Like little bursts of air steadily being released from a balloon, there might not be a more deflating feeling in football than forcing a team to third down, only to watch it receive three fresh downs – over and over again.

The ISU football team knows that feeling all too well, thanks to an 18-play UNI scoring drive, which featured four first downs each picked up from third downs, and the touchdown itself coming on a fourth down.

“You just feel helpless,” said running back J.J. Bass. “You are just on the sideline and you can’t really do anything, you want to get on the field so bad.”

As frustrating as that one drive was for players and fans alike, it hasn’t been an isolated occurrence this season. The Cyclones have fallen victim to a nasty trend of surrendering first downs when the opposition is in short yardage situations.

In the Cyclones’ first two games, the opposition succeeded 8 out of 14 times on third and less than five yards, and on all three fourth down attempts of less then five yards.

As a whole, Iowa State’s third-down defense is ranked 74th out of 119 teams in division one football, which has raised concerns of coach Gene Chizik.

“We have to elevate our execution on third downs, that is the bottom line,” Chizik said. “The calls are fine; we’re either missing a tackle or we aren’t tackling them soon enough. We just got to do a better job coaching. We got to produce on third down, and we’re not getting it done right now.”

When a team doesn’t come up with a stop on third down, the team naturally stays on the field for three more plays. Multiply that by five and the team has suddenly been stuck on the field for 15 plays and a lot of time – that’s what worries Chizik.

“You put together a couple of 15-play drives from an offensive perspective, then you’re feeling pretty good about yourself,” Chizik said. “Well, reverse that on defense – if you can’t get off the field and you’re giving up those long drives, then eventually it wears you down physically.”

The offense, however, hasn’t necessarily had to worry about wearing down. After two weeks, the Cyclones are ranked 86th in the nation in time of possession at 28:09. That’s in part because of the defense’s inability to get off the field in third down, but also in part to the offenses inability to stay on the field.

Although the feeling of helplessness accompanied Bass as he watched from the sideline, he and wide receiver Todd Blythe know the offense has to do its part.

“It was boring. In the second quarter I felt like I was sitting around for a long time, but that is our fault, too, on offense,” Blythe said. “We put the defense in tough positions and on the field for way too long and that is because of turnovers and three and outs and things like that. So we got to get them in for more of a break and sustain some more long drives for them.”

It’s been the turnovers that have hurt the defense. When the defense has come up with a big third down stop, the offense or special teams has turned around and given the ball right back before the defense can find a spot on the bench.

Chizik said despite the poor situations that the defense has been put in, it has responded well.

“There has been some victories on our defense, too,” Chizik said. “We have had our backs against the wall numerous times and come up with turnovers -come up with field goal stops instead of touchdowns – and we have been put in some bad positions.”

As deflating as it is for a team when the defense can’t stop a team on third down, a turnover by the offense could potentially let all of the air out of a team. That hasn’t been the case in part because of the defenses’ resiliency in tough situations because of the mentality that leader Alvin Bowen brings to the team.

“It [turnovers] puts us in the hole,” Bowen said. “But at the same time you got to realize when you get on the field, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the one and they are going in, or they are on the other one and are coming down – the defense just has to play it, have to play it wherever the ball is placed .

“How sweet it is. You can quote that. That is how you got to look at it. How sweet it is – you get another opportunity to go out and play defense.”