Receiver Tyrone Watley is not ready to give up on the Iowa State football season, even though the team is off to a 0-4 start.

“There are a lot of games left,” Watley said. “(Linebacker) Kip King and I were just talking in the locker room about how we have a lot of season left. We do have seven games left.”

Watley had 153 receiving yards and one touchdown in a 63-20 loss to Iowa on Sept. 20. He leads the Cyclones with 23 receptions for 405 yards this year.

Watley did say there is some concern on the team about the winless start. The Cyclones play Saturday at Missouri at 1 p.m.

“There is a sense of urgency. Everybody on the team knows we have to get the ball rolling,” Watley said. “We kind of blew off the first four games, which we shouldn’t have. But I think once we knock that first one off, I think it will have a domino effect, hopefully.”

Watley moved past Ed Williams on the team receiving charts for number of receptions and yardage after the Iowa game. Williams, who led the team in receiving the last two seasons, has 21 receptions for 351 yards. He still leads ISU with four touchdowns.

ISU Coach Dan McCarney said Watley, Williams and Daman Green form an impressive receiving corps. Green has caught eight passes for 122 yards.

“They’re all doing a good job,” McCarney said, “They’re seniors, they’re playing with confidence and they’ve been very consistent.”

However, McCarney said a stronger running game would help out the Iowa State receivers.

All nine of Iowa State’s touchdowns this season have been via the pass, and the longest gain from scrimmage by a Cyclone rusher is 14 yards.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had to rely on the passing game more than we would have liked to,” McCarney said. “But I think all of our receivers have stepped it up and played their best football since they’ve been here.”

Williams and Watley are listed as starters in the pre-game programs, but McCarney said he doesn’t always play by the program.

“We consider all three of our receivers as starters,” McCarney said. “We have a lot of formations where we have all three of them in there at the same time.”

Watley agrees with McCarney about the 6-foot-1-inch Green.

“(Daman) is a do-it-all type of receiver,” Watley said. “A lot of people don’t recognize it, but he has a lot of height, which comes in handy.”

Height is something that Watley thinks also helps out Williams. Williams is a legitimate 6-3.

“There’s not that many 6-3 or 6-4 (defensive backs), so obviously he’s going to be a deep threat, he can jump over guys,” Watley said.

Watley credits the closeness of the receiving corps with having a lot to do with its success this season. Green and Watley were newcomers on the team last season after transferring from schools in California, while Williams has played for ISU the past four seasons.

“We’re real close friends,” Watley said. “I think that caring for one another shows on the field and has helped us.”

Watley said many people have wrongly blamed Iowa State quarterback Todd Bandhauer for the team’s four losses.

Bandhauer has completed 54 percent of his passes for 1,153 yards and nine touchdowns, with only six interceptions. But he has been sacked a whopping 21 times for 123 yards in losses this season.

“I think a lot of people are being real hard on him, but that’s the type of role you take on when you take on the quarterback role,” Watley said. “It’s kind of like a center-stage position.”