(Learfield Sports) — Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell says having the season opener canceled by weather just a few minutes into the game was not the ideal situation — be he thinks it wasn’t a total loss. “I do think that there were some positives that we took from Saturday. Getting the opportunity to prepare for a game, getting the game started, some of those young guys getting some snaps, getting out in front of our fan base, our crowd. I think there were some positives we were able to take from it,” Cambell says.

The game was stopped by lightening 4:05 in with the Cyclones leading 7-0, and then eventually canceled. Campbell isn’t sure if the cancellation will hurt any one area of the team more that another as they prepare this week for in-state rival Iowa. “As a coach and as a player you want to play, you know, and so I just think our entire team in a lot of ways, getting out there, getting to play the game of football, getting to play under the lights, having successes, having and failures and getting to work through that — that’s probably affected the team in general.

Campbell was asked about the canceled game will serving as a whole game for the players who were suspended for the season opener. “There’s a lot of other things that go into it other than just the game aspect of it. I really personally think those are so minimal,” Campbell says. “It’s when you don’t get to practice with the team for the last month. Or you are on the scout team for the last three weeks, or you’ve had to get up in front of your teammates and apologize.”

Any stats from the canceled game do not count and Iowa State travels to Iowa City for Saturday’s game with a 0-0 record.

(Learfield Sports) — Iowa started slow, but came on in the second half to win their opener with Northern Illinois 33-7 Saturday. Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz says the effort shown by the team carried it through. “I thought our guys played hard, thought they played determined, and that allowed us to play through some bumps in the game, and there certainly were plenty of those,” Ferentz says. “I thought we played good team football, had good responses for the things that didn’t go well — so that certainly was pleasing.”

Ferentz says he especially happy with the way the newcomers responded. He says they had a lot of young guys who got to play in live action and hopefully they will take confidence from the experience and be better as they move forward into the schedule.

In-state rival Iowa State is up next, and Ferentz says they will have to give the same hard effort this week. “Certainly a special game for everybody involved, nothing new there. It’s a great rivalry certainly and one we’re really excited about being part of,” according to Ferentz “And I think it’s not only exciting for our players, our coaches, for alums, fans in the state, but people across the country. It’s a really great thing for everybody I think.”

Ferentz says the Hawkeyes have 12 starters who are Iowa natives. “If you look at our roster — about 50 percent of it is Iowa natives — I think that’s certainly important. It says a lot about the committment that our players I think have to our university and conversely the commitment we have to the state of Iowa,” Ferentz says.

Iowa will host the Cyclone team which played only 4:05 of the opening quarter before their game was suspended and then canceled due to severe weather.

Hawkeye Ten Conference

(3-2) Clarinda 19-25-25-19-15, Denison-Schleswig 25-21-20-25-4
(3-0) Glenwood 25-25-25, Red Oak 16-17-21
(3-1) Harlan 27-25-25-25, Shenandoah 29-23-15-23
(3-0) Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 25-25-25, Clarinda 15-12-12
(3-0) Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 25-25-25, Denison-Schleswig 16-14-13
(3-1) St. Albert 25-25-25, Denison-Schleswig 16-14-13

Western Iowa Conference

(2-0) Logan-Magnolia 25-25, MVAOCOU 23-19
(2-0) Logan-Magnolia 25-25, River Valley 11-14

Rolling Valley Conference

(3-0) Glidden-Ralston 25-25-25, Exira-EHK 13-17-11

Corner Conference

(3-0) Stanton 25-25-25, Heartland Christian 14-14-17

Pride of Iowa Conference

(3-2) Bedford 25-17-25-18-15, Lenox 20-25-18-25-13
(3-2) Maryville, MO 25-24-12-25-15, Southwest Valley 23-26-25-18-11
(3-0) Mount Ayr 25-25-25, Nodaway Valley 20-20-21

Other Scores

(3-0) ADM, Adel 25-25-25, Perry 13-7-14
(3-2) East Union 25-25-17-11-15, Central Decatur, Leon 15-18-25-25-12
(3-0) Murray 25-25-25, Orient-Macksburg 11-10-17
(3-0) Panorama 25-25-25, Madrid 19-17-18

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Yadier Molina hit a grand slam, Marcell Ozuna homered twice and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 11-8. Molina provided a cushion for St. Louis via his sixth career slam, which made it 11-5 with two outs in the ninth. The Cardinals, who occupy the second NL wild card spot, hit five homers overall as they stopped a three-game skid.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Mike Clevinger struck out 10, Francisco Lindor homered leading off the first and the Cleveland Indians rolled over the Kansas City Royals 9-3 to snap a three-game losing streak. Yandy Diaz hit his first major league homer and Jason Kipnis drove in two runs as the Indians moved closer to their third straight AL Central title. Royals starter Danny Duffy left in the first inning with a sore left shoulder and afterward said his season is over.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have signed backup offensive lineman Cam Erving to a two-year contract extension, one year after acquiring the former first-round draft pick in a trade with Cleveland.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is answering some questions in the early going this season. The Hawkeyes linebackers looked at times like seasoned veterans in a 33-7 win over Northern Illinois to open the season. The new cornerbacks and three inexperienced running backs also showed promise. Iowa hosts in-state rival Iowa State on Saturday.

UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State is excited about junior receiver Deshaunte Jones. He a short pass and wove through South Dakota State’s defense for a 55-yard touchdown over the weekend. The play was wiped out when the game was canceled because of bad weather. But the play was a reminder of how explosive the Jones can be. Iowa State visits in-state rival Iowa on Saturday.