Last Saturday’s overtime loss to UNLV spoiled the hallmark performance of quarterback Austen Arnaud’s young career.

The sophomore from Ames orchestrated a 21-point, second-half comeback punctuated by a 98-yard touchdown drive in the final 1 minute 34 seconds of regulation play.

Trailing 28-21, Arnaud forced a 28-yard touchdown pass through two converging defenders and into the hands of R.J. Sumrall, who ran into the endzone with three seconds left. Iowa State had used all of its timeouts before the possession, which was the longest since a 99-yard drive on Oct. 21, 1996, against the University of Northern Iowa.

“That’s as good as I’ve ever seen, to be honest with you,” senior defensive end Kurtis Taylor said of the drive. “That was salty, and I told [Arnaud] that.”

The second-half comeback reinstilled confidence in the ISU offense, which had sputtered for the previous six quarters. The Cyclones were shut out and held to just 38 yards of total offense in the first half.

“If you try to build on something, you build off that,” offensive coordinator Robert McFarland said of the drive. “It’s one of the hardest things to do — period — with no timeouts left is drive the field. I thought they helped their composure, and I thought they ran the two-minute offense, really, to perfection.”

Iowa State converted three fourth downs in the fourth quarter, including a fourth-and-2 on the final drive. Arnaud kept the ball for a 25-yard gain, working his way from the middle of the field to the sideline.

He scored two rushing and two passing touchdowns in the game.

“We have a quarterback in Austen that can definitely lead us down the field when the time is crucial,” said offensive guard Ben Lamaak, who is Arnaud’s roommate. “And that’s just really positive, and it really gives us confidence as an offense.”

Coach Gene Chizik said Arnaud’s performance on the final drive shows that “we’re going in the right direction with him.” Wide receiver Houston Jones said players believed they could score when they stepped on the field.

“It was a real special drive, because that probably happens — I don’t know what the percentage is on that, [but] a very low percentage of the time,” Jones said. “It was just good to see that we could put together a drive like that.”

Chizik said quarterback Phillip Bates will continue to get playing time, despite Arnaud’s performance.

“We’re not going to change what we’re doing right now,” Chizik said. “Austen is going to start games … when we feel like it’s time for Phil to go in there, he will. And then as the game unfolds, we’ll play it by ear. That hasn’t changed at all.”

Bye week comes at the “right time”

The ISU football team has the weekend off to prepare for its Oct. 4 game against No. 18 Kansas.

Both the Cyclones and the Jayhawks have a bye week this Saturday before the start of Big 12 competition. Kickoff for the game is set for 11:30 a.m. at Jack Trice Stadium.

Iowa State has practiced since the beginning of August and has two months of games left on the schedule.

“So it’s right in the middle,” Chizik said. “I think they need it mentally. The coaches need it mentally, and it just came at a good time.”

Who can play?

Chizik said that true freshman cornerback Leonard Johnson will play against Kansas.

Johnson drew two personal fouls in the first quarter of last Saturday’s game against UNLV and was ejected.

The Cyclones may be without the services of center Mike Knapp, who skipped the trip to Las Vegas because of appendicitis. Linebacker Michael Bibbs injured his knee in the first quarter of Saturday’s game and is questionable for next weekend.

Chizik said they’ll see how Bibbs reacts to the injury in the next week. Knapp’s recovery is even more uncertain.

“Those are always a wait-and-see game,” Chizik said. “You’ve seen guys come back from them in a week, and you’ve seen guys take three weeks or a month [to come back].”