3 takeaways from coach Matt Campbell's press conference before Iowa State vs TCU

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AMES — There were a lot of rough moments for Iowa State football this past Saturday.

The Cyclones (5-4, 2-4 Big 12) not only dropped their fourth straight game of the season – after starting out undefeated through five games – but Matt Campbell’s squad also experienced a scare when tight end Ben Brahmer took a hard hit, collapsed to the turf and needed to be carted off the field on a stretcher.

Brahmer was discharged from the hospital that night.

And regardless of adversity or injuries, the football season moves forward. Iowa State will hit the road for a 2:30 p.m. CT matchup on Nov. 8 against TCU (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) with hopes of ending its losing streak and remaining above .500.

Here are three takeaways from Campbell’s media availability ahead of the Cyclones’ game against the Horned Frogs.

Ben Brahmer: Matt Campbell’s injury update on the tight end

Emotions were high following Iowa State’s loss to Arizona State, and not just because the Cyclones’ losing streak extended to four games. Brahmer’s injury occurred in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game, and the atmosphere didn’t feel quite the same in the closing minutes of the game.

There are still questions surrounding Brahmer’s status, but Campbell did provide a brief update of his tight end’s availability.

“Availability, we’ll just have to see,” Campbell said. “I think that’s going to be a process to physically get him back to where he’s capable of getting back on the football field.

“But obviously as frustrating as Saturday was with the result, I think the greatest news ever was (that) it was a major scare more than it was something that could’ve been really, really scary.”

Josh Hoover and TCU’s passing offense

The Cyclones will face one of the top quarterbacks, statistically, in the conference.

Through the first eight games of the season, Hoover recorded 2,371 passing yards and 22 passing touchdowns (both the second-most in the Big 12).

His six interceptions, though, are also the second-most in the league, behind only Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson and Iowa State’s Rocco Becht, both of whom threw seven picks through nine games.

“You’re going to play a group that is, again, very skilled,” Campbell said of TCU’s offense. “I think Josh is a young man that’s been in this offense now two-and-a-half years. I think what you see is a veteran quarterback that’s got great command of the offense, and he’s got great talent around him.”

Horned Frogs wide receiver Eric McAlister leads the conference with 727 total receiving yards, and his eight receiving touchdowns are the second-most in the Big 12.

Campbell on the consistency of Iowa State’s rushing game

Based on statistics, the Cyclones boast two of the top-10 running backs in the conference between Abu Sama and Carson Hansen. Hansen has recorded the sixth-most yards (613) while Sama – who only carried the ball a couple of times against Arizona State – sits at ninth (558).

The two backs have scored a combined eight touchdowns on the ground.

Iowa State falls in the middle of the Big 12 with its total rushing offense coming in eighth for total yards (1,481) and average yards per carry (4.4). The Cyclones are fifth in rushing touchdowns, with 19 total.

“I certainly think it has been a foundation for us over the last four to five weeks,” Campbell said. “I think you go back and you look at the veteran-ness on that group. …You talk about the offensive line and the amount of snaps that those guys have played.

“You certainly talk about Abu and Carson. I think both those guys are playing excellent, maybe the best they played in their career. …No matter what’s going on, you want to lean on the veterans; you want to lean on the guys that are the foundation of your football team.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Coach Matt Campbell previews Iowa State vs TCU football game

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