Although Iowa State lost to Iowa, 27-10, on Saturday, the Cyclones’ effort was filled with outstanding performances.

Troy Davis racked up his third consecutive 100-yard game with 139 yards on 25 carries. Davis is now leading the nation in rushing and ranks second in the nation in all-purpose yards.

While Davis had an excellent performance Saturday, he was still upset with the outcome, yet optimistic for next year’s Iowa matchup.

“We had the game going in the first and second quarter, but when the third quarter came, it just seemed like everything just kept on falling for us,” Davis said. “Defensively, they were keying on the running game.”

Davis was direct and to the point when asked if ISU’s 13-year losing streak will end during his career.

“It will happen next year. It will definitely happen next year,” Davis said.

Sophomore receiver Ed Williams established himself as a primary receiving target for Cyclone quarterback Todd Doxzon, who made his season debut after an ankle injury sidelined him for the first two games of the season. Williams racked up eight receptions for 131 yards in the Cyclone loss.

“I feel more confident with Todd out there. I caught my first pass from him when playing receiver. We always connect, so it’s like a piece of cake. I just turn and it’s there, that’s what I like,” Williams said.

But Williams, like Davis, remained humble about their efforts, while concentrating on the breakdowns that occurred during the game.

“We didn’t do the things we needed to do to put away the game. We weren’t happy with our performance,” Williams said. “We had too many mental mistakes, and that is something we need to work on.”

The Cyclones’ defensive squad held the high powered Hawkeye offense to 12 points in the first half, but suffered a 17 point second half surge by the Hawks.

Cyclone senior free safety Matt Straight remained optimistic that the Cyclone defense will be improved for next week’s game against the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

“To come back and beat UNLV next week, we’ll have to look at our mistakes and we’ll have to be accountable for what we did to lose this game,” Straight said.

The Cyclones will host the Running Rebels this Saturday at Cyclone Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.