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• Video: See Nebraska coach Bo Pelini answer questions after Thursday's practice as the Huskers prepare for Saturday's showdown with Iowa State:
AMES, Iowa — The Iowa State defense isn't any bigger, faster or stronger than it was a couple of weeks ago.
But the Cyclones believe they have a better chance of hanging with opponents because they are smarter — at least when it comes to having a better grasp of what new head coach Paul Rhoads and his staff are trying to get across to them.
Football might grade itself on a different scale than the one used by college professors. Still, there's a connection to teaching, whether it comes on the field or in the classroom.
“One of the greatest aspects of being a teacher is seeing the lights go on when your students grasp the concepts you give them,'' Rhoads said. “That continues to take place with our football team.''
The Cyclones defenders turned in a lights-out performance in their previous game, holding Baylor without a touchdown until just nine seconds remained in the game. The result was a 24-10 victory over the Bears that left Iowa State with a 4-3 record heading into Saturday's game at Nebraska.
Even with the Huskers struggling on offense, it doesn't take a doctorate in football philosophy to know that the challenge awaiting the Cyclones increases exponentially once they step inside Memorial Stadium.
But the foundation being laid by Rhoads and his staff has Iowa State defenders thinking they at least have a chance of slowing a Nebraska attack with a long history of abusing anyone wearing cardinal and gold.
“There's been a lot of emphasis placed on the little things that have held us back in the past,'' Iowa State senior defensive tackle Nate Frere said. “We've been close in the past, but coach Rhoads and his staff have come in and done a great job.
“We've all bought into what they're doing.''
Another senior, safety James Smith of Council Bluffs, echoes Frere's assessment.
“We're starting to take the coaching,'' Smith said. “We're seeing the stuff they're emphasizing in practice works. As players, we're doing what we're supposed to do.''
Rhoads, whose background is on defense, made it a priority when he took over the program to beef up that side of the line of scrimmage. From a statistical standpoint, the gains have been modest.
They're much more significant from an emotional standpoint.
“We've always wanted to do the job, but we haven't always gotten it done,'' linebacker Fred Garrin said. “Now we're going out there with the idea that we're going to give a consistent effort and we're going to make plays. We feel that we can help the team.''
A year ago, the Cyclones surrendered an average of 453 yards and 36 points in a 2-10 season, going winless in Big 12 play.
The ISU defense's best standing in the NCAA statistics in 2008 was 95th in rushing defense. The Cyclones ranked 110th out of 119 teams in scoring defense, 112th in total defense, 116th in passing defense and 117th in pass efficiency defense.
After seven games this season, Iowa State's high-water defensive mark is 42nd in scoring defense (21.6 points per game). The Cyclones are 67th in rushing defense, 87th in pass efficiency defense, 88th in total defense and 95th in passing defense.
While hardly cause for celebration, those rankings are enough to indicate that some progress is being made. The Cyclones are giving up two touchdowns and 66 yards less than in 2008.
Iowa State came up with three interceptions against Baylor, illustrating to Rhoads some resiliency that his defense had been lacking earlier in the season.
“To play with the mind-set that we did for 60 minutes was very encouraging, especially a couple of those interceptions that came after Baylor had driven the ball down the field on us,'' Rhoads said. “I'd seen too many chins drop, I'd seen too many drops in effort-level plays earlier in the season.
“In this particular game, after Baylor crossed our 50, our kids kept playing with the same effort, the same attitude and the same mind-set. The results were positive, and we finished off those drives.''
Saturday the Cyclones face a team that has put up obscene point totals against them over the years. Since 1962, Nebraska has scored 40 or more points against Iowa State 11 times, 50 or more twice and 70 or more three times.
The Huskers hold an 84-17-2 edge in the series, and Iowa State has not won in Lincoln since 1977. Frere said none of that history, nor the fact that Nebraska's offense is struggling, can concern the Cyclones.
“It's good that we're playing them after we won,'' he said. “We've got a little confidence back. As a defense, we're doing the little things that we didn't in the past. We've drastically lowered our number of missed tackles, we're cleaning up missed assignments.
“That all goes back to having a better understanding of the defense.''
Contact the writer:
679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
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