The Cyclone fall to 15th-ranked Utah 31-17 in what can only be described as a tale of two halves. There was some good, some bad, and some ugly from everyone involved, so here are our position grades from Iowa State's first big 12 game of the season:

Quarterback Jaylen Raynor had a challenging first half against Utah, completing 11-of-20 passes (55% completion rate) for 98 passing yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. However, he showed resilience in the second half of the game. While down 21 points, he showed, on multiple occasions, his ability to make timely throws and use his legs in key moments. His performance, although not flawless, was better than previous weeks given the competition. He ended the game with 205 passing yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and added 27 rushing yards on 10 carries, including another touchdown.

These running backs were not great in today's game, but I also can't put all the blame on them. There were no holes for them to run through this offensive line could not get any push especially early in the game and it led to a slow start and an overall below average performance. In the second half these backs were able to do more as the offensive line was able to get a little bit more push, but it still wasn't enough in this game.

These past catchers had an overall solid day, with Omari Hayes leading in stats with five catches and 55 yards. But Dominic Overby led in clutch moments with a highlight fourth-and-twelve grab, which ultimately led to a touchdown that brought the game within seven.

This offensive line did not show up for the majority of this game, and it caused the running game to struggle. They got no push up front; they were allowing pressure on the quarterback, and it was causing drives to stall. In a crucial fourth-and-one situation, Iowa State tries to run the ball up the middle, and this offense of flying gets no push whatsoever, and it leads to a turnover on downs, putting the defense in bad field position. This offensive line needs to improve a lot from today's game, or it could cause trouble in the future.

The defense really struggled in the first half of this game, allowing Devon Dampier to pick them apart, going 12 for 15 for 160 yards and one touchdown, and Wayshawn Parker to gash them, going for nine carries, 92 yards, and two touchdowns; he also had four catches for 52 yards. They couldn't stop anything.

In the second half, they really showed up. With multiple key third- and fourth-down stops, this defense gave this Iowa State offense multiple opportunities to get back into this game and tie it up and maybe even take the lead, but the offense couldn't execute at the end of the day, and eventually the defense started to break down again, leading to the Cyclone loss.

The special teams unit came in and did exactly what they needed to do. Kicker Kyle Konrardy went one for one on field Goal attempts, hitting one from 47 yards, and was also perfect on extra points. Punter Jonah DuPont hit three punts for an average of 40.3 yards, with one landing inside the twenty. Solid day overall from special teams.

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