ISU facing questions after loss to Iowa, Toledo up next

AMES - Iowa State linebacker Jordan Harris saw the football roll across the ground in the fourth quarter of a tied rivalry game and pounced on it.

Safety Darian Cotton poked the ball loose from Iowa running back Jordan Canzeri with less than six minutes left inside the Hawkeyes 10-yard line and it was at that moment Harris thought Iowa State could go down the field and put together a game-winning drive.

But like so many times in the second half, the Cyclones missed the chance to capitalize.

'I thought it was game time there. I thought we were going to go down and put the game away,” Harris said. 'You can't just blame the game on one side of the ball. It was both sides, special teams, all of us. All of us lost today.”

Iowa State's 31-17 loss to Iowa produced little offense from the Cyclones (1-1) in the second half, with just 66 yards on 31 plays. An ineffective running game coupled with a stagnant passing game while the ISU defense was on the field for 18:03 in the second half.

The Hawkeyes (2-0) ran for 260 yards in their win and scored 21 unanswered points, but Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads still felt like the fumble recovery from Harris could have been a much-needed spark. Instead, the drive resulted in one of sophomore Colin Downing's seven punts.

'We got a couple first downs, I believe, and pushed it out to midfield, then stubbed our toe,” Rhoads said. 'Never could put together enough series of first downs or hit a big play in the second half to get that anchor off us.”

'I feel like we should have won, but one thing I'll tell you guys is I've never seen a team that's worked so hard for something,” said running back Trever Ryen. 'To take a loss in an instate rivalry sucks.”

Identifying the ISU flaws, particularly in the second half, didn't take a film session for Rhoads to discuss.

ISU totaled five rushing yards and senior quarterback Sam Richardson was 7-for-20 passing for 61 yards after halftime, but an exact explanation of what changed eluded him. The Cyclones' top-three receivers - Quenton Bundrage, Allen Lazard and D'Vario Montgomery - combined for 9 catches and 97 yards, with the bulk hauled in by Lazard.

'We played a tremendous first half and there's no reason we should have played that way in the second half,” Rhoads said. 'Why didn't we? Was conditioning a factor? Was it play selection, was it execution? There are reasons there, and it's our job as a program to discover them and not allow them to happen again.”

Iowa State will travel to Toledo next weekend, with the Rockets coming off a 16-12 win at No. 18 Arkansas.

Running back Kareem Hunt was suspended the first two games for a violation of team rules, but will make his season debut Saturday. He has rushed for at least 100 yards in 15 of his last 16 games and will test the ISU front seven, who had seven tackles for loss and three sacks against Iowa.

'We've just got to snap and clear. We've got to let this one go,” Harris said. 'After tomorrow, this one is over and we'll get ready for Toledo.”

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