LAWRENCE, Kan. — Football teams don’t often travel to conference road games looking to come home with a moral victory, and in their loss to the No. 16 Kansas Jayhawks, the ISU football team came off the field disappointed but confident in their improvement.

After a pass from redshirted junior quarterback Austen Arnaud sailed on fourth-and-five with 40 seconds left, Cyclone hopes of an upset were palpable in the cold, but about in their grasp as Darius Darks’ route was three yards behind the ball.

Within reach, but just not ready, and the Cyclones are looking to change that in the coming weeks.

“I’ve got a football team that continues to prepare well, that each week is doing more and more that it takes to win football games,” ISU coach Paul Rhoads said. “Still haven’t gotten over the hump to make more plays than our opponent in a game like this.”

Running backs coach Kenith Pope told the players running off the field after the game to “bounce off, keep your chins up.”

 On a day when two Jayhawk receivers amassed 28 receptions for 328 yards and four touchdowns, Iowa State kept it close, and the small cardinal-and-gold crowd gave them a standing ovation as they came of the field.

Staying proud may be a helpful step for the Cyclones, but, with two straight losses in nail biters to start conference play, the players exhibit a sense the urgency of maintaining a high level of play.

“I wish I knew the formula to us winning close games like that,” redshirted senior receiver Marquis Hamilton said. “We’ve been in enough of them — you’d think we’d figure out how it goes and stuff like that. It just comes down to making plays, in the end.”

Offensively, the stat sheet was as pristine as it has been all year for Iowa State, with zero turnovers, an 8-for-16 third down conversion total, 219 yards on the ground, and more than six yards per play.

A healthy dose of the “Wildcat” formation, redshirted junior running back Alexander Robinson carrying the load a week after sitting out three quarters injured, and Arnaud’s strongest outing of the year kept the chains moving.

“We put some points on the board and, you know, it’s like everything else, we feel good about our growth,” Rhoads said.

Arnaud’s 25-of-40 for 293 yards and three total touchdowns without a turnover got his teammates’ attention and meant the Cyclones were no longer digging their own grave.

“Austen was a leader today. He did all the right things. He didn’t turn the ball over, he checked us out of bad plays and things like that. Austen definitely led us today,” Hamilton said.

Rhoads echoed the leading receiver’s words, adding that Arnaud’s constant work and intensity in practice was bound to pay off eventually, and Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium was that time.

An upset on a day where brisk cold and offense were the only themes, the defense got locked out.

Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing and his offensive weapons did what they’ve done many times over in recent years, picking apart the ISU defense for 551 yards of total offense and 34 first downs.

Getting what they wanted when they wanted later in the game was something the ISU defense wished they could’ve changed, but even stops on third down gave the ISU offense a chance to get it done.

“Sometimes in a game like this, when you’re playing against an offense that is as good as Kansas and has players as good as Kansas does, one stop and you’ve played great defense,” Rhoads said. “Had we gone down and put it in the end zone, I would have said we played a great defensive football game.”

The Cyclones didn’t offer excuses for the kicking team, essentially leaving five points out on the field, with kicker Grant Mahoney missing his first two extra point attempts and the team struggling with a bad snap on a field goal attempt.

The team lost, coincidentally, by five points, but Mahoney came through with successful kicks in the second half, and Rhoads showed his faith in the junior by throwing him back out into the wind.

“Over the course of a 60-minute football game, that stuff can even out a little bit. That didn’t lose us the football game,” Rhoads said.

No excuses given, vast improvement in execution on the road, and offense that is clicking with a leading running back feeling bumpy, the Cyclones have a reason to stay positive and walk off the field with a bounce in their step.

Rhoads addressed the fixes for the team early in the week, and the 19-point underdogs tried to fix the leaks.

“It felt good playing well, but the loss … I’d rather play like crap and then we win as opposed to this,” Arnaud said. “We’re going to turn this thing around. We’re back at 3–3, which, in a sense, to us, half the season’s over and it’s back to 0-0.”

The first year coaching staff and young squad is eager to turn those things around and prove the doubters wrong.

Not surprisingly, the quarterback is thinking like the coach, and Rhoads’ solution involves toughness and some effort.

“We’ve got a good football team, and we’ve got to continue to do the things we’re doing in practice and learn how to win,” Rhoads said.

“Half of our season is done … and there’s other opportunities out there if we keep growing and learning how to learn as a football team.”