While a win on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium would have put the Cyclones two wins from bowl eligibility, the loss they incurred on a blocked extra point attempt puts the ISU football team one game over .500 and headed into a road game against No. 15 Kansas.

The team echoed coach Paul Rhoads’ post-game sentiment about the loss to Kansas State as a possible turning point for the football program, and at Monday’s weekly press conference, Rhoads’ tone and focus remained the same.

“I’ve been pleased with the improvement of our football team up to this Saturday. Saturday we failed to do that in Kansas City and missed out on an opportunity to advance our program,” Rhoads said. “Now we’ve got to re-focus and prepare and do a better job of executing.”

While the Cyclones played in a close matchup in Kansas City, both teams made plenty of errors. Points of improvement for the Cyclones include hitching up a 6-for-15 number on third down, as well as keeping down the turnovers that have plagued them in losses, including two big fumbles against Kansas State.

“We gotta go back to the drawing board and go back to our fundamentals and focus in on those,” said Cyclone linebacker Josh Raven. “Last week we didn’t execute like we wanted to, but we get to practice all week and eliminate all those mistakes.”

A-Rob coming back — Starting running back Alexander Robinson, the Big 12’s third-leading rusher, was pulled out of Saturday’s game after a 37-yard run in the first quarter after he re-aggravated a groin injury.

His replacement, Jeremiah Schwartz, stepped in and carried the ball 21 times for 79 yards, but Robinson’s return to an offense that has rushed for at least 200 yards in three consecutive games seems vital for the spread offense.

The medical staff had been monitoring Robinson throughout warm-ups in Kansas City. After practicing only on Thursday before the game, pulling the Minneapolis native out in the first half may benefit the Cyclones in the long run.

“He’ll be ready to play on Saturday,” Rhoads said. “How long he’ll be able to stick around before it gets tight, who knows, but he’ll be a lot further advanced than he was this past week.”

Robinson intends on practicing with the team on Tuesday in full pads, and his progress will be watched closely during his training and rehab sessions this week.

Cyclones no more — As of Monday afternoon, Allen Bell and Devin McDowell had been taken off Iowa State’s active roster, but the third-string strong safety and backup right cornerback, respectively, both quit the Cyclone football team last week.

Bell is a senior with 69 career tackles, but he hadn’t recorded any statistics this season in relief of standout David Sims and second-string Zac Sandvig.

Bell is scheduled to graduate in December, and McDowell is a senior in credits, but a redshirt junior on the field.

“Devin is choosing to transfer and play with a Division II football school, and Allen Bell has decided to hang up his football cleats,” Rhoads said.

Bell’s slot will either be left vacant on the depth chart or filled by a current scout team player, and Rhoads said that 5-foot-7-inch freshman Jeremy Reeves will take McDowell’s spot in the lineup.

Keeping the faith — Players repeat Rhoads’ belief in a turnaround, even against a difficult opponent like the No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday in Lawrence, Kan.

It took a little effort to forget Saturday’s defeat, though, just like last year’s blown second half against the Jayhawks.

“The ride home wasn’t too fun, just thinking about what we could have done better,” senior linebacker Jesse Smith said. “You just sit there and think, ‘Man, we need to get better,’ and it gives you motivation and some urgency that we need to do it now. Sunday morning I woke up and my mindset was just on Kansas.”

Up 20–0 at halftime against the Jayhawks on Oct. 4 at home last year, the Cyclones came out flat for the second half and lost the game 35–33.

“We decided to come out in the second half and not execute,” said senior nose guard Nate Frere. “That’s not how we want to do things around here. It’s a different team this year than it was in the past, you won’t see anyone give up.”

Forgetting two different collapses in the span of a few days will be tough for the Cyclone squad. Having to finish the season with the four games against ranked opponents remaining on their schedule, it’s sink-or-swim time throughout and around the Jacobson Building this week and for the remainder of the team’s season.

“After a loss, you’re either going to mope around or get that motivation to come back the next week and do it all over again, I think this week we’ll be pretty good.” Raven said. “We’ve got a lot of energy and just want to get another win.”