The Iowa State Cyclones were one of the most exciting teams to watch during the 1997 football season. In fact, they’ve been fun to watch for the last several years.

With over a dozen thrilling come-from-behind victories in the last two-and-a-half years, the Cyclones have contributed to some very fan-friendly games. Unfortunately, the boys in cardinal and gold have been on the down side of all but a few of those exciting matchups.

Iowa State gave fans a taste of what was to come in a 1995 home game against the Oklahoma Sooners, ranked no. 14 in the nation at that time. Leading 19-16 at the half, the Cyclones gave up their lead early in the third quarter. They eventually regained it, 26-23, only to give up 16 unanswered points in the final 12 minutes.

Last year, the Cyclones squandered leads against several teams, most notably at home against the Oklahoma State Cowboys and on the road at Minnesota.

In the season opener, Iowa State led OSU 14-7 midway through the third quarter, but eventually fell 21-14, giving up the decisive third touchdown with less than 10 minutes to go.

Against the Golden Gophers, ISU hung close for three quarters, actually taking a 29-28 scoring lead and 347-290 yardage advantage into the fourth. After 25 unanswered points, the Cyclones went home, 53-29 losers.

However, when it comes to blowing leads late in a game, the 1996 Cyclones wrote the book.

In the 1996 season opener, ISU held a commanding 18-point lead over Wyoming early in the fourth quarter and led by 14 as late as the five-minute mark. They went on to fall 41-38 in overtime.

At Oklahoma State, they led 24-7 with just over 20 minutes left to play and held a touchdown lead until midway through the fourth, only to lose by one point, 28-27.

At Baylor, on October 26, the Cyclones couldn’t hold a 21-14 halftime lead. The next week, Kansas trailed Iowa State 31-27 with under three minutes to play, but squeaked out a late 34-31 win.

The most shining summary of the Cyclones’ fourth-quarter woes is a glance at our play against the Colorado Buffaloes.

ISU hasn’t defeated Colorado since the Jim Criner era. In 1983, they beat the Buffs, 22-10.

The 14-game losing streak has produced more than its share of heart-breaking defeats. Since 1990, four of the seven losses have been by a touchdown or less.

Two years ago, the Cyclones hosted the Buffaloes, ranked #9 in the nation at game-time. Iowa State led 28-27 with under 12 minutes to play in the fourth. In the end, ISU fell 50-28, giving up 23 points in under nine minutes of play.

In 1996, the defeat was even more frustrating. After trailing at the half, the Cyclones fought back to a 28-21 lead with just one quarter to play. It was at this point that they gave up 28 unanswered points and took the loss, 49-42.

Last season it was more of the same. With under three minutes to play in the third quarter, ISU led 35-17. Colorado closed the gap in the fourth and scored the game winner with only nine seconds to play.

Over the course of the 1997 season, Iowa State was outscored 113-52 in the final frame. And considering that the Cyclones were playing against second- and third-string players in the fourth quarter against Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas State, it’s easy to see that they need some help.

Coach Dan McCarney feels that the 1998 team will be an improvement upon the 1997 team, which was itself an improvement upon the 1996 squad.

“Conditioning was fine last year,” McCarney said. “We just needed more players, more quality players and more rotation.”

Coach Mac feels the problem has been remedied with the addition of several quality junior college transfers and the growth and improvement of a number of freshmen and sophomores.

On paper, the rotations look stronger on both sides of the ball. This year, they’ll have to be stronger if Iowa State is looking to win some four-quarter games rather than just the three-quarter versions they have won in recent years.