IOWA CITY – For the first time in 17-plus quarters, the ISU offense found the end zone against Iowa.

Other than that, Austen Arnaud and Co. didn’t see much success Saturday.

“We couldn’t find a rhythm,” Arnaud said after the Cyclones’ 35-7 loss. “We just have to find a rhythm, as an offense, if we’re going to move the ball on good, good defenses.”

The first quarter would set the stage for the Cyclones’ offense. The unit gained just three yards on its only series, a three-and-out.

The Iowa offense held the ball for the other 13 minutes and 34 seconds of the quarter.

“When the score is 14-0 [actual score 7-0] at the end of the first quarter, there were guys on that sideline looking around, looking for hope, looking for help,” Arnaud said.

Iowa dominated a first half that ended with Iowa State getting out-gained 288-85. Iowa’s offense had 13 first downs; the Cyclones managed only five.

In the second half, the Cyclones were able to put together more consistent drives.

The ISU offense ended with 275 yards and an 8-yard touchdown from Arnaud to Darius Darks to end the scoreless streak.

“Against a defense like that [and] with an offense like ours, you’ve got to find a rhythm,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads. “You do that by having success on first down, and we weren’t having any success on first down.”

Iowa State had 95 yards on 25 plays on first down against an experienced Hawkeyes’ defense.

Fifty of those yards came on the Cyclones’ final four first downs on their only scoring drive.

“I’ve played against some good defenses, but that’s one of the better ones,” Arnaud said. “It rivals the unit they had last year … It’s tough going against those guys. They’re very good at what they do.”

ISU fans will remember Arnaud’s performance against the Hawkeyes in 2009: 10-of-22 passing for a total of 79 yards and four interceptions. Arnaud took the blame, following the 35-3 loss.

Saturday saw a statistical improvement — 20-of-44 for 197 yards and the touchdown — but the senior acknowledged that there’s still room for him to improve.

“I could have played better, definitely,” he said.

Even with the offense’s — and Arnaud’s — struggles, Rhoads never made a move to bring in sophomore backup Jerome Tiller, saying simply “No,” when asked if he thought about the move late in the game.

“Austen Arnaud is our quarterback,” Rhoads said. “He did not have his best game, and he was not playing well in the second half. He needed to go out and play well; he needed to go out and move us down the field.”

Arnaud’s three interceptions brought his two-year total against the school’s top rival to seven. He had nine picks last season, aside from the early-season loss.

“Our guys, they played the defense,” said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who is now 6-6 against the Cyclones. “The guys in the back end did a nice job. When everybody is doing their job, good things are going to happen.”

At times, the Iowa defense seemed to stop the Cyclones at will, particularly on third and fourth down.

The Cyclones struggled to convert just six of their 17 third-down attempts and were 0-2 on fourth downs.

“Obviously I think it’s going to get a lot tougher for next week, than that,” said Iowa cornerback Shaun Prater.