Iowa State Takes Step Back Against Red Raiders

AMES, Iowa (AP) _ The Big 12 schedule doesn't allow for baby steps. Nobody knows that better than Iowa State. <br/><br/>The Cyclones, fresh off a 42-17 blowout loss to Texas Tech, open a two-game homestand

Monday, October 8th 2007, 2:41 pm

By: News On 6

AMES, Iowa (AP) _ The Big 12 schedule doesn't allow for baby steps. Nobody knows that better than Iowa State.

The Cyclones, fresh off a 42-17 blowout loss to Texas Tech, open a two-game homestand against the Big 12's marquee programs when they face 23rd-ranked Texas (4-2, 0-2 Big 12) on Saturday.

Iowa State hosts No. 6 Oklahoma the following week, then travels to face No. 11 Missouri, the early favorite in the Big 12 North.

Whether the Cyclones will be ready to challenge any of those teams is up for debate. At 1-5 and 0-2 in the Big 12, Iowa State has been the worst team in the conference this season.

And Saturday's effort against Texas Tech offered little hope that that's about to change.

``We were never in it, and I thought we were a bad football team in every way, shape and form,'' coach Gene Chizik said. ``I don't think we made any progress.''

The Red Raiders used their pass-happy offense and re-energized defense to put the game out of reach by halftime. It was 42-3 before the Cyclones could get anything going offensively, and Chizik said that for the first time this season, he didn't see any improvement.

For a program focused as much on growth as wins and losses, that wasn't a good sign.

The Cyclones had just two first downs by halftime and needed 46 rushes to gain 100 yards. Both Iowa State touchdowns came long after the game had been decided.

``I'm real frustrated by the last game, because it felt like, as an offense, we did kind of take a step back,'' wide receiver Todd Blythe said. ``We had been making improvements each week executing the offense...Saturday night, we didn't run very effectively, and we didn't throw very effectively and that's something we have to get fixed.''

Despite his team's dismal showing at Texas Tech, Chizik isn't planning to reshuffle the depth chart. But Iowa State will likely use both J.J. Bass and Jason Scales at running back.

Scales, who stepped in when Bass hurt his shoulder against Toledo, had 22 carries for 82 yards last week. Bass had 12 carries, and Chizik said the Cyclones will likely work both into the lineup and go with the hot hand.

``You can't go in there, scrap everything and make wholesale changes. We're not going to do that,'' Chizik said. ``We're going to do the things we know still wins.''

Iowa State's remaining schedule looks daunting. The Cyclones have four ranked teams left to play _ including No. 20 Kansas, which is a surprising 5-0 _ and two more opponents, Kansas State and Colorado, that have upset Texas and Oklahoma, respectively.

Iowa State isn't looking ahead to see where it might grab another win, though. At this point, the Cyclones know they must make the kind of strides they hope will pay off down the road.

``Every week, our job is to get better. If we have a ranked team coming in, that makes it even more important to get better,'' linebacker Jesse Smith said.