The ISU football team defeated Western Illinois 37-3 on Saturday evening at Jack Trice Stadium in front of a crowd of 55,783 — the fourth-largest crowd in ISU history.

The Cyclones (3-0) got out to an early 14-0 lead on their first two drives of the game — utilizing solid run-blocking for a 56-yard touchdown run by James White, followed by a short pass from Steele Jantz to Chris Young six minutes into the game.

Jantz finished the game going 19-of-26 in pass completions and throwing for three touchdowns along with an interception that was tipped into the hands of David McDaniel early in the third quarter.

“We really started fast and I thought our guys came out with great energy and urgency, I thought their focus was on the money,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads after the game. “Then we stalled as an offensive football team and we can’t do that.”

Rhoads lamented his team’s three turnovers, going on to say he does not expect to win in conference play with a negative turnover margin. The Cyclones currently sport a turnover margin of -4.

One bright side for Iowa State was its defense’s performance, which allowed less than 200 total yards for the first time since Sept. 4, 2004 (W 23-0 vs. Northern Iowa).

It’s also the first time Iowa State has consecutively held opponents without a touchdown since the final game of the 1964 season and the 1965 season opener.

“It’s a credit to coach [Wally] Burnham and the whole defensive staff, the systems that they put in for the games,” said linebacker Jake Knott, who finished with five total tackles. “All we have to do is go out there and execute, they have to devise it and put in all the hours developing it.”

Linebacker Jeremiah George finished with a game-high nine total tackles.

Former starting quarterback Jared Barnett saw his first action of the season, entering the game in the third quarter after the Cyclones’ first score of the second half.

With Barnett’s first appearance on the field since the Cyclones’ 14-point loss to Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl last December came some rustiness.

“I did [struggle] a little bit playing against a different defense than what I’m seeing every day in practice,” Barnett said. “I feel like I was able to adjust to it quickly.”

Barnett finished 4-for-9 for 31 yards with one interception and also carried the ball three times for 15 yards.

The Cyclones had both their second-string offenses and defenses in by the fourth quarter having tallied a 31-0 lead.

The Leathernecks (2-1) got on the board at the beginning of the fourth quarter in an 11-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a 26-yard field goal.

Running back DeVondrick Nealy had a solid outing with the second-team offense, rushing for a career-high 70 yards on nine carries.

Notching his first-career touchdown was running back Rob Standard, who punched it in from one yard out with 1:49 remaining in the game. Standard finished with 30 yards on seven carries.

Check back to iowastatedaily.net for more coverage of ISU football and be sure to check out Monday’s print edition of the Iowa State Daily.