KANSAS CITY, Mo. – All season, Iowa State’s defense has been stout. Against Kansas, the No. 17 Cyclones could never get the stops they needed, which resulted in a 45-36 loss.

In the four games prior, Iowa State gave up a touchdown on the opening drive of each game. The Jayhawks were stopped on their first drive, which sparked confidence among the Cyclone defenders.

However, that would be the only time the defense got a stop in the first half. Kansas scored a touchdown on the next four drives due to long pass plays, explosive runs and a field goal with a minute to go.

“We tried to do some different things, especially early,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said. “The adjustments to some of those things can be challenging. We’ve got to settle these young pups down and we’ve got to keep getting them the best opportunity.”

The first Jayhawk touchdown was a 70-yard pass that burned Iowa State’s two-safety look. Kansas wide receiver Luke Grimm found the hole in the zone and burned the Cyclone secondary for the score.

“It’s unacceptable defensively,” defensive back Beau Freyler said. “We can’t allow that.”

That touchdown lit a fire under the Jayhawks. Kansas went out and scored touchdowns on the next three drives led by their experienced leadership in quarterback Jalon Daniels and running back Devin Neal.

“We’re very young in some spots right now,” Campbell said. “Our young guys looked like young guys.”

Neal scored the second touchdown on a 13-yard run. Iowa State has struggled all season to stop the run and Saturday was no different, as Neal ended with 116 yards on 18 carries.

On the next Kansas drive, Daniels threw a 24-yard touchdown and a drive later, he scored a two-yard rushing touchdown that was set up by a 62-yard pass.

Iowa State defensive back Myles Purchase was burned down the sideline on the play.

The Cyclones gave up 295 passing yards to the Jayhawks. Daniels completed 12-of-24 passes for two touchdowns.

On the ground, he added 68 yards on 12 rushing attempts. Part of the reason Kansas ran the ball effectively was its trickery and the usage of speed and read options.

Part of that may be due to the Cyclones difficulty in stopping the run, but being that it is late in the season, teams may be starting to figure out how to attack the Iowa State defense better.

“We’re missing by a hair,” defensive lineman J.R. Singleton said. “It looks like it’s really bad because people know what we’re going to do.”

Though the Jayhawks exploded in the first half, they slowed down in the second half but still managed to score two more times.

The Cyclones fought back and got the lead down to nine after trailing by as much as 25. However, it was the inability to get stops in the first half that ultimately led to Iowa State’s demise.

“I don’t think our kids quit at all,” Campbell said. “The one thing I love about our kids is they’ve got great character.”

Kansas had 11 total drives in the game. Six of those ended in scores and they all spanned from the first quarter to the third quarter.

The final Jayhawk score happened with less than seven minutes to go, when Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht threw a pick-six to Kansas defensive back Mello Dotson. At that point in the game, the Cyclones were down by 10, so they were in a position where Becht had to throw and make something happen.

“You can’t make bad plays because it puts you back another step,” Becht said. “I’ve got to be better in those scenarios.”

This now marks Iowa State’s second loss in a row. When losses start to come about, they can tend to snowball on top of each other. 

As a group, the Cyclones are not worried about that yet. There are still games to play and an opportunity ahead to get a home win against Cincinnati is up next.

“There’s not going to be a flinch in the locker room,” Freyler said. “No excuses. No complaining.”

“The reality of it is we have to play better team football,” Campbell said.