely dominated the game and my former fellow receiver Todd Blythe had four touchdowns and was a man among boys that day. Not to mention, that game was the first time I got to play! That also happens to be the last conference road win for Iowa State.

If we're going to take our program to the next level, this is obviously an issue that needs to be resolved. The fact that we haven't won a road game in three years only brings more motivation for us as a team to come home with a win.

After scouting Baylor, we noticed that they are a young, athletic team. If anyone hears anything about them, you usually hear about their young quarterback (Robert Griffin) who is an NCAA track champion. But to be honest, their defense has been exceptional as well. They're very solid and play disciplined and that will be a challenge that we're ready to face. If you have a chance to watch, you should tune in because the game is going to be very exciting.

Overall, I believe this week has been filled with hard work and preparation in order to be focused on gameday. As a team, I know that we appreciate all of our fans that always support us every weekend, whether you're watching it on television or taking the trip, because you're the greatest fans in the nation! Like I said earlier, this game should be very exciting. Until next time, GO CYCLONES!

- Euseph

“Striving for success without hard work is