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November 7, 2009

OSU respects Cyclones

AMES, Iowa (AP) — In the last few years, Iowa State was often the cure for whatever ailed the rest of the Big 12.

No. 18 Oklahoma State could sure use a pick-me-up after getting blasted by No. 2 Texas 41-14 in Stillwater last week. But the Cyclones don’t appear to be quite the pushovers they once were and the Cowboys (6-2, 3-1 Big 12) know just because they throttled Iowa State 59-17 last season doesn’t necessarily mean they can do it again.

The Cyclones (5-4, 2-3), who host Oklahoma State today, are in the thick of the muddled mess that is the Big 12 North title chase just a year after finishing 2-10.

“You really can’t look past anyone. There’s a lot of upsets that happen in football and you don’t ever want to be that guy or that team that gets upset,” Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon said.

To avoid that, the Cowboys will need to get senior quarterback Zac Robinson on track after a terrible outing against the Longhorns.

Robinson threw a career-high four interceptions in the loss to Texas, one more than he had all season. Robinson finished with just 143 yards passing against the Longhorns — who raced out to an 34-7 lead by taking two of Robinson’s picks back for touchdowns — and he didn’t complete a pass of at least 25 yards for the first time this season.

Robinson is still the Big 12’s highest-rated passer and is just 74 yards shy of passing his coach, Mike Gundy, for the most in Cowboys history.

Iowa State had its hands full with Texas A&M;’s Jerrod Johnson, who completed 23 of 28 passes for 234 yards and three TDs in a 35-10 win.

Iowa State expects even to see an even more dangerous quarterback in Robinson, who sliced them up for 395 yards last season.

That’s not a good sign for the Cyclones, who rank 94th nationally in passing defense. Oklahoma State is also hoping star running back Kendall Hunter, who’s been hobbled since a loss to Houston on Sept. 12, will play.

“Robinson is dangerous is all aspects,” Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. “Running the football as a part of the offense, running the football in a scramble situation and throwing the ball down the field.”

The Cyclones are expecting more out of their quarterback as well, now that junior Austen Arnaud is back in the lineup.

Arnaud whacked his throwing hand on a defender’s helmet early in a win over Baylor on Oct. 17.

Iowa State gutted out a win at Nebraska behind backup QB Jerome Tiller on Oct. 24, forcing eight turnovers in a 9-7 victory. But Arnaud’s absence became more glaring in last week’s loss at College Station and the Cyclones have scored just 19 points in the two games he missed.

Arnaud has thrown for 1,246 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 434 yards and seven TDs. He leads the offense along with Alexander Robinson, the Big 12’s leading rusher at 101.6 yards per game despite a persistent groin injury.

“Austen is the starter for a reason. He’s got a better grasp of everything that’s associated with what we do. Having that back and the command that goes with that will be important to us,” Rhoads said.

Despite the early loss to Houston, the Cowboys knew that a win over the Longhorns would have given them the inside track to a Big 12 South title and perhaps a BCS berth.

Those hopes are now in serious jeopardy.

“We didn’t lose to horrible team,” Oklahoma State offensive lineman Shane Jarka said.

“But we lost to them horribly because of a bunch of mistakes and mental mistakes and turnovers. Bouncing back is going to be hard, but we can do it because we have done it before.”

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