IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa State opened its 2018 season with a defensive stop and a methodical 13-play, 66-yard scoring drive.

The offense was like a well-oiled machine — redshirt senior Kyle Kempt was 5-for-6 in the air and junior running back David Montgomery found holes in the defense to convert first downs.

After the first drive, the Cyclone offense fell apart. For the rest of the game, Iowa State managed a paltry 122 yards of total offense and was shut out, resulting in a 13-3 Iowa win.

“It was hard when offensively, we couldn’t sustain any consistency,” said coach Matt Campbell. “Especially up front. It exposed us in some of the most critical times.”

Montgomery was a 1,000-yard rusher a season ago. He tallied 122 rushing yards against Iowa’s defense in 2017.

Saturday in Kinnick Stadium, Montgomery was held to 44 yards on 17 carries (2.6 yards per carry). His longest run was 11 yards.

Iowa State struggled through the air as well.

Kempt came up limping in the third quarter and redshirt sophomore Zeb Noland jumped into the lineup at quarterback. Campbell said Kempt’s MCL was “dinged up,” but was not able to explain further.

Noland went 4-for-10 for 43 yards in relief.

“I just tried to keep everybody calm,” Noland said. “It happened with Oklahoma State [last year] so it wasn’t like it was my first time ever doing this.”

Noland found redshirt junior Hakeem Butler for a 23-yard gain when Iowa State was making its last-ditch effort to come back, but overall, the offense still couldn’t get anything moving.

Penalties also killed the Cyclones.

On the first drive of the game, Iowa State was held to just a field goal after redshirt sophomore guard Josh Mueller was whistled for a false start before a huge fourth-and-1 play at the goal line.

The Cyclones were lined up to go for it, but settled for a field goal after Mueller’s penalty.

“Again, it’s our first game,” Campbell said. “They need to get out and get that experience and play. [There were] a lot of guys playing different positions and guys getting out there and really being counted on for the first time.”

Iowa State’s 19 rushing yards were the fewest since having just 10 yards on the ground in September 2017 against Texas. Iowa State lost that game, 17-7.

Iowa’s defensive line was heralded as one of the better lines in the country entering this season.

“They’ve got such a good defensive front, it’s hard to really get those easy yards,” said redshirt sophomore tight end Chase Allen. “It’s really hard to get it going when you’re battling second-and-12, second-and-13.”

Nobody on Iowa State’s roster caught more than three passes and nobody had more than 35 receiving yards.

When the game was winding down, Iowa’s pass rush made plays, forcing a Noland fumble and ending the final Cyclone scoring threat.

It’s still unknown whether Noland or Kempt will be taking snaps when Oklahoma rolls into Ames on Sept. 15, but whoever happens to be under center will need to guide the offense against the preseason No. 1 team in the Big 12.

“We’re not gonna get it easy with Oklahoma,” Allen said. “They’re not gonna look over us, that’s for sure.”