Under the lights of Jack Trice Stadium late in the fourth quarter, Texas A&M wide receiver Jeff Fuller bounded into the end zone for the seventh Aggie touchdown of the game, sending an already sparse Homecoming crowd trudging back to the parking lot.

With that touchdown, the Aggies squelched any hope of a Cyclone comeback and capped off a night in which the Cyclones (2-6, 0-4 Big 12) could find no answer on defense, as the Aggies (3-5, 1-3) defeated Iowa State 49-35 Saturday.

Although Iowa State outgained the Aggies 574 to 509, the Cyclone defense allowed the Aggies to convert 11 third downs on their way to scoring on seven of 10 possessions.

“They really exploited us everywhere — wasn’t just up the middle,” said ISU head coach Gene Chizik. “They pretty much had their way with us all night.”

Texas A&M racked up a total of seven touchdowns against a defense that has given up at least 35 points in its last four games.

Part of the reason for the Aggies’ success came from Johnson, who manipulated the Cyclone defense, completing 31-39 passes for 381 yards.

“Their quarterback was mobile, so he could sit in the pocket or move around,” said linebacker Fred Garrin. “We didn’t do a very good job containing him. Third downs killed us.”

The defense failed to challenge Johnson, allowing him plenty of time to make a play.

“Defensively, we’ve got to put more pressure on these quarterbacks, because we’re making it a game of throw and catch right now,” Chizik said.

ISU quarterback Austen Arnaud and the offense tried to counter Texas A&M’s offensive output by putting together a career-high 371 passing yards.

While the Cyclone offense surpassed its offensive total from last week of 218 yards by halftime, a number of missed opportunities left the Cyclones with something to be desired.

“It boils down that we could have scored 50 points in that game, but we just didn’t execute to our full ability,” Arnaud said.

The offense started the game off strong as Robinson ran for 49 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive. Texas A&M, however, responded with an equally strong drive to tie the game.

On its next three drives Iowa State scored only once, off a one-yard touchdown run by Jason Scales. The other two possessions resulted in a pair of missed field goals by freshman kicker Grant Mahoney. R.J. Sumrall added to the Cyclones’ woes after fumbling a kickoff in the second quarter.

The Aggies took advantage of these missteps, scoring touchdowns on four of their five first-half possessions to go up 28-17 at the half.

At the start of the third quarter, Iowa State seemed to have solved its defensive problems as it forced the Aggies to punt on the opening drive. But the Aggies weren’t fazed by the stop and found their way into the endzone on their next three possessions.

Arnaud and the offense tried to keep up, but defensive struggles prevented the Cyclones from catching the Aggies.

Iowa State, still without a conference win, is now all alone at the bottom of the Big 12 standings with a 2-6 record. The chances of picking up a win look bleak as the Cyclones go on the road for three of the last four games. Iowa State has not won on the road since 2005 when it defeated Texas A&M 42-14 at College Station.