Tag: Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State loses star linebacker to leg injury ahead of rivalry game

Bad news for Iowa State football as linebacker Caleb Bacon is out indefinitely with a leg injury.

Matt Campbell and the Iowa State Cyclones got terrible news this week, as one of their top defensive threats was announced out indefinitely with an injury. Linebacker Caleb Bacon will miss this Saturday and many other games during the 2024 season.

Bacon had surgery on Sunday to repair a lower left leg injury. He hurt his leg in the first quarter of the win over North Dakota.

Bacon was second on the team a season ago with 60 tackles. While he will certainly miss time, the Cyclones are holding out hope that he can return this season. Matt Campbell, the Cyclones’ head coach, had this to say when asked about Bacon:

I do think he’ll be back at some point later this season, or have the opportunity to get back later in the season, based on recovery. Obviously, that’s a tough blow for Caleb, just because he’s done such a great job, but the great news is from what it could have been and what it was, there’s a lot of positivity around it, too.

Zachary Lovett and Jack Sadowsky V will pick up the slack for the Cyclones in the linebacker room. Iowa State has a big game this coming weekend, as they take on in-state rival Iowa on the road.

Iowa football expecting ‘confident, poised’ ISU QB Rocco Becht

Iowa expects to square off against a confident and poised quarterback in Rocco Becht come Saturday.

Iowa expects to meet an experienced quarterback come Saturday in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

In his Tuesday press conference to preview the rivalry matchup, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz shared his initial thoughts on the Iowa State Cyclones.

“Talking about Iowa State. They are a good football program and a good football team. I have a lot of admiration for their staff. They have a really good coaching staff. They’ve done a great job since Coach Campbell arrived. They have a veteran football team. They’ve recruited well, they coach their guys well, and each and every year there’s a good program and a good team.

“Look at the last six years, I think it’s a five-point whatever differential between the two teams, so I would expect the same thing Saturday. Another tough competitive hard-fought game. That’s what we’re looking at there,” Ferentz said.

That admiration from Ferentz extends to the Cyclones’ most important player, redshirt sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht.

“When I talked about them being a veteran team, veteran in the key parts, and that’s one of the positions I was referencing. He’s not an old guy, but he’s played enough now where I think he’s a very confident guy, very poised, and does a good job running their offense, and they’ve got a really talented group of receivers. Tight end Brahmer is a good receiver, so they have guys they can get the ball to, and I’m sure they will. He’s done a nice job leading their football team, and I’m guessing his best football is still ahead of him,” Ferentz said.

The 6-foot-1, 210 pound quarterback played and started all 13 games for the Cyclones in 2023. A product of Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, Fla., Becht completed 63.5% of his passes, passed for 2,674 yards and 20 touchdowns a season ago.

In Iowa State’s 21-3 season-opening win against North Dakota, Becht finished 20-of-26 passing for 267 yards with two touchdown passes.

Iowa graduate CASH Sebastian Castro had one of the game’s biggest plays in the Cy-Hawk Series off Becht last year, though. Castro intercepted Becht’s second-quarter pass and raced 30 yards for a pick-six to put Iowa in front 17-0.

The Hawkeyes would go on to win 20-13. Iowa limited Becht to a 23-of-44 passing day with one touchdown against Castro’s interception. The Cyclones’ offense finished with 290 yards.

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Big 12 did not have a single team in top ten of The Athletic’s rankings

No Big 12 football teams were listed in the top ten of The Athletic’s college football rankings of all 134 FCS teams ahead of the 2024 season.

With the college football season set to kickoff this weekend, Chris Vannini of The Athletic released his 1-134 rankings. The Big 12 conference did not see a single team rank inside the Top 10 to start the season.

The Utah Utes were the top-ranked team from the Big 12. Kyle Whittingham and his Utes checked in at 11th in the rankings. That was just behind the Missouri Tigers at 10 and just ahead of Penn State at 12.

The second-ranked Big 12 team is the Iowa State Cyclones. The Cyclones, who went 7-6 last season, started 2023 at 56. This year, they are 19th, just behind their in-state rival Iowa. Checking in just after Iowa State is Kansas State and Kansas. Both the Wildcats and Jayhawks went 9-4 last season.  Oklahoma State was next, ranked at 22nd.

Arizona rounded out the Top 25 right at 25th in the rankings. When discussing Utah for the 2024 season this is what Vannini had to say about the Utes:

Utah looks like the Big 12 favorite with quarterback Cam Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe back, along with most of its really good defense.

He also went on to discuss the other Big 12 teams in the rankings:

I feel like Iowa State is being overlooked and will be a Big 12 contender. The Cyclones bring back almost everything from last season and don’t have a surprise gambling scandal hanging over things like last year. Kansas State and Kansas should have two of the most exciting offenses in the country, but will that be enough to contend for the Big 12? Oklahoma State is constantly slept on but won 10 games again last year and has the best running back in the country in Ollie Gordon II.  New coach Brent Brennan walks into a good situation at Arizona with rising star quarterback Noah Fifita.

The first Big 12 game of the season is August 29th, as Central Florida hosts New Hampshire, one of four conference games that night.

How this U.S. Amateur finalist is honoring slain Iowa State golfer

Ballester has plenty to play for Sunday.

CHASKA, Minn. — One of Josele Ballester’s head covers has the initials CBA on it. It may seem insignificant to most, but it’s a driving force for Ballester every time he tees it up.

The initials stand for Celia Barquin Arozamena, a former Iowa State golfer who was killed Sept. 17, 2018, while playing golf alone at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames, Iowa. The 22-year-old won the Big 12 Championship earlier that year.

This week, Ballester has made a run to the championship match of the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club, and Barquin Arozamena has been with him every step of the way.

“I had a chance to play with her once, and I’m pretty close to the family she had in Spain because we are from the same area,” said Ballester, who turns 21 on Sunday and is a rising senior at Arizona State. “So it’s just in her honor. Those are her initials.”

Collin Richards, the homeless man who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing Barquin Arozamena, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ballester is far from the only person to honor Barquin Arozamena. Nacho Elvira dedicated his win at the 2021 Cazoo Open on the DP World Tour to her, as well. Numerous college and players held memorials after the killing.

“(I’ve had it) since the moment it happened,” Ballester said. “Five, six years.”

On Sunday, Ballester will try to become the first Spaniard to win the U.S. Amateur, a historic feat.

But he’s also playing in memory of CBA.

Oklahoma Sooners play old foe in CBS Sports preseason bowl projections

The Oklahoma Sooners are going bowling in 2024 but miss out on the College Football Playoff per CBS Sports.

All eyes are on the Oklahoma Sooners entering their first year in the SEC. Unlike the Texas Longhorns, everyone’s preseason pick to make a smooth transition into their new league, the Sooners have much to prove to SEC and national observers in 2024.

Oklahoma was picked to finish eighth in the SEC preseason media poll. While it is the No. 16 team in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25, the Sooners are still eighth among SEC teams in the preseason rankings.

The hesitancy to pick Oklahoma to finish better is largely related to its  schedule, which includes six teams ranked in the top 15 of both major polls.

Over at CBS Sports, Jerry Palm expects the Sooners to go bowling in 2024 despite their difficult schedule.

Palm has the Sooners traveling to Houston to play Iowa State in the Texas Bowl. Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners have won each of the last two matchups against the Cyclones, winning by 14 in 2022 and then by 30 in 2023. It’s a series the Sooners have dominated, 80-7-2. The only team the Oklahoma Sooners have beaten more than Iowa State is Oklahoma State.

In his projections, Palm has Georgia, Texas, Alabama, and Texas A&M making the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag]. Ole Miss, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri and Auburn are slated to make bowl appearances.

That’s 11 of the 16 teams in the SEC expected to play in the College Football Playoff or a bowl game.

A bowl game for the Sooners wouldn’t meet expectations. Despite the schedule, this is a program that expects to contend for national titles. Missing the playoff would be a rough start to their tenure in the SEC.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

Royce White, who won the Minnesota Republican Senate primary, was never an NBA star

Royce White scored as many points in the NBA as President Joe Biden.

Royce White, who was selected in the first-round of the 2012 NBA Draft, won the Republican primary for a senate seat in Minnesota.

After a very public battle with anxiety highlighted by his fear of flying, it became difficult for White to ever get on the court during his professional career.

Even hearing your name called in the NBA draft is no easy task, and White did have an impressive collegiate career in the Big 12 for Iowa State. He also had success while playing in Canada, but he never reached anywhere near his full potential in the NBA.

White, who was an outspoken advocate for mental health policy and also a general critic of the league, only played nine minutes across three games in the NBA. He never recorded any points, rebounds, assists, steals, or blocks.

In fact, per Stathead, his career Player Efficiency Rating (PER) ranks as the worst of any first-round pick ever selected in the NBA Draft. He also had the lowest Box Plus-Minus (BPM) of any first-round pick since 2004.

Yet despite the lack of success on the court, White was still recently labeled as a “former NBA star” after his primary win.

The nominee, who lost a Republican primary in an attempt to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar for congress in 2022, is considered unlikely to win the general election against incumbent Senator Amy Klobuchar.

He has raised some concerns due to many of his recent comments, such as stating that women are “too mouthy” to former media executive and currently imprisoned felon Steve Bannon.

White has elsewhere created controversy due to comments about Jewish people, the LGBTQ community, and he has leaned into several concerning conspiracy theories.

His campaign finances have also come into question, and independently, he reportedly faces a potential jail sentence due to unpaid child support.

All of this to say, even with politics aside, it was easy for sports fans to wonder about  the use of the word “star” when describing White’s NBA career.

Fans didn’t agree with this characterization

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Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht playing host to free youth football camp

Iowa State QB Rocco Becht is hosting and funding a camp at a school in Perry, Iowa

Many athletes excel at using their NIL money to benefit others.

One of them is Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, the son of former NFL tight end and current St. Louis Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht.

Rocco will host and fund a camp for fifth through eighth graders on July 13. He will also donate to Perry Community Schools from his NIL funds.

We Will Collective shared the news and admiration via X (formerly Twitter).

“The state of Iowa and our community has given so much love to me and my family, and we wanted to find a way to give back,” Becht said in a release. “Perry has gone through so much in the past year, and this was a small way to show support and provide a fun day for the kids in Perry.”

The hardships Becht alludes to are a heartbreaking yet seemingly common theme these days: a school shooting.

Per the USA TODAY Network’s Des Moines Register, the event will take place just over six months since five students and three staff members were shot on Jan. 4, 2024, at Perry High School. A sixth-grader and principal Dan Marburger died as a result.

Sign-ups are exclusive to fifth through eighth graders from Perry schools. Anyone wishing to sign up can contact events@wewillcollective.com.

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Duke finishes at No. 9 in final AP poll

Four ACC teams, including Duke, crack final AP poll of the 2023-2024 season.

While the season’s outcome was not what many expected when Duke took the floor to start the season, Jon Scheyer’s team was, in essence, just 12 minutes from a Final Four berth.

NC State made more plays down the stretch and ultimately ended Duke’s season before having their season ended by national runner-up Purdue. Connecticut was always the best team from beginning to end, and they proved it by doing what hadn’t been done since Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators teams in 2006–07: winning a second consecutive national title.

It should come as no surprise that the Huskies end the season as the No. 1 team in the final AP poll for the 2023-2024 season. Purdue was second, while Houston, whom Duke beat in the Sweet 16, tied with Alabama for the third-place spot. Tennessee checked in at number five.

Illinois was next at No. 6, followed by North Carolina, Iowa State, and Duke. NC State rounds out the top 10 despite never joining the poll during the regular season. Clemson, one of four ACC schools to make at least the Sweet 16, finished at No. 14.

The ACC had the same number of teams in the final AP poll as the Big 12, with four each.

‘Oh she is a blessing’: Patty Gasso on being able to turn to Riley Ludlam at catcher

One of the unsung heroes for Oklahoma this year has been the play of transfer, Riley Ludlam.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been without one of their captains for some time now. [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] hasn’t played a full series since the Sooners played the [autotag]Iowa State Cyclones[/autotag] as she deals with a knee injury.

She’s only played two games since then. It’s been huge for Oklahoma that they can turn to someone with a lot of experience like [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag]. Ludlam has started each of the last six games at catcher. Since replacing Hansen in the lineup in the opener against Texas Tech, she has just one hit, a home run, but she’s also walked 12 times and scored five runs.

“Oh she is a blessing,” Patty Gasso said of Ludlam. “We had a couple of catchers leave us unexpectedly and we went scrambling because a lot of catchers were already pulled in a lot of directions or universities. It was just a blessing for her and me to find each other. When I called her, she didn’t believe it was me. It took me a while to get her to understand that I am the coach at Oklahoma, and she came down for a visit. She was wonderful, her family was wonderful, and I knew I wanted her here.”

Ludlam had already proven to be a fantastic addition, even in a reserve role. But with Hansen out of the lineup, she’s become even more valuable. Her effectiveness at and behind the plate will allow the Sooners to be patient with Hansen’s recovery as the season goes along.

Ludlam is just one of many Sooners who aren’t talked about enough but are playing a big role right now.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Brock Purdy offered encouragement to Audi Crooks and Iowa State after heartbreaking OT loss to Stanford

This was an extremely kind gesture by Brock Purdy.

Brock Purdy is a women’s hoops fan, and on Sunday, he attended Iowa State and Stanford’s bucket-getting matchup to support his alma mater. The Cyclones ultimately fell to Stanford in overtime, but postgame, Purdy was there to offer encouragement and words of wisdom.

The stars have come out to see the 2024 women’s NCAA tournament. During the first week of March Madness, Cheryl Miller, Vanessa Bryant and her daughters, Caleb Williams and Russell Westbrook and his wife, Nina, all took in some terrific games. However, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy may have been treated to the best game of the tournament.

Purdy, and his wife, Jenna, were in attendance to see the Iowa State Cyclones women’s basketball team play Stanford in a March Madness classic. Though the Cyclones weren’t able to secure a win, head coach Bill Fennelly had Purdy speak with Audi Crooks, fellow freshman Jalynn Brooks and the team to share some of his wisdom after his own heartbreaking loss, Super Bowl 58.

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According to Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register, Purdy shared these words with the team:

“He just told us, ‘You wear Iowa State, keep your heads up. We have people around us, and you can see it,’ Bristow said.”