ISU quarterback Jared Barnett stood before his offense in the locker room after the 27-21 loss to No. 5 Kansas State and delivered them a message: “We can still win the Big 12.”

“I just told everybody this is the No. 5 team in the nation,” Barnett said. “We played them really well, we had the opportunity, we made big plays and there’s nothing for us to hang our heads [about]. We’ve just got to come back ready for next week.”

After a missed opportunity in front of a record 56,800 fans in attendance — the biggest to ever be recorded at Jack Trice Stadium — the locker room was full of disheartened players.

“I thought our kids battled the fifth-ranked team in the country tooth and nail right down to the very end,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads. “I’ve got a very disappointed locker room.”

The KSU defense — ranked in the top 20 — turned Iowa State into a one-dimensional offensive attack and held it to 231 total yards on the day. Barnett came back to earth after a game against TCU with two touchdown passes for more than 50 yards each.

Barnett completed only 16-of-36 passes for 166 yards and an interception that Rhoads said was possibly the biggest swing point throughout the entire game.

Midway through the second quarter, during a Kirby Van Der Kamp punt, KSU returner Tramaine Thompson muffed the punt which was then recovered by Matt Morton. The next play, Barnett forced a ball in the seam to Aaron Horne and was intercepted by KSU safety Ty Zimmerman, who saw it all the way.

“There were a couple times where we felt we had it rolling and then we’d kick ourselves in the butt,” said ISU running back Jeff Woody. “That’s exactly what Kansas State’s M.O. is, they’re not going to beat you; they’re going to wait for you to beat [yourself] and they’re going to take advantage of it and they did that.”

Barnett struggled to find lanes to throw the ball through from the pocket. He had a handful of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage by Wildcat defensive linemen and he also missed a couple passes.

Specifically in the fourth quarter, Barnett struggled when the team became one-dimensional, being forced into the passing game where he completed only three of 10 passes for 22 yards.

Another pivotal play that was not capitalized on, Barnett said, was a third-and-four at the ISU 46-yard line, where Barnett overthrew a wide-open Shontrelle Johnson, who had released up the middle and had space in front of him.

Rhoads said after the game that he believes his quarterback still did enough to win the game.

“I thought he played well enough to give us a chance to win the football game,” Rhoads said. “He led us to 21 points, which is above what they’re giving up and with two-plus minutes left on the clock, we had the ball in our hands and an opportunity to go win it. That’s what you want your quarterback to do.”