The ISU football team went on a rollercoaster ride Saturday night — and ended up on the short end of a 34-31 overtime loss to UNLV.

After trailing 21-0 at halftime, Iowa State (2-2) brought the game to a 28-28 tie with three seconds left, after a 28-yard touchdown pass from Austen Arnaud to R.J. Sumrall .

Iowa State started the overtime period with a 37-yard field goal by Grant Mahoney to take their first lead of the game.

The jubilation didn’t last long, however. UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Payne on their first offensive play in overtime to win the game for the Rebels (3-1).

Despite the loss, coach Gene Chizik thought his offense handled the final regulation drive well.

“I was really proud of our offense,” Chizik told reporters after the game. “I was proud that they were able to take the ball down the field like they did with under two minutes and they were able to take it in and score. They made a fabulous play down there.”

After Sumrall opened the game with a 25-yard kickoff return, little went right for Iowa State in the first half.

Clayton started the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run on UNLV’s second possession with 4:41 left in the first quarter and followed that up with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Frank Summers later in the quarter, for a 14-0 lead.

The Rebels capped off first-half scoring with a 3-yard pass from Clayton to Casey Flair.

Iowa State’s offense was anemic in the first half, only picking up one first down. That changed when the Cyclones took the field after halftime.

An Arnaud-to-Sumrall touchdown with 7:31 left in the third quarter got the Cyclones on the board. On UNLV’s next possession, Jesse Smith forced and recovered a fumble for the ISU defense, setting up a tough 10-yard run by Arnaud to get the Cyclones back within seven.

UNLV scored a touchdown with eight seconds left in the quarter, setting up a 14-point deficit for the Cyclones heading into the final period.

Iowa State kept their momentum with a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with another touchdown run by Arnaud, this time converting on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

The Cyclones made a pair of defensive stops to start their final drive with just 1:34 left and went 98 yards to tie it.

Arnaud was 13-23 with 155 yards and two touchdowns but went 5-7 on the final drive in regulation. He also rushed for 51 yards.

Clayton was 15-21 for 235 yards for the Rebels, while Summers rushed for 109 yards.

Quarterback Phillip Bates was 0-4 for passing.

Leonard Johnson was ejected from the game after committing two personal fouls on UNLV’s first scoring drive.

The Cyclones haven’t won a road game since Oct. 29, 2005, at Texas A&M. Chizik is now 0-7 in road games.

—Kyle Oppenhuizen contributed to this article