KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Iowa State allowed 262 rushing yards and committed eight penalties in its 27-20 loss to Kansas State on Saturday afternoon in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.

The Wildcats’ Daniel Thomas showed why he is considered one of the nation’s top running backs, carrying the ball 34 times for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s a great player,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads following the game. “He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast … he’s a special player.”

Kansas State started the scoring with a 37-yard field goal from Josh Cherry midway through the first quarter.

Iowa State answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Austen Arnaud to Jake Williams early in the second.

Arnaud was 15-of-27 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown. The senior also had 50 yards rushing in the game.

KSU quarterback Carson Coffman ran the ball in from 10 yards out three minutes after Iowa State’s touchdown, making the score 10-7 in favor of the Wildcats, a lead they would take into halftime.

Coffman had 48 yards on 10 carries and was 6-of-12 passing for 104 yards.

The Wildcat signal caller was responsible for Iowa State’s next score, throwing a pass directly to ISU linebacker A.J. Klein, who then ran the ball 69 yards into the end zone.

The touchdown was Iowa State’s first defensive touchdown since Aug. 28, 2008. Klein also finished with 10 tackles, his third-straight game with double digits in that category.

The ISU defense struggled to bring down KSU rushers on the first or even second hit, leading to Kansas State’s 262 yards on the ground.

“262 yards would not be a good day defending the run,” Rhoads said.

Thomas would tally two rushing touchdowns for the Wildcats in the second half: a 1-yard, leaping score in the third quarter and a 2-yard run in the fourth that would eventually act as the game-winning score.

Iowa State also struggled with penalties in the game.

The Cyclones took eight penalties for 64 yards in the game.

“Penalties killed us today,” Arnaud said. “We’ve got to be a smarter football team and execute in times when it’s crunch time.”

Arnaud was hurt on a 9-yard run that ended the third quarter and was forced to leave the game with what he said was a bruised shoulder.

He would return to the game midway through the fourth quarter, but was unable to lead the ISU offense to a score that would have tied the game. On the team’s second-to-last drive, Arnaud fumbled the ball after taking a hit, leading to a KSU field goal.

“I have great admiration for Arnaud and the type of young person he is,” said Kansas State coach Bill Snyder. “To come back after that injury and put himself on the field and make some plays at the same time, I thought, was very, very admirable.”

The ISU offense was held to 293 total yards. Running back Alexander Robinson ran 19 times for 82 yards, but was held out of portions of the second half. Freshman Jeff Woody got the carries in Robinson’s absence and racked up 45 yards on six carries.

ISU kicker Grant Mahoney was good on both his field goal attempts, hitting from 43 and 34 yards.