For the ISU football team, the last two weeks weren’t all that different from the first three, where mistakes and penalties plagued the Cyclones.

The difference between those three and the last two was that in the first three, the Cyclones made plays that brought them back into the game.

“[We’ve had] back-to-back losses where we didn’t think we played as good of football as we’re capable of,” said coach Paul Rhoads. “You can’t do that a third week in a row. You’ve got to turn around and play a better football game and give yourselves an opportunity to win. I didn’t think the last two weeks we gave ourselves an opportunity to win.”

The Cyclones’ 49-26 loss to No. 20 Baylor saw the offense turn the ball over twice, the team commit seven penalties and go three-and-out on multiple occasions.

In all, Baylor ran 97 plays throughout the game, 55 in the first half alone.

“[It was] no single individual and not really a multitude of errors,” Rhoads said regarding the three-and-outs. “Those are pivotal series and they happened at the wrong time.”

Being on the field for so long wears on players, but junior linebacker Jake Knott believes the mistakes the defense made  — Iowa State allowed 391 net rushing yards and 603 yards of total offense — are easily fixed.

“There’s definitely a lot of things that could’ve gone our way that didn’t,” Knott said. “Baylor’s offense did such a great job of the up-tempo [offense], which allowed them to run so many plays. It can definitely end up wearing you down as a defense.

“It’s a very correctable mistake the front seven was making.”

The coaches and players talked a lot about “assignment football” in the week leading up to the game in Waco, Texas, mostly in reference to quarterback Robert Griffin III.

The Cyclones didn’t let Griffin put up video-game numbers — he completed 22-of-30 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown — but rather were gashed in the run game.

Baylor running back Terrance Ganaway carried the ball 23 times for 200 yards, and Griffin carried 24 times for 132 yards.

“I think you’ve got to play together and complement each other,” Rhoads said. “When you’re playing a team like Baylor, for instance, you’ve got to give yourself a rest. I felt we could’ve given up 30-some points against Baylor and played good defense if we’d gotten the right key stops.

“You’ve got to complement both sides of the ball together at the right times.”

That message is clear to players, who know they have the tools in place to get the job done despite adversities.

“Everybody gets worn down. It’s just mind over matter,” said safety Durrell Givens. “The coaches put us in the right position. We’ve just got to work on knowing what we have to do and do it.”

There was definitely a bright spot for the Cyclone offense Saturday night. Running back James White, who started in place of injured Shontrelle Johnson, ran for 151 yards on 15 carries.

One of the 15 included a 76-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

“I made sure I prepared myself well, and when the time came, I took advantage of it,” White said. “I credit my linemen. Without them there’s no running game.”

White’s work ethic is lauded by the coaching staff. Rhoads described White as someone who has no quit in him.

“I don’t think James has been any different in all five ball games this season,” Rhoads said. “There’s other guys on our team that have great work ethic, but they still sometimes get tired. James is one of those guys, he’s like the Energizer bunny, he doesn’t get tired.”