For a Cyclone offense that has been struggling with injuries and putting points on the scoreboard, seeing Oklahoma State get a 27-point head start on Saturday pulled the curtains down on the team’s 10th game of the year.

Scoring only three offensive touchdowns in their last three games, Iowa State’s scoring unit welcomed the return of two captains to the lineup — quarterback Austen Arnaud and center Reggie Stephens — but the two leaders were unable to fight back from the deficit with poor Cyclone execution.

“The consistency of the group we’re putting on the field, that’s kind of been in turmoil, and it has never been the same group for about four weeks now,” offensive line coach Bill Bleil said Monday. “Hopefully we’re over that.”

Bleil stepped in for coach Paul Rhoads at Monday’s weekly press conference, as Rhoads was attending the funeral of ISU punter Daniel Kuehl’s brother, but the position coach was a more than capable stand-in, as it was his unit that took most of the blame for the team’s struggles.

“Me, personally, my footwork was terrible on Saturday,” Stephens said. “We’ve just got to get back to the basics and make sure our technique is where it needs to be.”

The line that was leading the nation in fewest sacks allowed two weeks ago has now given up five in its last two outings and took the nation’s 20th-rated rushing attack to just 54 yards against Oklahoma State.

“We probably played the poorest game we’ve played to date, for whatever reasons,” Bleil said. “I think Oklahoma State’s D-line was very athletic and we probably played better on film than I thought we played during the game.”

Arnaud’s return at quarterback wasn’t without flaws, running back Alexander Robinson is still rehabbing his maladies and last Saturday’s nationally televised game was difficult for any Cyclone fan to watch.

Without making excuses, Bleil said Oklahoma State was the best team Iowa State had played thus far, and likely that they will play.

The struggles didn’t stay on one side of the ball, as major improvements are being made defensively for the Colorado game next Saturday. The defense gave up 331 yards on 54 carries to the run-heavy Cowboys, allowing them to stay on the field for 39:38 of the 60-minute affair.

“We’re going to come out and be ready to play,” senior linebacker Fred Garrin said. “We have to get back to the fundamentals of tackling and gap assignments and getting everybody on the defense getting to the ball. We’re looking forward to this Saturday.”

The statistics Oklahoma State put up are unlikely to be duplicated by the Colorado and Missouri squads Iowa State will face with losing records, but the Cyclones’ offensive side is what the team can control on gameday.

Averaging 200 yards per game on the ground prior to the Oklahoma State defeat, last Saturday’s effort dropped the ISU rushing game to No. 29.

Only five teams above Iowa State in rushing attempts on the season run some dimension of the spread offense and the Cyclones sit 14th in the nation in attempts overall.

In as many attempts, only Army has scored fewer touchdowns during the season, but even the drooping 186 yards rushing the Cyclones collect per game can’t keep them from sitting at No. 69 in total offense nationally, out of 120 teams.

“When you lose, it’s easy to start pointing fingers and say, ‘Hey, this is why, and injuries, and this and that,’” Stephens said. “We’ve just gotta play better and get 11 guys doing what they’re supposed to do.”

Also announced was a lack of television coverage for the Nov. 21 game at Missouri, making the season finale the fourth Big 12 conference game the Cyclones will play without video being transmitted outside the stadium.

Kickoff of Saturday’s game against Colorado is set for 1 p.m. at Jack Trice Stadium.