Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel had been putting up video game statistics through the first seven games of the season, but a young Cyclones secondary helped keep him at bay in the 42-28 Missouri win.

Daniel threw for 250 yards on Saturday – his second lowest total of the season and 76 fewer yards than his season average.

“We’re just going out there and trying to do what we’re coached to do; not much has changed,” said sophomore free safety James Smith.

The Cyclones had only three healthy cornerbacks for Saturday’s contest with Missouri.

Sophomore cornerback Drenard Williams and freshman cornerback Zac Sandvig are likely to miss the rest of the season.

The Cyclones played most of Saturday’s game in a nickel package, but would have liked to have had another defensive back on the field against Missouri’s aerial assault.

“We’d love to have gone dime Saturday with all that spread offense, but we’d had to dress one of you guys, so we couldn’t do that,” said coach Gene Chizik.

The secondary is in good enough condition to where the lack of depth isn’t an issue.

“We’re just coming to work every day. There’s nothing we can do about it but keep working and play with what we got,” said junior strong safety Chris Brown.

One cornerback who saw extensive playing time for the first time this season was freshman Devin McDowell. McDowell intercepted Daniel in the second quarter and raced 25 yards for a touchdown.

“Devin McDowell obviously stood up Saturday and made a great play and kind of sparked everything,” Chizik said.

It was Iowa State’s first defensive touchdown since defensive tackle Brent Curvey caught an interception and ran it back 66 yards to upset Colorado two seasons ago.

Junior Chris Singleton and Smith are tied for the team lead with two interceptions this year.

“Chris Singleton’s been playing hard all year and really been a steady guy for us,” Chizik said.

The other starting cornerback is sophomore and first-year starter Allen Bell.

Chizik said Bell is getting better week after week and will start to see time as a punt returner.

The Cyclones had six interceptions last year and only three of those were by members of the secondary.

This year, the Cyclones have eight interceptions and six of those have been made by the defensive backfield.

“We’ve played better people; we’re doing some things better on defense right now, I think, against better people. That’s very encouraging to me,” Chizik said.

“Have we changed anything? No. I think we’re getting better at some of the things we do.”