To say the least, Iowa State has been a slow-starting team in 2013.

So far this season the Cyclones (1-8, 0-6 Big 12) have attempted to move down the field on an opening drive nine times. All nine times the offense has come away with nothing.

Last season in 26 drives to start a game or second half, Iowa State scored 10 times, coming away with touchdowns nine times. Why have slow starts been such a big problem for the Cyclones this season?

“It’s the same kind of situation if you can equate it to a writer’s block,” said ISU running back Jeff Woody. “If you’re writing a term paper or you’re writing something like that and one paragraph takes like three hours to get written. And then the second paragraph it’s a little bit easier and then all of a sudden you just hit a rhythm and you go.”

“There’s nothing really you can explain that gets you into that rhythm.”

Last weekend against TCU, the ISU offense went 3-and-out on its first four drives and failed to pick up a first down in the first half.

ISU offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham and the Cyclones start games with a 12-play script. The team, he said, doesn’t always stay with the script, depending on situations such as down and distance and being in the red zone.

Heading into Saturday’s game against No. 22 Oklahoma (7-2, 4-2), the team will attempt to finally solve its problems. Redshirt freshman Grant Rohach is expected to start his second consecutive game after making his first career in the 21-17 loss against TCU.

“We’ve been scratching our head and working hard to try and get the best opening script that we can, the best opening plan that we can,” Messingham said. “I keep telling them you’ve got to live in the present, you can’t dwell or focus on things that have already happened. This is a new week, it’s a week that we need to go down and score on the first drive.”

Oklahoma will present the ISU defense with a balanced running attack. Four Sooners have carried the ball at least 40 times this season and the team averages 5.0 yards per carry.

The Sooners, who average nearly 30 points per game, also bring a fast-paced offense to the table.

“When Oklahoma starts getting quick and you rip off one play every 18 seconds, the defense doesn’t have time to think and then they don’t have time to substitute and they don’t have time to catch up to what you’re doing,” Woody said, talking about the Oklahoma University offense.

As the Cyclones search for their first Big 12 victory, their focus has turned to simply having fun.

“We don’t have anything to lose,” said senior linebacker Jeremiah George. “We’re in a very difficult position, but it’s the game of football and it’s supposed to be played with a lot of fun and emotion.”