AMES — Iowa State lost to No. 17 Baylor by a score of 31-24. A disappointing game for both the team and the fanbase, but there was another factor of the game that the team felt played a major factor in the loss.

That factor was eight penalties for 78 yards over the course of the game.

On the opening drive, Beau Freyler hit a Baylor player and was ejected upon review due to a targeting call. This was followed by linebacker Colby Reeder knocking down a receiver coming across the middle of the field, earning him an unnecessary roughness call. 

These two plays gave Baylor great field position to score on its opening drive.

The Cyclones felt that this drive lost the team a lot of momentum.

“We were never able to control the momentum of the football game,” Campbell said. “That’s unfortunate cause I really thought we came out and played really well.”

A few drives later safety Anthony Johnson Jr. was called for a block below the waist on what would have been a tackle to force fourth down.

This call caused head coach Matt Campbell to erupt on the sidelines. Campbell called a timeout, and used the entirety of the time to let the officials know his disdain for the call.

Campbell said he does not want people to think it was strictly the officiating that cost the Cyclones the game, but that it played a factor in the momentum of the game.

“We sputtered for whatever reason,” Campbell said. “We’re playing a little bit into their hands.”

Cornerback T.J. Tampa said that the defense did not have time to worry about the flags, and that it is something for the coaches to worry about while the players move on to the next play.

Despite the lack of execution in some areas for the Cyclones, there was a bright spot in runningback Jirehl Brock.

Brock took a big hit on the Cyclones’ opening drive, causing him to have to come out of the game. After missing just one play, Brock returned, getting three out of four goal line touches that resulted in a one-yard receiving touchdown on fourth down.

Not only did Brock continue to carry the majority of the load in the backfield for the rest of the game, he took on just about all of it.

Later Brock ran down the field 37 yards, and fumbled into the endzone but recovered it for a score.

Campbell said while Brock has some things to clean up such as protecting the ball near the goal line, his toughness and attitude are unmatched.

“You feel Jirehl play the game of football,” Campbell said.

Brock finished the game with 14 carries for 73 yards and a pair of total touchdowns.

When asked about his long touchdown, Brock said he needs to improve on finishing his runs.

“It’s not always that the ball bounces right back to you when that happens, and that’s on me,” Brock said.