AMES, Iowa — First there was a close game at Iowa broken open by a punt return. Then it was an overtime loss at UNLV followed by a two-point loss to Kansas and finally, a victory denied inches from the end zone.
In this 2-9 season for Iowa State, it’s easy for coach Gene Chizik to look back and wonder what might have been.
“In several different games, four or five probably, we were a play away or two plays away,” Chizik said Monday. “I think the inconsistency would be the theme there. We weren’t consistently able to do what we needed to do for four quarters. That’s why we’ve won two games.”
Still, it wouldn’t have taken much to increase that victory total.
At Iowa, the Cyclones and Hawkeyes were tied 3-3 in the fourth quarter. After Iowa took a 10-3 lead, the Hawkeyes put the game away when Andy Brodell returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown. Iowa State has given up a grand total of 45 yards in punt returns in the eight games since.
A week following the Iowa loss, the Cyclones lost at UNLV 34-31 in overtime after quarterback Austen Arnaud drove them 98 yards in the final 1:31 of regulation to tie the score.
Then came a 35-33 loss to Kansas after Iowa State led 20-0 at halftime. The Cyclones recovered an onside kick with 1:13 left in the game, but Arnaud threw four straight incompletions when they needed only about 30 yards to get into field-goal range. The last pass Arnaud threw, to R.J. Sumrall, is the one from the entire season that he’d like to have back.
“They kind of gave us a vertical on the sideline. I kind of overshot it,” Arnaud said. “I think if R.J. catches the ball, we get within field goal range. Shoulda, coulda, woulda, like I always say. That’s the one thing that sticks out in my mind.”
The most disheartening loss of all, though, came at Colorado earlier this month. Arnaud drove the Cyclones to within inches of the end zone, but running back Alexander Robinson was smothered for a 2-yard loss on the game’s final play, and Iowa State lost 28-24.
“There’s a lot of series of ifs and ands,” Chizik said. “But that doesn’t win you games, and we know that.”
Complicating things for the Cyclones (0-7 Big 12) are their youth and the competition.
Seventeen freshmen and sophomores are playing regularly, and they’re doing so in one of the toughest leagues in the country. In the Big 12, you either grow up fast or get run over.
“It’s the blessing and curse of the league, so to speak,” Chizik said. “It’s a great league to be in. It’s fun. It’s exciting. You’re playing against great players, but it’s tough.”
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