Offensive Players to Watch: TCU @ Ames College

Hello and welcome to my favorite upcoming weekend on the schedule! Sure it’s not homecoming, but a Jack Trice Legacy Game at 7:00 PM CT?! Inject it into my veins! Just look at these (chefs kiss)!

Ames College: Abu Sama III

On a less-than-ideal day for us, Abu Sama stood out with his seven carries for 67 yards with a long of 39 led the backfield in all stats. He had high praise coming into the program showcasing his exceptional speed and running capabilities in the state championship game last year for Southeast Polk. He finished the game with 372 yards, six touchdowns, and four plays that were longer than 60 yards.

Although Cartevious Norton (143 rushing yards) and Eli Sanders (112 rushing yards) are dominating the snaps in the backfield, Abu has rushed for 133 yards with our longest recorded run this season against Oklahoma last weekend. With Nate Scheelhaase opening up the playbook and focusing more on passing, Abu’s speed could become advantageous on short screens, wheel routes, or quick pitches to get him into space . It remains to be seen if Matt Campbell and Nate Scheelhaase will continue to use him as a specific package or become a focal piece. However, it is nice to see his presence felt in the team’s offensive production. The only thing Abu Sama has yet to do is score a touchdown for the Cyclones, but that feels it could happen any day.

TCU: Emani Bailey

Emani Bailey is the leading rusher for TCU’s offense. He has already accumulated 538 rushing yards on 100 carries, scored two touchdowns, caught nine receptions for 75 receiving yards, and his longest run was for 74 yards. Just in case anyone wants to know how good of a runner he is, he single-handedly has rushed for more yards than all of the Cyclones combined and is currently ranked eighth in rushing yards.

Despite being registered as a junior, Emani is no stranger to Jack Trice or the Cyclones. To bring back some painful memories, he was on the bench for Louisiana when they visited Ames in 2020 but did not see playing time sitting behind Trey Ragas and Elijah Mitchell. After the 2021 season, Emani transferred to TCU and ran for 58 yards against us in Fort Worth last season. With the woes of last weekend’s defensive performance Iowa State showed, TCU will be looking to capitalize on the ground game.

Honorable Mention: New October Tradition?

What are we going to call it when Rooco Becht starts winning as much as Brock Purdy did in this fine month? Rocctober, Roctober, or Bechtober? RoccoSzn needs to turn into something fun and wild this month!