It wasn’t the opener they had hoped for, but the Cyclones got the result they wanted Saturday night with a 20-19 win over Northern Iowa.

While the win leaves Iowa State 1-0, it also leaves the team with plenty of work to do before the Iowa Hawkeyes come to town this Saturday.

“We’ve absorbed and learned a lot since Saturday night,” said coach Paul Rhoads. “Now it’s time to take that knowledge and improve our football team.”

The Cyclones squeaked by the No. 7 FCS team in the nation in the Panthers, as quarterback Steele Jantz had a lackluster first three quarters of the game.

The City College of San Francisco transfer entered the fourth quarter 12-of-25 for 74 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. Northern Iowa also was ahead 13-7 after sustaining a 22-play, 90-yard drive that ate up 10:26 of game time in the third quarter.

But in crunch time, Jantz got the job done. He marched the Cyclones down the field, tossed a desperation touchdown to Josh Lenz, then rushed for a touchdown after an 80-yard touchdown pass from UNI quarterback Tirrell Rennie.

“It was fourth down, so it was do or die. I saw Josh and I gave him a shot and he made an amazing play,” Jantz said after the game. “I had too many nerves in the beginning. I need to settle down more. One thing I learned about our team [is] that they never give up.”

Jantz gave the fans what they came to see in the final quarter, passing for 113 yards, the touchdown to Lenz, and seemed to shake off the self-described nerves when it came to crunch time.

“I wouldn’t say I shut my mind off, but as a team, as an offense we were just focused on executing,” Jantz said. “We were taking it one play at a time. We were able to get some momentum going.”

Rhoads, along with every player and coach that has addressed the media following the game Saturday night, expressed that while they picked up the win, there’s plenty of work left to do.

Coaches and players studied film part of Sunday and found things they need to address before the Hawkeyes come to Ames.

“There was an overall lack of execution in the first game by our football team,” Rhoads said. “[Iowa has] played really well against us. I think we’ve gotten manhandled at the line of scrimmage in both [of the last two] years, and if we’re going to change the outcome, that’s where it’s going to start.”

Rhoads addressed both offensive and defensive lines, saying he believes players like Ethan Tuftee and Tom Farniok played well but that there’s “always room for improvement.”

As for the players, they know they’ve got their work cut out for them, and executing their game plan will be the key to having any kind of success against the Hawkeyes.

“It’s a black and blue, blue collar … it’s a down and dirty game,” said running back Jeff Woody. “There’s a game plan, there’s plays you need to execute exactly how you practice it and it’s not any different than any other game.

“Iowa is not a complex defense. We know exactly what they’re going to do. It’s just a matter of executing better than they do.”

Above all, every player and coach who talked did so about working on things that need to be fixed, and needing to do so to win more football games. What they will not be worried about is what trophy they’ll carry off the field on Saturday if they win.

“No,” Rhoads said about the trophy with a laugh. “I’d just like to take it home with me, that’s all.”