The Cyclone’s blowout loss to the Sooners could be seen as a major step back for the young team, but fans of Iowa State should not be alarmed or surprised.

Now a 50-20 loss, no matter the opponent, is not by any means a step in the right direction. If the Cyclones kept it closer in the second half, you could chalk this up to a moral victory for this young team, but that was not the case.

I’m a believer that heading into Norman, Iowa State did not stand a chance against Oklahoma. The talented and experienced Sooner roster is far better on paper than the Cyclones’, who, for the most part, especially on offense, are young and still getting in sync.

So the loss is not surprising, it was actually expected as Iowa State entered as underdogs by nearly three touchdowns, but what can be taken away from the game?

One thing was the run game, which finally saw some complimentary play between the running backs and the offensive line. Abu Sama and Eli Sanders each had seven carries and combined for 108 yards, with Sama leading the way with 67.

The offensive line finally created holes for the backs to run through, including a long rush from Sama that went for almost 40 yards on the team’s third drive of the game. The problem was that the Cyclones started to fall behind towards the end of the second quarter, so they had to stray away from their newly found success on the ground.

Iowa State finally showed off what this ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of a running back room can look like, and with the passing game also showing major strides the last few weeks, the offense is trending up.

Despite Rocco Becht’s recent performance against a strong Oklahoma defense, who have allowed the least amount of touchdowns in the Big 12 (5), he’s not the problem. Becht has proven himself as a capable starter without the run game, and I believe the offense can fly even higher if the run game continues to get better.

The Iowa State defense has been the major concern over the last few weeks, as they’ve now turned in a pair of back-to-back uncharacteristic performances. While the aforementioned Sooner offense is no doubt the most talented they’ve faced so far this season, their ability to lock up the skies at the beginning of the season has not carried over into Big 12 play.

The Cyclones have given up 644 passing yards and five touchdown passes over the last two games, and while they have snatched a trio of picks in those games, the drive-stopping pass breakups have dwindled since the start of the season.

Throughout the last two games, there have been a lot of blown coverage plays that have often extended drives, keeping the defense out on the field. It also doesn’t help that the lack of urgency from the defensive line hasn’t gotten better throughout the season, resulting in the opposing quarterbacks having time to make plays.

The road for the Iowa State defense doesn’t get much easier, as its next two matchups are against top-five teams in the Big 12 in total yards.

While it won’t be easy if the Cyclone defense gets back on track and the offense continues to emerge, they could do just enough to get themselves into bowl game contention, which heading into the season that possibility seemed almost impossible.

It is a bit premature to be in panic mode after the Cyclones’ loss to Oklahoma considering the team has shown strides in key areas. However, if the team continues to play uncomplimentary over the next few games the way they have all season, then it might be time to start focusing on next season.