It wasn’t pretty, but the Cyclones pulled another game out of the fire, notching a 16-10 victory over the UNLV Running Rebels.

Iowa State (2-0) trailed 3-0 most of the first half before taking a 13-3 lead into the locker room and a 16-3 lead into the fourth quarter, but it took a wild finish that included a last second stop to put UNLV away for good.

“We’re thrilled to be 2-0 right now,” said ISU coach Dan McCarney. “It was a hard-fought victory and we knew it would be.”

Hard-fought is probably an understatement. UNLV got out to an early lead and made it stand for most of the first half, but Iowa State exploded for 13 points in the final four-and-a-half minutes of the second quarter and looked like they would put the Rebels away.

The Cyclones, however, managed just three points in the second half, letting UNLV hang around for a shot to win.

“We did some things really well and we did some things really poorly,” McCarney said. “We score some more points and it doesn’t come down to that. I’m really disappointed we only scored three points in the second half. I can’t even put it into words how disappointed I am.”

After Bret Culbertson’s field goal in the third quarter gave Iowa State a 16-3 advantage, the Rebels would take the opening drive of the fourth quarter for a score to pull within six, 16-10.

The UNLV defense then forced a Cyclones three-and-out and drove to the ISU 11-yard line with seven seconds to play. After a lengthy review of the previous play, UNLV had time for one final play but their desperation pass to the back of the end zone was ruled incomplete and Iowa State escaped.

ISU receiver Todd Blythe was held without a single reception for the first time in his career by UNLV, significantly hampering the ISU offensive attack.

“It’s frustrating but at the same time I know I was doing my job,” Blythe said. “It just wasn’t my night to go out and make plays. We had a lot of other guys step up and make plays.”

Blythe added that the UNLV defense wasn’t throwing anything unexpected at the Cyclones.

“They were just doing basic stuff,” he said. “It was just one of those nights where you get open and things just don’t click sometimes.”

McCarney was also frustrated with the inability to get Blythe the football.

“It wasn’t like we weren’t trying to get the ball to him,” McCarney said. “Their secondary did a good job with coverage, but it’s really disappointing to come out of a game and have Todd [Blythe] not have a catch. We have to do a better job getting him the ball.”

Running back Stevie Hicks picked up the slack, rushing for 109 yards on 23 carries and a score.

“Stevie [Hicks] ran hard and ran well tonight,” McCarney said. “He was over 100 yards and had great ball security, but we still need to give him some more opportunities and some more daylight.”

The Cyclones had plenty of chances to put away the Rebels, but penalties and other “uncharacteristic mistakes,” McCarney said, kept UNLV in the ball game until the end.

“We made a lot of mistakes and we’re going to have to get a whole lot better before we go into a game next week with a good Iowa team,” he said.

Blythe said Iowa State simply must take care of business earlier.

“We need to play better in the middle of the games so it doesn’t come to [the last play],” Blythe said. “We had chances on offense to put them away, and we hurt ourselves with penalties and negative yardage plays and we couldn’t do it.”

UNLV quarterback Rocky Hinds left the game early in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury and did not return to the game. He is expected to undergo an MRI on Monday.

Iowa State squares off against Iowa this Saturday in Iowa City. The game is scheduled for an 11:05 a.m. kickoff and will be televised on ESPN.