On 2nd and 10 in the fourth quarter with 8:50 minutes left on the clock, Iowa State was trailing 19-24. Quarterback Rocco Becht threw a pass to Benjamin Brahmer, and Brahmer caught it and advanced further. However, his running drive was stopped by a tackle from ASU’s Keith Abney, and Brahmer collapsed on the field immediately. In no time, he was attended to by medics and was unable to play further. The injury has caused some concerns for Iowa State fans now.

Head coach Matt Campbell appeared in the post-game press conference after the team’s 24-19 loss and provided the updates. “They took him to the hospital, it’s precautionary, so far the feedback we’ve gotten has been positive…it was tough to watch and Ben is as tough as they come,” said Campbell. Moreover, Campbell also refrained from commenting on the tackling incident, which was ruled out to be clean. As for his TE’s injury, he promised to give an update come Tuesday.

“The reality of it is, when Tuesday comes, we can give you guys an update,” said the head coach. Brahmer played well in the game until his injury and even scored a touchdown for his team. In total, the TE received 48 yards. Moreover, that 17-yard touchdown pass was exceptional in the 2nd quarter, as it put ISU ahead 16-17 and gave the team massive hope, as the stadium erupted in loud thunder. But now, the tight end’s injury complicates things.

Iowa State already had several injuries when it played Arizona State this week. Tamatoa McDonough and Will McLaughlin in the D line were injured. Whereas, wide receivers Ty Claiborne and Michael Parkes were already out for at least two weeks. Not to mention, Jace T. Gilbert and Abu Sama were still questionable.

So far, Brahmer has received 317 yards for 3 touchdowns, averaging 10.5 yards per reception. The 6’7″ and 255 lbs TE also helped in blocking duties and was a major piece in ISU’s O-line, too. But now, since his injury looks to be severe, he may miss at least two games.

Without him, redshirt sophomore Tyler Moore will come into the picture along with Keaton Roskop. Iowa State is 5-3 in the season and was initially a Big 12 contender. But now, the team is just playing for a bowl game berth. Brahmer’s injury will then stack the odds against the team even more in its next game against TCU.

Kenny Dillingham shows Matt Campbell the way

Kenny Dillingham had a similar situation to that of Matt Campbell. The head coach also didn’t have his ace receiver, Jordyn Tyson, for the game, missing due to a hamstring injury.

On top of that, Dillingham’s ace quarterback, Sam Leavitt, was just ruled out for the remainder of the season due to another injury. Many then expected the head coach to lose easily against Iowa State. But Kenny Dillingham outlined what philosophy ran through his mind entering the game.

“I mean, excuses are like armpits, everybody has them and they all stink. Nobody cares about your excuses. You either get it done or you don’t, and our guys got it done today. No excuse for who’s in, who’s not in. Nobody cares, right? Do you accomplish a task or not? And our guys accomplished the task today and couldn’t be more proud of them,” said Kenny Dillingham. That mentality has paid dividends massively to Dillingham this season.

The Sun Devis have lost three games in the season, primarily due to Leavitt’s injury issues. But the head coach has never left his ‘never back down’ attitude. Winning on the road against Iowa State surely was tough with a backup QB in Jeff Sims. However, just when everyone was beginning to doubt the coach’s abilities, he proved his worth. Sims rushed for a whopping 228 yards and passed for 177 yards, singlehandedly carrying the team to its 6th win.