The Cyclones tried their best to replicate last year’s monumental upset of the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, but a tremendous day from Kyler Murray and missed opportunities from the Cyclones saw the Sooners walk out with a 37-27 win.

Brown lights up the Cyclone secondary

As good of a game as Hakeem Butler had for the Cyclones — setting a career-high in yards and scoring two touchdowns — Oklahoma receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown had a day that was just as good, if not better. 

Brown was unstoppable in the first 30 minutes of play, getting wherever he wanted to and leaving Cyclones in the dust with his burst of speed.

He tallied seven receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone, setting an Oklahoma school-record for first half receiving yardage.

Coach Matt Campbell acknowledged the problems the Cyclones had with Brown’s speed.

“He had the big one down the middle of the field,” Campbell said. “We’re not good enough to give up the big play consistently.”

Brown was corralled more in the second half, catching only two passes. The Cyclones were able to adjust and focus on limiting his impact, but by then Brown had done all the damage he needed to.

His performance was *slightly* overshadowed by the big day Butler had, but Brown was key to the Sooners’ offensive dominance.

Brown is another reminder of the insane talent Oklahoma has at its disposal.

Offensive line played a lot better

Last week, there was much hand-wringing postgame over the performance of Iowa State’s offensive line in the Iowa game.

The Cyclones struggled to create push against a strong Iowa front-seven, only gaining 19 net rushing yards and 188 total yards during the contest. There was reason for concern, and Campbell said as much.

On Saturday, however, the offense took a big step forward, according to Campbell. 

“That’s what an offensive line looks like, compared to what last week looked like,” Campbell said. “We’re trending in the right direction that way.”

“Maybe last week, that’s my fault, that I didn’t let Colin [Newell] get out there soon enough.”

Aside from an injury scare for junior Josh Knipfel (Campbell said he would be good to go), the offensive line acquitted itself well. Colin Newell, the redshirt freshman starting his first collegiate game, had a strong outing at the center position and the Cyclones allowed only one sack. 

Perhaps more encouraging, though, was the Cyclones’ ability to run the ball, albeit only for stretches of the game.

Junior David Montgomery had more room to maneuver and he had 82 yards on 21 carries and a score. This, only a week after he struggled to gain 47 yards against the Hawkeyes.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Hakeem Butler had positive words for the offense as a whole.

“When we played Iowa, we really didn’t get to run much,” Butler said. “I think this week we came out and made a lot more plays.”

The Iowa defense is, in all likelihood, stronger than the Sooners’ squad — especially on the defensive line — but the Cyclones needed to show a vast leap in quality, and they delivered.

It doesn’t get any easier for Iowa State

Iowa State’s schedule after Oklahoma wasn’t great heading into Saturday and that hasn’t changed since then. 

The Cyclones sit at 0-2 (0-1 in Big 12 play), and what was supposed to be an easy win over Akron next week now looks more important than ever. 

The Zips are no slouches, with a 2-0 record and coming off of a road win over Big-10 foe Northwestern on Saturday night (the Zips came back from a 21-3 deficit to win, 39-34).

Montgomery knows it’s not an easy road ahead, and that winning now is paramount.

“It’s definitely important,” Montgomery said. “It always makes everyone feel better once you get a win under your belt.”

The Cyclones want to make it to a bowl game this year, and the addition of a 12th game against FCS team Incarnate Word — still a real university — has made that very clear. 

But after a must-win game against the Zips, the Cyclones head on the road to play No. 15 TCU — who almost beat No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday — and No. 24 Oklahoma State, who beat a quality Boise State team 44-21.

The Cyclones may want a bowl game this year, but that road just got a lot murkier than it was before the canceled South Dakota State game.