Iowa State hangs around, but No. 14 Oklahoma prevails, 34-24

AMES - The Iowa State football team has put scares into a number of opponents this season with chances to win four or five of them.

In the end, though, that's all they are. Just scares.

The Cyclones have proven to be a tough out during weeknight home games. An upset of then-No. 2 Oklahoma State five years ago and a one-point loss to Texas three years ago come to mind.

No. 14 Oklahoma was the latest target. Iowa State was within one score in the fourth quarter, but simply couldn't make enough plays in a 34-24 loss Thursday night - its 18th-straight in the series - and fifth this season by 10 points or less.

'Just the little things we need to do to fix that,” quarterback Joel Lanning said. 'We're so close, but it's to the point where we're tired of staying close. One of these times, we're going to get things falling our way and get things changed around.”

The Cyclones (1-8, 0-6) started sophomore Jacob Park over Lanning for the first time this season with some success. Park was 16-for-29 passing for 160 yards and two touchdowns and continued a rotation within series with Lanning, who had seven carries for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Park had scoring strikes to wide receivers Allen Lazard - 31 yards - and Dondre Daley - 23 yards - and took just one sack, but it was the miscues that stuck with him more than the plays he made.

'Coach (Matt) Campbell has really challenged me to be in the film room and know the scheme of the week inside and out and that's what's frustrating the most,” Park said. 'I've lived in here all week just like I did last week and I'm getting my preparation down and not executing the play I've made 1,000 times. It'll eat at you.”

Oklahoma (7-2, 6-0) led 14-10 in the second quarter before Iowa State found its biggest play from scrimmage. On fourth and two on the right side of midfield, Lanning lined up in shotgun and ran to the left side of a crowd and fought for a couple yards.

He found a lot more.

Lanning burst through the line and rumbled 41 yards for a go-ahead touchdown and gave his team a spark to hang with a top-15 team.

'Everyone was blocking on that play and it just sprung me loose,” Lanning said. 'I was lucky it wasn't any longer because I think I would have gotten caught, but it was a good start for that series. It was awesome to convert on fourth down like that too.”

That lead lasted just nine seconds though as OU quarterback Baker Mayfield connected with wide receiver Dede Westbrook for a 65-yard touchdown strike that put the Sooners ahead for good. Iowa State drew its deficit to 31-24 on Daley's score with 13:04 to play, but a 35-yard Austin Seibert field goal pushed the score to its final margin.

Iowa State was without sophomore running back Mike Warren, who suffered a sprained ankle last week. Campbell said Warren was cleared to play - and was suited up - but the staff made a decision to not play him because he took a limited number of practice reps this week.

Freshmen David Montgomery and Kene Nwangwu split carries in the ISU backfield in Warren's absence with some success. Montgomery - who left the game in the first half with concussion-like symptoms - and Nwangwu combined for 16 carries for 69 yards.

'I think (Warren) could have played but it wasn't right for him to play,” Campbell said. 'Especially at that position, it's not fair to put somebody like that in the football game to do that. I just wasn't ready. It certainly wasn't a Michael situation, it was an educated decision by all of us.”

Oklahoma racked up 477 yards of offense to Iowa State's 290, but was held well below the 51.4 points it had averaged in its first five Big 12 games. Moral victories aren't in Campbell's makeup, but after a letdown against Kansas State, the progress his team is making isn't lost on him.

'I was disappointed last week because I didn't see the growth that I had seen over the last three games, but we really practiced well this week, we really put ourselves in position,” Campbell said. 'I was proud of how our kids played, I thought they played all the way to the end of the football game and had opportunities to win the game.”

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