Cyclones show improvement in loss at No. 2 Baylor

AMES - Three straight weeks of playing the top-three offenses in the country could have had a way of taking their tolls on Iowa State. To a certain degree they did, but there might be a little more to that.

Sure, Saturday's 45-27 loss to No. 2 Baylor in Waco was the third-straight loss for the Cyclones, but Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads saw something in his team as the weeks progressed.

'I would argue that we increasingly got better against arguably increasingly better offenses,” Rhoads said after the game. 'Going from Texas Tech to TCU to Baylor, I'd argue we played better from one game to the next so I think it's already benefiting us. We're already improving from it.”

The Bears (7-0, 4-0) entered Saturday averaging nearly 64 points and 720 yards of total offense, but managed just 45 points and 485 yards against the Cyclones. No one within the ISU locker room - or in FBS football - is into moral victories, but holding the No. 1 offensive team in the country to almost 20 points and 200-plus yards below its season average shows Iowa State is taking steps in a positive direction.

The defense ratcheted up its play - forcing five BU punts and two turnovers - but it's the offense that might have found its spark. Sophomore Joel Lanning was brought in late in the second quarter in relief of the struggling Sam Richardson, and engineered all four ISU scoring drives while going 12-for-17 for 144 yards and three touchdowns.

Lanning showcased his arm and delivered two passes in tight windows - one to Quenton Bundrage and the other to Jauan Wesley - in the end zone for touchdowns. Bundrage had another touchdown grab that he fought through traffic to finish, giving him four catches for 69 yards and two scores.

'Scoring that touchdown right before the half and then the defense stopping them we kind of had momentum going into the second half and we just kept rolling,” Lanning said. 'The offense kept chipping away and the defense, we set goals for this game, and the defense executed.”

After going up 35-0 in the second quarter, Baylor was held scoreless for 32:43 while Iowa State rattled off 20 unanswered points. The ISU running game allowed the offense some creativity and Mike Warren gained 145 yards on 28 carries, giving him 797 yards this season.

Iowa State gets Texas next Saturday in Ames for ISU homecoming. The Longhorns (3-4, 2-2) beat Kansas State 23-9 Saturday, giving the Cyclones plenty of reason to put this game in the rearview mirror.

'You're pleased with the energy and effort they gave,” Rhoads said of his team. 'Not pleased with the outcome and tomorrow we'll go back to work to get that corrected.”

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