Iowa State had one of its best practices of the season Monday, just two days after a 49-3 thumping at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners.

That’s good news for ISU head coach Dan McCarney, who said he’s much more concerned about how his team will bounce back against Texas this weekend than he is about the talent the Longhorns put on the field.

“Whatever happens with the score this week, I think you’re going to see a team very unified and very motivated to come out and play a lot better than they did last week,” McCarney said.

Iowa State (6-2, 3-1 Big 12) will have to play better if they have any hopes of upsetting Texas (6-1, 2-1). The seventh-ranked Longhorns are second nationally in pass defense and fifth in scoring defense. They have also won 16 straight home games.

ISU linebacker Matt Word said many of the players were itching to get back on the field after the big loss — the first blowout they’ve been on the short end of this season. “A lot of the guys were talking about that they couldn’t wait to get back out there on the field and get that nasty taste out of their mouth,” Word said. “We’re ready to get back on track and ready to bounce back.”

Jack Whitver, who was held without a catch Saturday, said Monday’s practice might have been the best practice the receiving corps has had since he came to Iowa State three years ago.

“The receivers and the offense had the best practice, maybe even since I’ve been here,” Whitver said. “We weren’t dropping balls. We were running good routes. We were just hustling all over the place to catch the ball and get up the field — back to the little things that you take for granted sometimes.”

Whitver said the loss increased the focus and motivation of the team. He said the extra motivation stems from the team’s desire to be recognized as a contender on a national scale. The humbling experience at Oklahoma took away some of the respect the ISU program held, he said.

After starting the season unranked in the national polls, the Cyclones had moved up the rankings steadily, all the way to No. 9, until the loss at Oklahoma. Iowa State dropped eight spots to No. 17 in this week’s Associated Press poll.

“Players, coaches, everyone in this whole program have worked so hard for so long to get respect and to let some of that go away last Saturday really hurts,” Whitver said. “We’ve been working hard, and we’ve been focused and motivated to get back on track this week.”

One of the players who has helped the Cyclones earn national recognition this season, quarterback Seneca Wallace, had the worst performance of his two-year career against the Sooners. Wallace was just 4-of-22 for 43 yards and three interceptions.

McCarney said the poor performance hasn’t gotten Wallace down. He said Wallace knows that football is a team game and the whole team played poorly against Oklahoma.

Wallace was bright-eyed on Monday and ready to get back to work, McCarney said.

“Based on what I saw [Monday] out in practice, he came back and had a great look in his eyes — very determined to come back and play much better this weekend,” McCarney said. “I’d be very shocked if he doesn’t. He’s a competitor and a warrior, and he’ll come back and play real good football this week.”

McCarney said Hiawatha Rutland, who has been hampered by an ankle injury, is improving in health and also had a great practice Monday. Michael Wagner has started at running back since Rutland’s injury and is atop the depth chart at tailback this week as well. “That’s the best he’s looked in the last two weeks,” McCarney said of Rutland in Monday’s practice. “Hopefully, he’ll be back at 100 percent, but we’ll use both [Rutland and Wagner].”