STILLWATER, Okla. — It’s back to the drawing board and the film room for the Cyclones after suffering a frustrating 36-7 loss to Oklahoma State. Iowa State has not won a Big 12 conference game since 2002 and has not beaten a ranked team on the road since Oct. 20, 1990, when Iowa State upset then No. 16 Oklahoma, 33-31.

“Regardless of how we played individually, the bottom line is we lost as a team,” cornerback Ellis Hobbs said. “We just need to go back to the film room, look at the mistakes and let the coaches critique us.”

ISU head Coach Dan McCarney was for the most part pleased with the effort shown by his Cyclone defense.

“We played a lot of snaps of good defense,” McCarney said. “We gave up some big gains in the throwing game that we have to get corrected.”

Linebacker Brandon Brown said for the most part, the time the defense spent on the field wasn’t problematic — it was more the forgetting some of the basics of football.

“[OSU running back Vernand Morency] hit the hole hard,” Brown said. “We’re in pretty good shape; I don’t think anyone wore down. We missed a tackle or two, and that’s what made him able to get his yards.”

Iowa State’s offense didn’t compete as physically as McCarney had hoped in the Big 12 opening match.

“I don’t think we were very tough offensively today,” McCarney said. “We are not a very physical team offensively. There were a few plays, but I can’t stand on the sideline and say that we had a tough, physical offense. We have a lot of work to do before we take on an excellent Texas A&M football team this Saturday.”

Both sides of the ball realize that adjustments must be made in practice this week.

“Anytime you have the type of game we had, you want to kick yourself in the butt,” Hobbs said.

“Anytime you have a loss you have to accept it, but at the same time you have to look at yourself and see what type of mistakes you’ve made out there.”

Hobbs said he was glad the defense kept its head up and did not develop a negative attitude.

“The main thing that we stress right now is that we don’t divide,” Hobbs said. “We just want to let this bring us closer together.”

The Cyclones are fully aware that the Big 12 conference brings a more competitive environment to the gridiron.

“The crowd is always into it. The teams are always into it and the coaches are into it,” Hobbs said. “Everybody can hit, from the smallest guy to the biggest guy. When the Big 12 hits, the intensity level rises a lot.