STILLWATER, Okla. — Going into their Big 12 Conference opener, ISU head coach Dan McCarney stressed how important it would be for his Cyclones to force No. 25 Oklahoma State into fumbling the football. Instead, Iowa State was the team coughing it up.

Oklahoma State capitalized on four Cyclone fumbles — three from quarterback Bret Meyer and one from tailback Tyease Thompson — as Iowa State fell 36-7 in front of 47,544 fans.

“You can’t make some of the mistakes we did today and have any chance to win a Big 12 football game,” McCarney said. “You can’t fumble four times, regardless of the reasons, you can’t do that — make some of the mistakes we did in the kicking game and four turnovers offensively really, really hurt us.”

Offensive lineman Luke Vander Sanden said Meyer’s not completely to blame for the fumbles attached to his stat line.

“[Meyer] is usually not that way,” Vander Sanden said. “Everyone has to take credit. You can’t blame that all on him. It has got to be on the protection too. Everyone makes mistakes, and hopefully we can get these things corrected and move on.”

Ellis Hobbs got the Cyclone defense off to a fast start with an interception and 15-yard return with 12:42 left in the first quarter.

“It was kind of funny. I was sitting by my locker before the game, and I was looking at my hands. I said, ‘You all got to work for me today; we’re going to need to get some big plays out of me today,'” Hobbs said. “I just saw the slant route, a three-step route and I just tried to jump it as best as possible. I just made the play.”

The ISU offense failed to capitalize after Brian Jansen missed a 39-yard field goal attempt wide left.

Oklahoma State struck first offensively when tight end Billy Bajema caught quarterback Donovan Woods’ pass for a 42-yard gain to the Cyclone 5-yard line at the conclusion of the first quarter. Iowa State’s defense held the Cowboys on the goal line and Oklahoma State settled for a 22-yard field goal from Jason Ricks, giving the Cowboys a 3-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Thompson fumbled on the Cyclone 7-yard line, where Oklahoma State recovered the ball, and Cowboy quarterback Donovan Woods eventually ran in for a touchdown, giving Oklahoma State a 10-0 lead.

Thompson’s fumble was only the eighth fumble lost by a Cyclone running back since 1997.

A Cowboys offensive onslaught ensued when Prentiss Elliott returned a 39-yard Troy Blankenship punt for 32 yards. Two plays and 25 yards later, an 11-yard touchdown pass from Woods to wide receiver D’Juan Woods made the score 20-0.

With less than a minute left in the first half, Meyer was hit from behind while attempting a pass and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Oklahoma State on the Cyclone 27-yard line.

The ISU defense kept the Cowboys out of the end zone and once again Oklahoma State settled for a 29-yard field goal by Ricks, giving the Cowboys at 23-0 halftime advantage.

Going into the game, OSU running back Vernand Morency led the nation in rushing with 561 yards on 76 attempts, averaging 187 yards per game. Morency had 143 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns against the Cyclones.

“There were a lot of snaps when we did a really good job against [Morency],” McCarney said. “He is a tremendous back. I don’t know that in the red zone, I have seen a better back in my years.

“There were a lot of times when we tried to get 11 hats and swarm the ball to slow him down. Nobody is going to stop him. I’d be shocked if anyone was able to. You have to control him and we did that at times today.”

After Ricks missed a 44-yard field goal midway through the third, Iowa State went down the field with two passes from Meyer.

The first was a 32-yard reception to Jon Davis and the second was a 21-yard gain to Todd Blythe in heavy Cowboy coverage. The drive ended with Meyer finding Blythe in the end zone with a 9-yard touchdown pass.

After the Cyclones’ last game — a come-from-behind victory against Northern Illinois — Blythe said coming out of halftime the Cyclones’ had the confidence to come out and compete; they just didn’t make enough big plays.

“We knew coming into the Big 12 everybody on defense, not just [the defensive backs], were going to be faster more athletic and physical. That’s exactly what we got today,” Blythe said. “I think we just realized that we can play with those kinds of guys. They are probably some of the best [defensive backs] we’re going to play against all year, and we were able to make some plays in the second half — just not enough of them.”