Iowa State football: Five takeaways from the loss against Oklahoma State

The Iowa State football team suffers their second consecutive blowout and third straight game where they have given up more than 42 points.

Oct 26, 2013; Ames, IA, USA; Iowa State Cyclones defensive back Levi Peters (35) looks on during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Jack Trice Stadium. Oklahoma State defeated Iowa State 58-27. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Bottom line for the Cyclones: This team can’t afford to go down by three touchdowns and expect to get a victory, even at home. There were some great signs of a comeback in the second quarter, but everything fell apart at the half and the Oklahoma State Cowboys mowed down the defense in the third quarter to pull away.

Here are some other notes on the fourth straight loss:

1. DeVondrick Nealy is showing signs of promise.

It’s been a story of the younger players stepping up at the running back position for Iowa State, and the sophomore from Monticello, Florida, has had a touchdown in two consecutive games. While his numbers aren’t impressive, his leap into the endzone in the first half was awesome. He won’t take Aaron Wimberly’s spot once the normal starting running back is healthy again, but he could compliment both Wimberly and Jeff Woody.

2. Iowa State’s defensive performance in the second quarter could be the best you’ll see all season.

The way those defenders were flying to the ball and flying to the ball was something that I didn’t think we’d see all season long from this team. They left some wide receivers open, but Cowboys QB Clint Chelf didn’t look comfortable throwing the ball at all in the second half. However, they didn’t need him to throw in the second half once the Cyclones stopped tackling.

3. There is no quarterback controversy for the Cyclones.

When Sam Richardson went out with a concussion in the second quarter, we had a good look at Grant Rohach. It was only the freshman’s second start, and there was improvement over his performance against Baylor, but he’s nowhere near ready to be the starter. Banged up or not, if Richardson his available to go, he’ll get the nod.

4. It’d be hard to find anything worse than Iowa State’s offensive line.

I’ll definitely blame Courtney Messingham for some of his option calls spread out throughout this game, mainly due to how pathetic this offensive line can look. But with seven different lineups to start every game, it should be expected that the line should lack consistency and communication playing together.

5. With all the injuries and a lack of depth, this team will struggle to play a whole 60 minutes.

That’s self-explanatory.