Story updated 4:45 PM CDT (11/26)

Two once in a lifetime opportunities and neither were taken advantage of.

For the second straight year the ISU football team had its Big 12 title game hopes crushed in overtime. With shades of last season’s overtime loss to Missouri looming, the Cyclones never put away the Kansas Jayhawks, and ultimately fell in overtime 24-21.

The Jayhawks (6-5, 3-5 Big 12) are now bowl eligible with the win over Iowa State.

“I can’t put into words our disappointment with coming up short today,” said coach Dan McCarney. “Thankfully it’s not our last football game.”

The Cyclones earned their second straight shot at the Big 12 title game after both Missouri and Colorado lost, but squandered away any opportunity to clinch the North Division on Saturday.

Iowa State held a 21-14 lead with under two minutes left in regulation, but Kansas reserve quarterback Brian Luke found Dexton Fields for a 15-yard touchdown pass, knotting the score and sending the game to overtime.

ISU kicker Bret Culbertson missed a 41-yard field goal on Iowa State’s first possession in overtime, and four plays later Kansas’ Scott Webb iced the game with a 34-yard field goal shot.

Culbertson missed a potential game-winning field goal last season against Missouri, a game that would have put the Cyclones into the Big 12 title game.

“It sucks that it’s happening all over again,” Culbertson said. “We just need to stay strong.”

Culbertson said the snap and the hold were good.

“It was just a missed kick,” he said.

After falling down early 3-0, the Cyclones seemed to have things under control, jumping ahead 14-3.

Todd Blythe caught his 16th career touchdown at Iowa State, which sets a new record. Blythe appeared to give the Cyclones a 20-3 lead in the third quarter catching the ball and landing one foot in bounds, but the referees ruled an incomplete pass, and the replay booth upheld the call.

“In the beginning I thought I was in,” Blythe said. “I knew I caught it – I never bobbled it, so that wasn’t in question . That’s just the way it goes.”

Up 14-6 with 11:28 left in the fourth quarter, the Cyclones appeared to hold Kansas on the one-yard line on fourth and one. Officials ruled that Luke did not break the plane on an attempted quarterback sneak. The replay booth overturned that call, and Kansas tied the game on a successful two-point conversion.

“I just have to trust that a TV screen and the reviews are accurate,” McCarney said. “We’ll watch the tape and review it, but I have a lot of faith in the guys up in the box.”

Iowa State may not be lucky enough to be in this position again, and the players, appearing to be in disbelief, expressed complete disappointment.

“This hurts because we got a second chance at it,” Blythe said. “We had the opportunity today and weren’t able to capitalize on that.”

Check out Monday’s Iowa State Daily for complete coverage of Saturday’s game.

Game Note:

ISU quarterback Bret Meyer had attempted 155 passes without throwing an interception, a streak that was snapped in the third quarter of Saturday’s game.