TAKEAWAYS: Klotz & Cyclones clean up in win over Cincinnati – CycloneFanatic.com

Iowa State Cyclones tight end Stevo Klotz (49) runs for a touchdown around Cincinnati Bearcats star Jiquan Sanks 9) during the third quarter of a Week-12 NCAA football game at Jack Trice Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AMES – Iowa State’s offense looked lost and disorganized in the first half, the offense, but with the help of a resurgent defense, rallied in the second half to beat Cincinnati, 34-17.

The Cyclones are now 8-2 overall and 5-2 in Big 12 play.

Let’s get into it.

The Stevo Klotz game

There’s no doubt who gets the hypothetical game ball in this one – it’s no. 49.

Stevo Klotz, a fifth-year senior at tight end and fullback, gave Iowa State a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, catching a ball wide open after sneaking by defenders.

Later, he would extend a Cyclones drive and run 22 yards down the field on a fake punt.

Starting tight end Ben Brahmer still hurt, and both Gabe Burkle & Tyler Moore The Cyclones got beat up last week at Arrowhead Stadium and the Cyclones needed someone to step up.

Klotz took that task and ran with it. He officially finished with 32 yards on three receptions, but had a big block late that helped with a 32-yard Rocco Becht drive as Iowa State tried to shut it out. When they needed it, 49 was there.

“It’s Stevo,” coach Matt Campbell said after the game. “He was incredible today for us … To see (Burkle) and Stevo step in and obviously have some critical catches. We’ve had that (fake punt) in our back pocket here for the last couple of weeks and have been waiting for the right opportunity and just executed it. What Stevo would tell you is that it’s the other 10 guys who execute.”

It’s kind of ironic – while Klotz played a big role in many of the game’s memorable moments, he was also the receiver on what was probably the low point for anyone in the stands or at home rooting for the Cyclones.

An ugly first half

Late in the second quarter, with Iowa State trailing 10–7, it failed to convert on its first two plays of the drive, then threw a screen to Klotz on 3rd-and-13 for a one-yard gain.

It was the second of back-to-back three-and-outs, and the offense had left no sign of being able to move the ball.

With two straight losses weighing on the team and some cold weather to add to frustrations, there were some boos that rained down from the crowd after the sequence.

On several occasions, Iowa State ran the ball after setting up 1st and 15 situations, making short gains if not stopped at the goal line.

I’ll delve more into the game selection through the game in Monday Musings, but as ugly as it was at times, it was just as unpredictable at others.

The unexpected

When was the last time you remember Iowa State running a fake punt? It’s probably fitting that the Cyclones saved it for the matchup with Tyson Veidt – Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator who spent eight years with the current staff across the field.

Lots of unexpected things followed, which I wanted to wrap up in quick hit form.

-Iowa State saw the return of junior linebacker Will McLaughlin, who had sat out the first nine games of the season after having back surgery to repair a herniated disc in August.

“Absolutely not,” McLaughlin said when asked after the game if he thought Veidt expected him to play Saturday. “I had been playing around from day one.”

The in-state linebacker had rehabbed and rebuilt his injury throughout the season in hopes of playing against his former coach, and did so, totaling four tackles in his team’s victory.

“I had fun out there,” McLaughlin said. “(My back is) good. I feel 100 percent. I had so much fun being back out there…Coach Veidt — he’s a lot of who I am today, along with Coach Kratch. I think ​I got the best of both worlds with both of these coaches.”

His return is welcomed, especially with the amount of injuries the team has seen at the linebacker spot.

McLaughlin added that he and the staff are also exploring a redshirt year. He would retain his eligibility as long as he appears in just three more games this year.

– Backup quarterback Connor Moberly got a little bit of run and appeared in the game for three plays during the win.

Each time it wasn’t Moberly who threw the ball, but that may have just been a coincidence.

“I think (Moberly) is a guy we’re very excited about just because he brings a different dynamic,” Campbell said. “I think he can run and throw it a little bit — obviously Rocco Becht can, too. We’re just trying to diversify who we want to be offensively. (Freshman running back) Aiden Flora had a couple of good runs — he’s a kid who also continues to play really good football for us, I think for us it’s just about how we can continue to diversify and continue to open up the offense so that we can be unique in critical moments. “

The freshman had a five-yard rush and was part of a trick play that nearly found a new face on offense his first touchdown.

-Iowa State may have found ‘a guy’ who could become their third wide receiver in the Frisco, Texas native Brett Eskildsen.

The true freshman caught his first pair of receptions as a Cyclone on Saturday, both in critical situations that resulted in first downs.

“I really feel like that’s the story,” Campbell said. “We just keep coming and they come from everywhere and they keep playing to the standard of excellence that the program is about. Guys have to keep stepping up in critical situations and they keep in doing so.”

Eskildsen’s performance on special teams, which likely helped him see the field at wide receiver this year, even drew a comparison to Darien Porter, a player Campbell has referred to as ‘elite’ in the special teams department.

“Brett has been unbelievable for us, really everybody falls on special teams,” Campbell said. Then, boom, he gets a moment and he takes advantage of it. I’m really just happy for him because I think he’s going to have an incredible career here. He has really played fantastic football. If you’ve seen, he’s with (Porter) on the punt team. They have been absolutely incredible all autumn. He’s played for us on kick return and has played for us in our punt block unit… so just really happy for him.

“In terms of critical catches, he shows up,” Campbell said. “But again, that’s the story, isn’t it? Every game, win or lose, someone steps up at a critical moment and plays great football for us.”

It was history again as the Cyclones picked up their eighth win of the year.

Now it’s on to Utah.