Rushing Attack Proving To Be Elite With Dynamic Duo Healthy

The rushing attack for the Iowa State Cyclones proving to be elite despite the loss.

Iowa State Cyclones' running back Carson Hansen (26) runs with the ball as BYU Cougars linebacker Max Alford (30) misses the tackle during the first quarter at Jack Trice Stadium on Oct. 25, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones suffered their third straight loss in the conference following a 41-27 defeat to the BYU Cougars. Even though the loss was a significant blow to the team, there were some positive takeaways in the game. 

Coming into Week 9, the Cyclones needed to get a win against the 11th ranked Cougars at the time. A win would have been able to propel Iowa State back into the AP Top 25, but unfortunately their season has gone in the opposite direction. 

Following the loss, the Cyclones are now under .500 in the Big 12 and with three conference defeats are likely done in terms of trying to compete for a title. Considering the start to the campaign that they were able to have, this is very disappointing. Iowa State was 5-0 to start the year and are now 5-3. 

While this loss was a bad one for the team, it was a major disappointment because of some of their strong performances in the game. Even though the passing attack made a lot of mistakes, the rushing attack proved to be legit. 

Rushing Attack Continues to be Elite

Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coming into the game, the team saw some impressive games on the ground from their rushing attack and there was rightfully reason to believe that they would be able to build upon that. Due to the absence of Carson Hansen for the last game in a half, it was Abu Sama III who was able to thrive with some extended opportunities. 

Sama was able to have some incredible performances, especially as the primary ball-carrier in Week 7 Even though he was playing extremely well coming into the game, the return of Hansen figured to take away some of the workload from Sama. 

That ended up being the case with Hansen leading the team in both carries and rushing yards on Saturday. The junior back didn’t look like he had any rust or issues coming back from the concussion in the loss, but he had a fantastic game. 

Hansen totaled 152 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and caught two passes for eight receiving yards. Hansen came back and led the way for the team on the ground, but Sama was also really impressive. In more of a backup role, Sama totaled 63 yards on just nine carries. 

Overall, the rushing attack for Iowa State was fantastic with the combo of Sama and Hansen both having strong games. Unfortunately, other areas of the team weren’t able to pull their weight in the loss.