The arrival of national television couldn’t prevent low attendance numbers, and the return of Iowa State’s (5-5, 2-4) first offensive unit in entirety couldn’t prevent Oklahoma State (7-2, 4-1) from running away with a Big 12 win 34-8 Saturday night in at Jack Trice Stadium.

A performance that would likely be appreciably forgotten in coach Paul Rhoads’ first season as head coach, Iowa State was unable to muster much of a fight to the No. 18 Cowboys, carrying a deficit of 27-0 into the game’s fourth quarter.

“We were outcoached, we were outplayed on offense, defense, and everywhere else that you look, and we gave up three turnovers and collected none. In the Big 12, you’ve gotta score points, and we’ve gotta execute at a higher rate to get that done,” Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads said.

The Cyclone offense struggled against the Cowboy defense, hitting endzone pay dirt only once, and piling up a measly 242 total yards of offense, to 473 from OSU. Iowa State’s no-huddle offense didn’t even get a chance to stay on the field long, running 54 plays, 13 less than their average, while Oklahoma State’s fast paced offense couldn’t get off the field, running 78 plays.

The return of quarterback Austen Arnaud to the lineup since his injury against Baylor on October 17, didn’t help move the ball against a stout Cowboy defense. Arnaud’s final figures 14-of-27 for 188 yards and three interceptions represented the type of evening the Cyclones had, and he didn’t receive much help from his teammates, getting sacked twice. His numbers were assisted by the 45 yard touchdown pass he made to running back Alexander Robinson out of the backfield, and the offense seemed to look confused at times.

The Iowa State running game hit a wall as well, struggling to pick up blockers from the OSU front seven, and the first full game with both Arnaud and Robinson only totaled 54 yards on 26 carries

“I thought their defensive line physically controlled the football game. We were never able to establish any kind of running game. White jerseys were everywhere,” Rhoads said.

Oklahoma State’s heralded quarterback Zac Robinson kept the ISU defense on their heels throughout, showing his dual-threat ability pulling in 180 total yards on 19-for-24 passing and a touchdown. Robinson was aided by his running back Keith Toston in this one, as the former backup collected 207 yards rushing on 25 carries and three touchdowns.

A crowd of 40, 540 fans were in attendance for the 2:30 p.m. kickoff that was televised on ABC, the lowest number of the season on an unexpectedly warm fall day. Much of the crowd had found their way out by the end of the third quarter, a disappointing finish on a national stage for a team that was riding high at 5-3 off a Nebraska win only two weeks ago.

The Cyclones were unable to work their way into the red zone during the entire contest, and held onto the football for only 20 minutes and 22 seconds of a 60 minute football game.

“It’s very frustrating, because we feel like we’re an explosive offense with a good back and good receivers and a great line, it was just a slow start,” Arnaud said.

Iowa State takes the field against North divisional opponent Colorado (3-6, 2-4) next Saturday in Ames.