The cold, wind and rain that hung over Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday were a spot-on indicator of how things went for the Cyclones on a sloppy, soggy Homecoming.

The Cyclones (3-5, 0-4 Big 12) fell to Texas Tech 42-26 in a game where they were playing catch-up from the very beginning.

Early in the week, coach Dan McCarney talked about how the Cyclones needed to get off to a fast start, but the Cyclones were unable to do so, allowing the Red Raiders to go 80 yards in seven plays, into a stiff wind, to take a 7-0 lead.

The offense then compounded matters by turning the ball over via interception deep in its own territory, giving Texas Tech a short field, which the Red Raiders turned into a 14-0 lead.

Falling behind early has become a concerning trend for McCarney this season.

“Unfortunately we have some practice coming from behind,” McCarney said. “It’s hard to start behind like that. That’s a pattern that you see that I really don’t like.”

The Cyclones pulled to 14-10, but every time the Cyclones got close, the Texas Tech offense, which has struggled at times this year, flexed its muscles.

The Red Raiders piled up 475 yards of total offense, and 368 yards passing against the depleted ISU defense.

“The inexperience in some of our positions really showed up,” McCarney said. “I feel really bad for the kids and my coaches because I see how much they put into this game during the week.”

Things weren’t any better on the offensive side of the ball for Iowa State. The ISU offense, which has struggled to score points in Big 12 play this year, did manage to put up 26 points, but the scores were set up by five personal foul penalties on Texas Tech that gave Iowa State good field position, including two that extended drives that would have been over.

“We capitalized a few times on the things they gave us, but we didn’t do it enough,” ISU quarterback Bret Meyer said. “Obviously we’re frustrated. We can go one of two ways. Now we just have to go back to work and get better.”

The offense managed just 221 yards against Texas Tech and suffered through several rounds of boos from the crowd. The announced attendance was over 44,000, but it appeared not even that many showed in the poor weather, with most beginning their exit with seven minutes left to play in the game.

Even though there was still hope for the Cyclones, Meyer said he can’t blame the fans.

“If I was a fan I don’t know if I would want to watch anything we’re doing right now either,” Meyer said. “That’s part of the game, we can’t worry about it. It happens everywhere.”

Now, with just four games to play, the Cyclones face a crossroad. They can rebound and put together a miraculous resurrection of the season like they have the last two seasons, or slip into a disastrous losing finish, like 2003.

“We still have half the Big 12 season to go with some important games,” McCarney said. “There’s just a lot of class and character and integrity in this program, and I’m going to make sure that this continues. We’re going to work even harder and try to get our first win this week against Kansas State.”

Iowa State will take on the Kansas State Wildcats next Saturday in Manhattan, Kan.