Breakdowns and miscues doom No. 22 ISU to second straight loss at Colorado

The clock ticked cruelly toward the final horn.

Once buoyant Iowa State stood by helplessly as Colorado knelt in victory formation to secure a 24-17 win Saturday at Folsom Field.

A second straight field storming finally ensued as the once again mistake-addled 22nd-ranked Cyclones (5-2, 2-2) fell for the second straight time on the road, and answers to what ails them were in short supply as they tumbled into the middle of the pack of the Big 12.

“You just can’t keep shooting yourself in the foot, and we have,” head coach Matt Campbell said on the Cyclone Radio Network.

ISU’s offense epitomized the word futility for must of the first half, but finished off the opening 30 minutes with a brilliant, 10-play, 96-yard touchdown drive to seize a 10-7 lead at halftime. Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht completed six consecutive passes to spark the drive and tailback Abu Sama capped it with his first of two one-yard touchdown runs, and it appeared the Cyclones were poised to take control despite a spate of ill-timed penalties, dropped passes, and errant throws — the recipe for failure they followed in last week’s 38-30 loss at Cincinnati.

Instead, a critical breakdown in pass coverage allowed Colorado quarterback Kaidon Salter to hit his leading wide receiver, Omarion Miller, for an uncovered 70-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the third quarter, which put his team back in front, 14-10.

ISU regained the lead, 17-14, on the ensuing drive as Sama reached the end zone for the second time, but Colorado quickly responded to go up, 21-17.

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So it looked like a shootout was taking shape — until one of many ISU miscues crushed another promising drive.

The Cyclones were first-and-goal at the Colorado two to start the fourth quarter, but two negative rushing plays set up a third-and-7 situation and Becht was intercepted at the goal line by Tawfiq Byard.

On ISU’s ensuing possession, Becht bobbled a snap to turn second-and-1 into third-and-4 at the ISU 15-yard line. Becht then found Brahmer for a three-yard gain, and the Cyclones went for it deep in their own territory, but failed to convert.

Colorado was held to a field goal, to go up by seven, but ISU’s next drive stalled near midfield and this time it punted. The Buffaloes took possession with 3:48 remaining and made key plays to set up the kneel downs by Salter at the end.

Becht completed 18 of 33 passes for 205 yards, zero touchdowns and the interception. Sama finished with a season-high 174 rushing yards on 24 carries. The Cyclones — who outgained the Buffaloes 441 yards to 395 — converted just 2-for-12 of their third-down opportunities while the Buffaloes converted on seven of 15 of them.

“We’ve just got to keep our heads high even though we lost,” Sama said.

Even as ISU may be down a few more guys. Sama’s fellow top back, Carson Hansen, missed Saturday’s game because of a concussion, and star nose guard Domonique Orange did not return after suffering an apparent lower-body injury. That’s just. Short list of the maladies ISU will face as it enters its second bye week in advance of a critical Oct. 25 matchup with No. 18 BYU at home.

“We’ve gotta grow and we’ve gotta fix the issues,” Campbell said.

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com