Iowa State offense flounders yet again in 20-14 loss at Oklahoma State

Iowa State’s offense turned the ball over five times. It struggled against one of the Big 12’s worst defenses — and inept play on that side of the ball once again doomed the Cyclones to a 20-14 loss Saturday against injury-deleted Oklahoma State at T. Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater.

Rinse and repeat. Another heart-wrenching defeat. And now ISU (4-6, 1-6) is teetering on the brink of falling out of the not-hard-to-reach realm of bowl eligibility for the first time in six seasons.

“The gut-wrenching part of it that I see and our coaching staff sees the leadership of our seniors,” Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell said on the Cyclone Radio Network after the game. “Man, why are you still there when bad things happen and why have you been there when the ball hasn’t bounced your way? Our seniors have led from the front every step of the way and I think that’s what’s hard for me as a head coach.”

ISU’s defense allowed just 244 yard of total offense — the lowest output in a game for Oklahoma State this season.

Cyclone quarterback Hunter Dekkers threw for 274 yards and a touchdown to Sean Shaw, but also tossed up three interceptions while being sacked four times.

ISU wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson became the school’s all-time leader in receptions with 244 after a 10-catch, 106-yard performance in the loss. He passed all-time great and current Green Bay Packer Allen Lazard, who caught 241 passes from 2014-17.

“I’m just grateful to be here and I’m so happy I decided to come here,”Hutchinson said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love this team. I love these coaches.”

Oklahoma State converted just one of its 14 third-down chances, yet still managed to win because of the Cyclones’ sloppy play.

The Cowboys (7-3, 4-3) had been outscored 85-16 in consecutive blowout losses at Kansas State and Kansas, but fully corralled ISU’s league-worst offense to reverse their fortunes.

“I think it’s really simple: we hurt ourselves today,” Hutchinson said. “Just taking care of the ball. I think when we take care of the ball we’ve proven that not a lot of teams can stop our offense. Sometimes we just end ourselves. You can’t have that if you want to win games.”

ISU forced two turnovers and backup cornerback Darien Porter blocked a punt to set up Dekkers’ 4-yard touchdown pass to Shaw that gave the team a 7-3 lead.

But turnovers bedeviled the Cyclones’ offense the entire game and the Cowboys’ longtime starting quarterback Spencer Sanders returned after a two-game absence to toss what proved to be the game-winning touchdown to Jaden Nixon with 9:18 left. The Cowboys tacked on a field goal to lead, 20-14, and ISU’s last-gasp comeback drive ended in an 11-yard sack of Dekkers at the Oklahoma State 34-yard line.

So it’s back to the drawing board for ISU. Senior Day looms Saturday against Texas Tech — and a win could ensure a sixth straight bowl berth depending on how everything shakes out nationally.

“The plane is gonna land and the sun will come up tomorrow,” Campbell said. “We’re on (to) Senior Day next week and you can’t talk about a more monumental and critical time for our team and our program than the ability to respond again to adversity and the ability to show up next Saturday for this senior class.”

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com