Iowa State fell to No. 6 Kansas State 27-21 on Saturday, Oct. 13, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.

The attendance at Jack Trice Stadium reached 56,800, the largest crowd ever to attend an ISU football game. 

In his second start of the season, quarterback Jared Barnett did not have the same success as last weekend’s victory against TCU. Barnett led the Cyclones to a quick punt after going two-for-four for 24 yards. The Cyclones had the ball for only 1:20 in their first drive.

Kansas State answered with a 14-play, 73-yard drive that resulted in the first score of the game. The Wildcats took an early lead 3-0.

The Cyclones continued to struggle on offense, going three-and-out and giving the ball back to Kansas State almost immediately after the Wildcats’ field goal.

Momentum would quickly swing in favor for the Cyclones. The ISU defense would hold the Wildcats on third down after a false start.

On the ensuing drive that went into just seconds of the second quarter, the Cyclones were able to drive for a score using three running backs and a short screen pass to running back Shontrelle Johnson.

The Wildcats would make an imposing drive against the ISU defense, chipping away with five or six yards at a time. The Wildcats would eventually score a touchdown with 8:18 left in the first half.

Penalties plagued the Kansas State offense throughout the first half. The Wildcats came into the game with only nine penalties. The committed four penalties for 35 yards in the first half.

After a quick exchange of turnovers from Kansas State (after a bobbled fair catch) and and interception at the goal line from Barnett, the Cyclones held the Wildcats to a three-and-out.

With 4:37 left in the half, the Cyclones took over in Wildcat territory and drove for another touchdown after a 30-yard connection from Barnett to Ernest Brun.

With 2:19 left in the half, the Wildcats marched quickly down the field with a couple of high-yardage pass plays, putting the Wildcats ahead just before the half, 17-14.

The second half got underway with momentum quickly swinging in favor of the Cyclones. After two penalties, the Wildcats started at their own 4-yard line.

Offensive struggles wore on both offenses as both teams punted four consecutive times until on the fifth drive of the third quarter.

KSU quarterback Collin Klein ran in for his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon to put the Wildcats up 24-14 with just more than a minute left in the first quarter. 

Iowa State answered with a three minute drive of their own. Getting things rolling with the offense again, a option run from Barnett to Jeff Woody cut the Wildcats’ lead to three.

Third down conversions kept the drive alive for the Wildcats but was eventually put to a halt by the ISU defense. The Wildcats were held to just a field goal.

With 4:17 left in the game, the Cyclones had two timeouts and 60-yards to drive.

A turnover on fourth down gave the ball back to Kansas State at midfield.

After a failed conversion on third down, Iowa State got the ball back at their own 3-yard line. The Cyclones failed to convert on fourth down.

Post-game talk

“If you’re going to beat Kansas State, you can’t beat yourself because that’s what they want you to do. They’re going to sit back, they’re going to play aggressive and they’re going to play physical. They’re going to wait for you to make a mistake and kick yourself out of a drive.” – Running back Jeff Woody

“[Barnett] will bounce back. He’s a level-headed kid. He gave our offense a good talk after the game and he told us we’ve got to put this loss behind us and look forward to the next game.” – Running back Shontrelle Johnson on quarterback Jared Barnett

“It hurts. You go out there, and you train for that type of game … and you seem to just come up a hair short. It really hurts.” – Linebacker Jake Knott on Iowa State’s fifth straight loss to Kansas State