news

Iowa State football makes uncharacteristic mistakes in its first loss

Vaseline November 3, 2024

AMES – It would be difficult to sum up the evening better, more succinctly or more bluntly than Rocco Becht did.

“It just wasn’t us,” the Iowa State quarterback said. “When a team plays like that, you deserve to lose.”

The Cyclones weren’t who they had been for the previous seven games on Saturday. On Saturday they didn’t play well enough to win.

And perfection no longer exists.

The things that had defined and powered the No. 10 Cyclones to match the best start in school history failed against Texas Tech in a 23-22 loss on Saturday.

Iowa State entered the night as the least penalized team in the country, averaging just over three per game and 25 yards of damage. On the night they were hit eight times for 59 yards.

The Cyclones entered the night seventh nationally in turnover margin with a plus-nine, with no lost fumbles. Tonight they tied with Texas Tech and lost their first fumble.

Losing in the fourth quarter, Iowa State came from behind twice with the biggest push of the evening to win. This night, Texas Tech drove 71 yards in 107 seconds to score the winning touchdown in the final minute.

Everything Iowa State had been to get to 7-0 for the first time since 1938, they weren’t in critical ways and moments against Texas Tech.

“You don’t want to play like that, especially coming into November,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said, “and we did that. We own it. We live with it. We grow from it.”

Whatever disappointment there is – and there should be plenty – it’s worth remembering that those seven previous games still happened. I imagine it’s much more likely that the Cyclones are closer to the disciplined team of destiny they seemed to be in September and October than the team that strutted across the Jack Trice Stadium field on Saturday.

“A lot of mistakes were made,” defensive lineman Joey Petersen said. “We often shoot ourselves in the foot.”

And while panic shouldn’t be on the menu, reflection should be.

Two minutes with Joey Petersen after Iowa State’s loss to Texas Tech

Iowa State Football’s Joey Petersen breaks down the Cyclones’ loss to Texas Tech.

The Cyclones, as good as they are, have played closer games than a team with its ambitions should if it wants to avoid nights like this. Don’t play Houston 3-0 in the first half. Don’t throw two pick-sixes and give up 350 yards rushing to UCF. Don’t come shaky about Iowa.

Don’t collect flags or put the ball on the ground against Texas Tech.

You mess around and sometimes you figure it out.

“If you leave it to chance and don’t do your job with great precision and detail, it’s difficult,” Campbell said. “Unfortunately we did that tonight and got burned.”

Burnt, but not burned.

As bad as this loss was for Iowa State, the only thing the team lost on Saturday was perfection. The rest of his lofty goals and possibilities remain on the table.

But if you can lose to Texas Tech at home, you can lose every game left on your schedule. That’s how quickly it can turn you around.

The cyclones should view Saturday as an anomaly and not a cause for alarm. And they have to prove that next week at Arrowhead Stadium against Kansas.

Iowa State defensive back Myles Purchases discusses the Cyclones loss

Iowa State defensive back Myles Purchases discusses the Cyclones’ loss to Texas Tech

“The things we can control,” cornerback Myles Purchase said, “we should be able to control.

“It’s definitely hard knowing that the game was in our hands, and that we could have stopped it there on the last drive. It’s definitely tough.”

Iowa State was sloppy on Saturday. It was undisciplined. It wasn’t as close as before.

The Cyclones weren’t themselves, and they didn’t deserve to win.

The quarterback is right.

“This team is better than that,” Becht said. “We have to bring better football to the market.”

Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered cyclones for the Des Moines Register and the Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at [email protected] or (515) 284-8000. FFollow him on X at @TravisHines21.