As Iowa State football players take the field in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday, the taste of last week’s 23-13 defeat to Baylor will undoubtedly be fresh in their mouths.

The loss to Baylor – the Bears’ first road win ever in the Big 12 – was costly for Iowa State in more ways than one. Not only did the loss put the Cyclones in an early hole in the race for the North division, ISU punt returner and special teams player Ryan Baum was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

Receiver Todd Blythe will assume punt-return duties for Baum this week.

Iowa State (3-2, 0-2 Big 12) will serve as the Homecoming opponent for the Missouri Tigers (3-2, 1-1 Big 12), who are led by stand-out senior quarterback Brad Smith.

“There’s no player I’ve respected more in my career than Brad Smith,” ISU coach Dan McCarney said. “All the times he’s been hit and carried the ball, he just keeps getting back up. He’s one of the classiest players we’ve ever had to compete against here at Iowa State.”

Smith leads the Big 12 in rushing with 580 yards, averaging 6.0 yards per carry and 116 yards per game. Smith also ranks second in the conference in total offense, just under 200 yards behind leader Cody Hodges of Texas Tech.

Smith will be at the helm of an offense that will try to spread out an ISU defense that ranks 10th in the conference in total defense, and create confusion using a no-huddle, hurry-up offense at times.

ISU defensive lineman Nick Leaders said he knows Smith and the Tigers are a very dangerous team on offense and said it will be a challenge to stop them.

“We’ve got to disrupt plays,” Leaders said. “We can’t let Brad Smith just go crazy. There’s no way you can completely stop someone like [Smith]. You just have to not let him get in a rhythm, don’t let them get hot.”

Defensive back LaMarcus Hicks also said he has great respect for Smith, but he said he believes the defense is better than it has played lately. Hicks pointed to the success the defense had at the beginning of the year as evidence of its potential.

“I think we have to get back to some of the little things that we did at first,” Hicks said. “We need to be more sound in our technique in coverage and just getting back to the things we did earlier.”

Things haven’t been much better on the other side of the ball lately for Iowa State. The Cyclones turned the ball over three times in their loss against Baylor, including a controversial fumble at the goal line that swung the momentum in Baylor’s favor.

The red zone has been a scary place for the ISU offense all year. The Cyclones have lost two fumbles and two interceptions inside the red zone, as well as missed three field goals. Iowa State ranks 11th in the conference in red-zone scoring at 69 percent.

To make things worse, Iowa State has only scored 12 touchdowns in 26 appearances inside the 20-yard line.

“I think there’s just certain little things that we’re doing wrong and that’s the difference,” ISU wide receiver Austin Flynn said of the offense. “The little things are just hurting us right now. For me, it’s just turning my head a little early and not quite running the right routes, and that’s hurt me.”

The absence of the big play has been another factor in the struggles of the offense, and that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the coaching staff. McCarney said the offense needs to get back on track with the big play, and this week may present some opportunities.

“We need to make more big plays offensively,” said McCarney. “[Missouri’s defense] is dangerous because they blitz all day and all night long. We have to be real sound in our protection and blocking to be successful.

“I know Missouri’s coaching staff is saying that we haven’t made many big plays this year, and I’m sure they don’t want us to break out against them.”

The Cyclones head into the game already at a disadvantage in the North division race, but the team maintains that their goals have not changed from the start of the year. Last year’s 0-3 start in the conference and subsequent rebound to a share of the North division title has become proof that there’s still time to make a run.

“We can still win a lot of games this year,” ISU quarterback Bret Meyer said. “Hopefully we can play with the same intensity we did last year with our backs against the wall.”

Although there may be time for the Cyclones to make a run, the importance of this game is not lost on the team.

“There’s some real urgency here right now,” McCarney said. “Two losses doesn’t keep us out of anything right now with six to go. With each loss, though, you eliminate your possibilities and potential rewards at the end of the season, no doubt about it.

“We’re playing against another team in black and gold, and we’re 2-0 against those black and gold teams, so hopefully we can get to 3-0.”