IOWA CITY — A loss is a loss no matter how close the score.

That’s what Ellis Hobbs and the rest of the ISU football team take away from Saturday’s 17-10 loss to cross-state rival Iowa.

“Mistakes, opportunities, chances — that’s what we take from it,” Hobbs said. “[We can’t] sit here and say ‘Good job’ or ‘We’ll get ’em next time;’ you can’t accept stuff like that.”

Freshman quarterback Bret Meyer said the fact that the Cyclones (1-1) were nearly four-touchdown underdogs is no excuse.

“I don’t think we take much from this game because we didn’t make enough plays to win it,” Meyer said. “Just because you’re picked to lose by a lot of points and you don’t lose by that many doesn’t mean you take anything from the game.”

It was No. 16 Iowa’s second straight victory over the Cyclones after Iowa State had won five in a row in the series from 1998-2002. Iowa (2-0) hadn’t beaten Iowa State at home since 1996.

Heading into Saturday’s game, the Cyclones and Hawkeyes were first and second nationally in yardage allowed, respectively, and both showed that was no fluke — particularly the run defenses. Iowa netted only 85 yards on the ground, and Iowa State rushed for 66.

Initially, the Cyclone defense looked shaky, giving up a 1-yard Albert Young touchdown run only 1:55 into the game. But the Cyclones rebounded with a Brian Jansen field goal near the end of the quarter to make the score 7-3.

Iowa State held the Hawkeyes scoreless until Ed Hinkel made a leaping touchdown catch over LaMarcus Hicks with just over a minute left to play in the first half.

“He did just enough to get behind [Hicks],” Hobbs said. “It’s something you’ve got to deal with; it happens to everybody, you just have to learn from that.”

Leading 14-3 entering the second half, Iowa tacked on a Kyle Schlicher field goal with 10:44 left in the third quarter, which would be Iowa’s final points of the game. Iowa State continued to struggle on the offensive side of the ball until Austin Flynn tossed a 40-yard touchdown to freshman Todd Blythe with 36 seconds left in the quarter.

“We needed a spark on offense,” Blythe said. ” I went up hoping to catch the ball and, if nothing else, draw pass interference. I was lucky enough to get up [before the defender] did and roll into the end zone.”

Flynn remained in the game until he was banged up on a running play near the end of the game, putting the starter Meyer back in. In the closing minutes, Meyer and the Cyclone offense broke into Hawkeye territory trailing 17-10. But the Cyclone’s chances of winning were ended when Meyer was tackled short of the sticks on fourth down with 1:09 left in the game.

“That’s something you dream about all the time — two-minute drill, you gotta win the game — but this week I didn’t get the job done, so I’ve got to say that’s on me,” Meyer said.

McCarney said both Meyer and Flynn will continue to share time next week against Northern Illinois.

“My gut [feeling] right now is that both will play next week,” McCarney said. “We’ll watch tape and grade it to see who starts. I still think we have two quarterbacks we can win with, and we’ll continue to play them both.”

Meyer said he has no problem sharing time with Flynn, especially if he plays like he did Saturday.

“I’m fine with that, if Austin’s doing a good job scoring points, leave him in the game,” Meyer said. “He put us in a position to win the game and it just so happened he got knocked out of the game so I had to go in. It’s unfortunate, I’d much rather have me in that position than to see him like that.”

McCarney said he couldn’t have been prouder of his defense’s effort at Kinnick Stadium.

“We played to win; I didn’t sense our kids give in when faced with adversity,” McCarney said. “Our defense is growing, and if we don’t get wiped out with injuries, I think this might be our best defense since I’ve been here.”

In a game fought in the trenches, Iowa State won the battle of pass protection, allowing only two sacks and sacking Iowa’s Drew Tate four times for a total loss of 37 yards.

“Our offensive line did a phenomenal job of pass protection,” Meyer said. “When you’re put in a position to win a game like I was today, you need to take advantage of that.”

Though he doesn’t take much solace in the loss, Meyer said he and the Cyclones will be ready for Northern Illinois next week.

“Coming in [here] we knew we could play with anybody and leaving we feel the same way,” Meyer said. “We know we’re one of the best teams around, and we feel like we can beat a lot of teams.”