Iowa State football recap: Cyclones fall to Oklahoma 27-13

AMES — Iowa State football hosted Oklahoma on Saturday, and the Cyclones once again found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

Oklahoma had the third-worst record in the Big 12, but the Sooners picked up their second conference win by beating Iowa State, 27-13. Meanwhile, the Cyclones dropped their fifth straight game and now sit at 0-5 against conference opponents. Iowa State is the only Big 12 team without a conference win.

A lot went wrong for the Cyclones on Saturday, nothing more than Dekkers three interceptions. The defense remained steady, but it just wasn’t enough…and you have to imagine that unit is a bit tired at this point in the season.

More:Walk-on Kendell Jackson is pillar of consistency for Iowa State football

Iowa State’s strongest drives of the game came in the final quarter. If the Cyclones played the entire game with that effort, the end result may have been different.

Here’s a look at what happened during Iowa State’s loss to Oklahoma.

0:58/Q4: Last chance falls short

Dekkers pass intended for Xavier Hutchinson is incomplete on fourth down and Oklahoma takes over with under a minute to play.

4:36/Q4: There's a serious lack of consistency here

Dekkers, who isn't known to be the most mobile quarterback, just avoided a safety and picked up a first down on a 28-yard run. And then on the very next play, he threw his third interception of the day.

Danny Stutsman returned the interception 37 yards to the 2-yard line and Oklahoma scored another touchdown to take a 27-13 lead.

7:36/Q4: Dekkers throws away momentum

Well, Iowa State's offense followed that huge sack...with an interception. The Cyclones drove the ball to the 44-yard line and then Dekkers' pass — intended for Noel — ended up in the hands of Oklahoma safety Justin Broiles. Sooners take over from the 33-yard line.

9:13/Q4: Defense comes up big

Not to give the "Juicy Wiggle" too much credit, but is it really a coincidence that Iowa State's defense had one of its best set of downs immediately after? The Cyclones held off Oklahoma long enough to force 3rd and 13. That's when MJ Anderson finished things off, sacking Dillon Gabriel for a loss of 14 yards and forcing the Sooners to punt.

Iowa State takes over from the 31-yard line.

10:29/Q4: Dekkers to Noel for the first touchdown of the day

Okay, so things are a bit more interesting now. Hunter Dekkers sent a 15-yard pass to Jaylin Noel for the Cyclones first touchdown of the afternoon. Oklahoma still holds a 20-13 lead.

End of third quarter: Oklahoma 20, Iowa State 6

That was a whole lot of nothing for the Cyclones. For those keeping track, Iowa State hasn't scored since the final minute of the second quarter and have yet to pick up a touchdown. Things are not going as the Cyclones hoped, that's for sure.

4:18/Q3: Oklahoma extends its lead

Oh boy, Iowa State's defense left Jalil Farooq wide open and he finished off a 41-yard pass in the end zone. The Sooners jump out to a 20-6 lead late in the third.

9:51/Q3: Is trash talking not allowed?

Not a lot to report in the third quarter so far. But Jaylin Noel did call for a fair catch on the most recent punt, apparently said something worthy of an unsportsmanlike conduct call and that pushed the Cyclones half the distance closer to the goal. So, Iowa State starts at the six instead of the 12-yard line.

HALFTIME: Oklahoma 13, Iowa State 6

Time runs out in the first half and the Cyclones can't get the ball back in time. Iowa State has a lot of work to do in the second half.

0:45/Q2: Iowa State trails, but adds three more points

The Cyclones had a lot of momentum on the last drive but once again struggled to turn it into a touchdown. Jace Gilbert added three more points to Iowa State's total but the Cyclones still trail 13-6 in the final minute of play.

6:30/Q2: Oklahoma up by ten points

Iowa State's defense comes up with a series of big stops after a holding call against Oklahoma. The Sooners did still manage some points on the board with another field goal from Schmit. Oklahoma took over five-and-a-half minutes off the clock on that last drive.

12:23/Q2: Trick play pays off for Oklahoma

The Sooners lined up for what appeared to be a kick on fourth down, with Oklahoma on the 1-yard line. But instead Michael Turk, the holder, passed to Zach Schmit for a touchdown. Schmit's point after kick was good too, meaning that he's scored all ten of Oklahoma's points so far.

End of first quarter: Iowa State 3, Oklahoma 3

Tie game heading into the second quarter. Both teams offenses have only managed a field goal, setting up a strong defensive game.

2:08/Q1: Iowa State gets on the board

Jace Gilbert capped a 66-yard drive by the Cyclones with a 27-yard field goal. Iowa State fails to convert the drive into a touchdown but the points do tie the game up before the end of the first quarter.

6:31/Q1: Oklahoma takes the early lead

Iowa State's defense did prevent the Sooners from scoring a touchdown but Oklahoma still managed to get points on the board. Zach Schmit hit a 41-yard field goal to put the visiting team up 3-0.

8:32/Q1: Iowa State can't convert on fourth down

It sure is nice to have Cartevious Norton back on the field but it wasn't enough for the Cyclones on this drive. Iowa State was marked short on its third down attempt, which set up 4th and 1. Iowa State gave Norton the ball again, but he was stopped for a loss of one. Oklahoma takes over on the 46-yard line.

11:19/Q1: Cyclones first drive ends in interception

Hunter Dekkers attempted a pass to Dimitri Stanley but it was intercepted by Woodi Washington. The replay showed that the ball touched the ground but it wasn't reviewed.

Oklahoma took the ball all the way into the red zone, where Myles Purchase forced a fumble against Eric Gray, which Gerry Vaughn recovered. Iowa State takes over on the 13-yard line.

15:00/Q1: Iowa State drops Kanye West from pregame routine

Through the first few games of the season, the Cyclones ran out onto the field to "Power" by Kayne West. But after his display of antisemitism this past week, Iowa State chose to go with a different song to start Saturday's matchup against Oklahoma.

How does Iowa State come out strong after the bye week?

Sure, the Cyclones are coming into Saturday’s game without a win in over a month. But the good news for Iowa State is that this Oklahoma matchup comes after a much-needed bye week for the Cyclones.

“We definitely needed the week off,” right guard Zach Ross said Tuesday. “Everyone’s bodies are kind of banged up but I think the vibe around the locker room is positive and we’re all ready for this week to play and go get a win.

“We all took a step back to see where those inches are off this year.”

Travis Hines took a look at how Iowa State approached the bye week and how players are hoping the time off will helped them against Oklahoma.

More: Iowa State's path to a bowl gamePeterson: Analyzing Iowa State's path toward a sixth bowl game in a row

Limiting Dillon Gabriel

Key for Iowa State: shutting down Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who missed time this season with an injury. It’s no overstatement to say that controlling Gabriel’s production could make or break this game.

Here are the facts. Gabriel left the TCU game with an apparent head injury. He did not play in Oklahoma’s next game against Texas. The Sooners lost 49-0 and had five players attempt to fill the void left by Gabriel. He returned in Oklahoma’s win over Kansas, throwing for 403 yards and two touchdowns.

If you want to know more about what Matt Campbell said about Gabriel during Tuesday’s media availability, Alyssa Hertel has you covered.

It starts with one-score games

All of Iowa State’s losses have been by one touchdown or less.

That’s four one-score losses in a row and seven losses out of 10 games over the past two seasons. Randy Peterson broke down what the Cyclones need to do to come out on top in those situations, as well as answered several fan questions ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State vs. Oklahoma football recap, updates, highlights