After getting a big win over Bowling Green last week, the Iowa State Cyclones lost 31-17 to the Utah Utes, starting their conference play at 0-1.

Here are some of our instant takeaways from Iowa State’s Loss:  

The first half of this game was rough for the Cyclone. Iowa State struggled on both sides of the ball. Utah was able to do whatever they wanted on offense. Utah's quarterback, Devon Dampier, went 12 for 15 for 160 yards and one touchdown in the first half alone, and Wayshawn Parker, Utah's running back, had 9 carries for 92 yards. That's 10.2 yards per carry for 2 touchdowns. Parker also had 4 catches for 52 yd. The defense struggled in the run. Game and the past game. Iowa States offense on the other hand had no run game. Whatsoever, Raynor also struggled in the first half with 98 passing yards and an interception; the Cyclones ended up being down 24-3 at halftime.

The second half of the game was a completely different story. The Cyclones were able to establish the run and put themselves in a good position on third down. The offensive Line was able to lean on Utah's defense, allowing Aiden Flora to rush for big gains on multiple occasions. The passing game was more efficient, and the defense also stepped up. Although they had a lack of sack production, they were able to put pressure on Devon Dampier, multiple times putting him in tough passing situations and creating errant throws, allowing the Cyclone to put up a fight at the end of this game.

In the third quarter of the game, the defence managed several key stops on third and fourth down, which forced Utah to punt. But the offence had difficulty in making something of the opportunities as it moved towards the middle of the third quarter and into the fourth. Utah's defence greatly improved its performance in both running and passing attacks and was able to put effective pressure on Cyclones' quarterback Jaylen Raynor, causing the opposing offence to stall.

In the fourth quarter, the defense started to struggle after giving the offense several opportunities to get back into the game. Midway through the quarter, Utah running back Wayshawn Parker and quarterback Devon Dampier were able to lead a drive that ended with a touchdown, sealing the game with a final score of 31-17.

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