AMES, Iowa – The first University of Cincinnati Bearcats Big 12 football game at Jack Trice Stadium was far from a pleasant experience. Iowa State came from behind in the first half, then outplayed UC in the second half to win going away, 34-17.

UC quarterback Brendan Sorsby had pulled the Bearcats within three points, 20-17, with a 41-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run, but Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht engineered a pair of late scoring drives in the game’s final four minutes. Just like that, a three-point game disintegrated.

Tensions were high afterward based on the vocal displeasure that could be heard from outside of the locker room. It’s understandable, as a three-game losing streak has the Bearcats at .500 on the season after they were 5-2 a month ago. Again, the late loss to Pitt in Week 2 haunts UC’s bowl possibilities with the Bearcats still needing one more victory to qualify.

Both teams had under their normal total offense figures (439 average for both coming into the game). Iowa State outgained UC 387-353, but the Bearcats outrushed the Cyclones by 135 yards. At night’s end, Iowa State led in the most important category: points. That leads to another week for UC coaches to try to get the team bowl-eligible. They have two more opportunities: at 7-3 Kansas State and then at home with 6-4 TCU.

5 reactions/overreaction to another Saturday night Big 12 loss

1. One-dimensional offense for UC in recent weeks

REACTION: The downfield throwing game has all but disappeared. Brendan Sorsby’s 141 rushing yards were fun to watch, but the 66 passing yards featured just two completions to tight end Joe Royer and one to top receiver Xzavier Henderson.

OVERREACTION: Sorsby can’t throw. That wouldn’t quite be fair, as he spent most of the early season as one of the top NCAA passers statistically. The defenses have dropped back in the last two games.

“If you’re dropping eight (players) and everyone’s in the defensive backfield, there’s nowhere to throw it,” UC coach Scott Satterfield said. “They’ve struggled stopping the run. You have to take what they give you. You don’t want to force the ball and have another turnover.”

After three turnovers vs. West Virginia, Sorsby was clean until he fumbled midway through the third quarter at the Iowa State 13-yard line. The fumble was forced by Hamilton High School product Malik Verdon of the Cyclones.

2. A record-setting night for UC for the wrong reason

REACTION: The Bearcats were penalized 13 times, four more than their previous high of nine at Colorado. Several were on false starts which caused great angst post-game.

“We can’t do that if we want to win football games,” center Gavin Gerhardt said. “All five of us know that, Four of us had a false start and that’s unacceptable.”

OVERREACTION: They’ve played in loud venues before. What gives? As it turns out, some defensive gamesmanship coaxed UC into some of those flags. UC’s offense goes on Sorsby’s clap. According to Satterfield, Iowa State was mimicking a clap by slapping the pads of their nose guard.

“A noise that sounds like a clap makes your guy jump offside,” he said. “That’s illegal. Sometimes it’s hard to tell. The last one we got they smacked the defensive tackle to move him over. When they smack him, what does that sound like?”

After a week of preaching poise and patience, the Bearcats were undisciplined and repeatedly flagged.

3. Nothing special on special teams

REACTION: Mason Fletcher had a rough night. No argument there. He had a 56-yard punt but a 37.3 average. That’s because a bad snap forced him to quickly recover and get off a 24-yarder. The most costly was a kick before halftime that bounced backward and went recorded as an 18-yard punt. That gave Iowa State field position at the UC 38-yard line before halftime and they were able to kick a field goal to tie the game at 10.

OVERREACTION: Boot the punter. Satterfield said Mason Fletcher was healthy after making a hard tackle the week before against West Virginia. On the other hand, you would go from one Fletcher to another as Max Fletcher is waiting in the wings. Max Fletcher actually averaged over 46 yards per punt last season at Arkansas, about three yards better than Mason.

“The punt team was horrendous tonight,” Satterfield said. “The field position the last two games is unacceptable.”

He also wasn’t happy that Iowa State’s Stevo Klotz scampered away on a fake punt call. There could be some personnel changes by next weekend on special teams, but it seems like he would stick with Mason Fletcher for now.

4. Another pre-halftime Cincinnati Bearcats blunder

REACTION: Why so many late second-quarter miscues? That would be a solid question and the Fletcher 18-yard punt was the latest after the Bearcats failed to aggressively move the football when they had it in the final minutes of the half. Iowa State took the 10-10 halftime tie and momentum shifted. To date, UC has either missed field goals or other scoring opportunities in seven of their games right before halftime (Pitt, Miami University, Texas Tech, UCF, Arizona State, Colorado, Iowa State).

OVERREACTION: That’s just football. That’s a common reply and probably an under-reaction. Too many instances become a trend.

5. Yogi Berra’s philosophy still lives

REACTION: “It ain’t over, ’til it’s over,” the Yankee Hall of Famer was known to say. If you look at the Big 12, that might be true. Saturday night, BYU suffered its first defeat losing to Kansas which has now knocked off the Cougars and Iowa State in consecutive weeks. Arizona State, a team UC beat 24-14, went to No. 16 Kansas State and beat them. Kenny Dillingham’s Wildcats are 8-2 with one of those losses coming at Nippert Stadium. West Virginia, gifted a win by UC, is still looking to get bowl-eligible as Baylor beat them in Morgantown. Eight Big 12 teams have qualified for bowl games with the Bearcats and Mountaineers both one win away

OVERREACTION: It’s over. (Please read the above paragraph.)

Road ahead for Cincinnati Bearcats

UC has another tough task Saturday, Nov. 23 when they travel to Manhattan, Kansas for the Kansas State Wildcats. UC hasn’t had a win in that series since 1966. The teams last played in 1995 and 1996. UC lost a heartbreaker to Kansas State 23-21 at Nippert in ’95, then Rick Minter’s squad was taken to task by Bill Snyder’s Wildcats 35-0 in Manhattan the following year.

Worse yet, just as Iowa State lost the week before their game against UC, Kansas State was defeated at home by Arizona State 24-14 Saturday, fueling their fire for the Bearcats.

Associated Press

IU Indianapolis Jaguars (1-2) at Iowa State Cyclones (2-0)

Ames, Iowa; Monday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: IU Indianapolis plays No. 7 Iowa State after Paul Zilinskas scored 25 points in IU Indianapolis’ 74-71 loss to the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

Iowa State finished 18-0 at home last season while going 29-8 overall. The Cyclones gave up 61.5 points per game while committing 16.6 fouls last season.

IU Indianapolis finished 2-13 on the road and 6-26 overall last season. The Jaguars allowed opponents to score 79.8 points per game and shot 50.7% from the field last season.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Iowa State football team is in desperate need of a win.

After working to the top of the Big 12 following seven consecutive wins to begin the year, the Cyclones now sit at 7-2 as they host Cincinnati Saturday night in Ames, Iowa. The odds are in favor of Matt Campbell and ISU, as they are 7-point favorites vs. the Bearcats.

Follow our live updates, in-game analysis and big-play highlights from the Iowa State vs. Cincinnati matchup:

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Field goal Cincinnati: The Bearcats march down into ISU’s red zone but the Cyclone defense comes up, forcing a successful field goal of 29 yards by Nathan Hawks to make it 10-7 Cincinnati. Sorsby had a big 41-yard run on an option play but penalties – the Bearcats have been flagged six times already – have been an issue. Something to watch as the game moves forward is the playing surface. Both teams have had trouble with slipping, as the field appears to be getting ripped up quite a bit. 

A very fast played first quarter, as Cincinnati had 113 yards of total offense and recorded five first downs to 47 yards and two by the Cyclones. The Bearcats had the ball for almost 10 minutes, as Sorsby was 6-for-7 for 55 yards.

End of first quarter: Iowa State 7, Cincinnati 7

Iowa State Touchdown! Carson Hansen took advantage of a Cincinnati flag to get the Cyclones on the board from two yards out, making it 7-7 with 1:53 left in the first. After a 28-yard punt return by Jaylin Noel set Iowa State up in Bearcat territory, Rocco Becht found Gabe Burkle on a 32-yard strike. Cincinnati’s Jordan Young was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, resulting in first-and-goal from the 2. 

Iowa State gives backup QB a run: Connor Moberly, who this time last year was leading Southeast Polk to another Iowa state football championship, got his first action since late in September. Moberly came on to handle a designed quarterback run, picking up five yards. The first Iowa State possession, though, stalled out after a sack by Jared Bartlett.

Touchdown Cincinnati: The Bearcats get on the board first with an old-school option play. Brendan Sorsby, the talented dual-threat QB for Cincinnati, led the Bearcats down the field for a 7-0 lead with 9:56 left. He picked up 14 yards on third-and-14, and the offense stayed on the field to pick up the first-down by Sorsby again. Following a big pass play from Sorsby to Tony Johnson for 23 yards, Evan Pryor would take an option pitch from Sorsby and go in untouched. Sorsby had 62 yards of total offense on the drive.

Iowa State wins the toss and elects to defer to the second half. Cincinatti will start with the ball.

The Iowa State vs. Cincinnati game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. CT. The weather in Ames is currently in the 50s with the temperature expected to drop throughout the night. There are steady winds out of the South with high humidity but no expected rainfall. 

Some good news for Cyclone fans, as Tim Brando and Devin Gardner, on the call for FOX, are 2-0 while covering Iowa State this season. Gardner is a former Michigan quarterback.

* Scouting the opponent: Get to know QB Brendan Sorsby

* Latest college football playoff rankings

* What Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield had to say about Cyclones

* Updated bowl projections for Iowa State, rest of Big 12

* Pair of ISU verbals compete in state football semifinals in Iowa