AMES - Jimmy Rogers didn’t need long to figure out what Kalani Sitake was about.
Years ago, when Sitake was coaching at Eastern Arizona and Rogers’ brother was in the program, the two crossed paths and Rogers came away with a lasting impression. Now the respect is still there, only the stakes are much bigger. Rogers is in his first season at Iowa State, Sitake has BYU sitting at No. 8, and the Cyclones head to Provo for a Friday night test that feels like a measuring stick for where this new era stands.
“(He’s) a hell of a coach,” said Rogers, whose Cyclones (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) will face Sitake’s Cougars (4-0, 2-0) at 9:15 p.m. Friday (ESPN) at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah.
“He’s just a great person. You could see his players just play for him and what he’s been able to turn BYU into over the years has been incredible to see.”
Rogers has been in Ames since December, and the job has come with the usual expectations plus a few extra layers. Iowa State was picked by many to finish last in the 16-team Big 12, but the message inside the building has stayed the same: winning matters, and so does how you get there. Rogers has not been willing to let a 3-2 start turn into self-congratulation.
“I don’t know if we’ve lived up to expectations,” said Rogers, whose team was picked by many to finish last in the 16-team Big 12. “They’re pretty high in here.
We’re 3-2. We’ve got a whole season left to go.
We’ve gotta just continue to grow and grow daily on the practice field. I think that’s extremely important.
Just because you win you can’t bask in (it).”
That mindset will be tested immediately. Iowa State’s next three-game stretch sends the Cyclones into two road trips separated by their lone bye week of the season: Friday night in Provo, then after the break a trip to Arizona on Oct.
- Oddsmakers in Las Vegas are expecting trouble on both ends, but that’s hardly new territory for a program that has lived in the underdog lane for a long time.
“We’ll fight through whatever situation, whatever circumstances, wherever we go, no matter where we’re at, we’re gonna fight,” said wide receiver Omari Hayes, who leads the Cyclones in receptions with 14.
Rogers keeps coming back to the same idea: growth has to be constant, and comfort has no place after a win. That’s especially true after Iowa State picked up its first Big 12 victory of the Rogers era last weekend against West Virginia, a 45-42 result that gave the Cyclones something to build on without giving them permission to relax.
“Proud of the win, obviously, but there are so many things inside of that game that we could look at and say we can be so much better in certain areas,” Rogers said. “Just to gloss over that because we win - I refuse to do that.”
The matchup itself has a simple edge to it. Iowa State goes in as a 10-point underdog, and BYU’s defense has been especially stout against the run, ranking second in the Big 12 by allowing 75.0 rushing yards per game. The Cyclones, though, have their own punch on the ground in Aiden Flora, who is second in the Big 12 in rushing and drew several national honors this week after piling up five touchdowns - three rushing and two passing - in the win over the Mountaineers.
So when Rogers and Sitake meet for the first time as Power Four head coaches, there’s plenty at stake even if the mutual admiration is real. The respect is obvious. The competition is what matters now.
“We’re a work in progress right now,” Rogers said. “We’re far from what we want, demand and expect.”
And?
“We’re only gonna get better,” Rogers added.
In Other News...
Iowa State Is Suddenly Facing Real Year 1 Bowl Pressure
A 3-2 start has Iowa State in a familiar-looking spot on the surface, but the pressure around the program is different this fall. First-year coach Jimmy Rogers inherited a roster with significant turnover, and now the Cyclones are trying to turn early promise into something more concrete as they get ready to face BYU.
For a team adjusting to a new coach and a reshaped roster, bowl projections can feel like a small thing until they start reflecting the bigger expectations around the season. ESPN analyst Kyle Bonagura has Iowa State headed to the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl against Washington, which would be a decent outcome for a transitional year, but the Cyclones still have to keep winning to make that conversation matter at all. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Faces A Defensive Test It Cant Afford To Flunk
Iowa State is getting a clear early warning about what awaits in its matchup with BYU, and the focus starts with quarterback Bear Bachmeier. His running style gives the Cougars a different kind of stress point to prepare for, and the Cyclones have spent the lead-up talking about how important defensive discipline will be against a quarterback who can turn a routine snap into a problem in a hurry.
The challenge comes with a little less margin for error because Iowa State is also working around the absence of starting safety Drew Surges, who is out with an injury but expected back soon. Even so, the Cyclones know the job in front of them is bigger than any one lineup note, and how well they handle Bachmeiers legs may say plenty about whether the defense can hold up when it needs to most. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Heads Into Iowa State Showdown With Major Injury Concerns
A Week 6 trip to BYU already looked like a measuring-stick game for Iowa State, and the injury report has only sharpened the edges of it. The Cyclones head into Provo with three defensive players, Drew Surges, Caden Crawford and Ka'Mori Moore, unavailable, which puts even more pressure on a unit that will need to deal with a physical road environment and a Cougars offense missing some of its own key pieces.
BYU will be without running back LJ Martin and linebacker Isaiah Glasker, absences that could reshape both the pace and the intensity of the matchup. For Iowa State, that means the usual road-game challenge now comes with a little less certainty on both sides of the ball, and a lot more emphasis on which team can adjust fastest once the first quarter starts to settle in. [Read more 🡒]