The final score (24-21) might not show it, but Iowa State was the far inferior team on the field Saturday between No. 17 Iowa State and No. 6 Oklahoma State. And yet despite the dominance from Oklahoma State, coming in no one had an idea of who these teams really were.

The lead up to Saturday’s clash between two of the Big 12’s best teams was filled with so many questions, with the answers seeming to be a toss up heading into the game.

Was the Cowboys’ defense as good as it looked on paper? Did Iowa State have a balanced offensive attack to threaten said defense? How would Spencer Sanders perform? Which of these teams is the real No. 1 in the conference?

Those questions got pretty clear answers Saturday on the Oklahoma State side of the equation in its 24-21 win. But while Oklahoma State dispelled the naysayers and doubters, the Cyclones now face more questions and concerns about who they really are.

Yes there’s Breece, but what else?

A lot can be said about the state of affairs for Iowa State’s offense after its loss to the Cowboys, but what became clear once again is that sophomore running back Breece Hall is the engine of the Iowa State offense. But the problem is, a car can’t go with just an engine. 

And when the engine isn’t working — or in this case churning out 60 yards on every drive — the car usually stops dead in its tracks. And it was about as close to dead as it could get Saturday outside of Hall’s typical big day.

As if rushing for a career high 185 yards and a touchdown wasn’t enough, Hall’s fifth straight game with at least 100 yards on the ground still wasn’t enough for Iowa State to crack the 20 point ceiling until the game was already over.

But if you look deeper at Hall’s day, outside of two carries of 60 yards or more, he finished with 18 carries for 52 yards, good for 2.8 yards a carry.

So with Hall being kept in check for most of the game, what else was working for Iowa State’s offense outside of his big runs? The short answer: not much.

The problems with the offense started up front in pass protection, with Iowa State’s makeshift offensive line providing junior quarterback Brock Purdy barely a blink of an eye to make something happen downfield. Now the protection has been lacking for some time, but on Saturday Purdy was sacked three times along with four quarterback hits.

By the game’s end, the offense ended with more holding penalties than wide receivers with catches.

So without much protection, can you guess what Purdy’s day was like? Short answer again: not good either.

Purdy ended his day 19-34 for 162 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Fifty-seven of his passing yards came on the final drive of the game, with the outcome of the game all but decided. The only receiver to catch a pass on Saturday was Xavier Hutchinson, who continued his connection with Purdy to the tune of eight catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Purdy once again had little chemistry with his targets, overthrowing or just flat out missing his playmakers. This is now the second game of the season with under 200 yards for Purdy.

As the tape for Iowa State grows larger and larger, the prospect of keeping Hall in check and letting Purdy do the rest seems like a recipe for success for Iowa State’s opponents.

Defense sets up the offense

As the offense continued to struggle for the Cyclones, the defensive side of the ball was doing all it could to give the struggling offense some chances to take the momentum Saturday. In fact, two of Iowa State’s touchdowns came directly off of the plays from the defense.

After Oklahoma State and Iowa State got no points on the board through both of its first drives on offense, Greg Eisworth entered the chat.

Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders rolled out to his right and targeted his go-to receiver Tylan Wallace. Eisworth tipped the pass high into the air and then linebacker Mike Rose cradled it out of the air for an interception, setting up Iowa State’s offense to score a touchdown on the ensuing drive.

Anthony Johnson and Tylan Wallace battled each other on the outside all game, with Johnson even getting Wallace to commit offensive pass interference and a false start Saturday. 

Lawrence White also made his presence felt with an interception of his own. And just like Eisworth and Rose, White’s turnover set up Iowa State and Hall to score a 66 yard rushing touchdown on the very next drive.

Where does Iowa State fit in the Big 12?

Now that the dust has settled and the Big 12 looks to have found its No. 1 team in the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where does this leave Iowa State in the hunt to get to Arlington, Texas, for the Big 12 Championship game?

Well, Iowa State has put itself in a comfortable spot four games into the Big 12 season. Its win over Oklahoma helps in a tiebreaker scenario, with the Sooners and many other teams jumbled into the 2-2 record in the Big 12.

And the Cyclones can get back on track pretty quickly over the next two weeks, with matchups against Kansas and Baylor in consecutive weeks.

The Cyclones’ chances to reach the Big 12 title game are far from over, even after Saturday’s loss, but from here on out, it will be up to them to make sure they put themselves in the best position to get there by beating the teams they should the rest of the way.