Randy Peterson

rpeterson@dmreg.com

AMES, Ia. -- It's too early to make giant leaps from tall buildings, Iowa State football fans. It doesn't look promising for anything better than a repeat of last season's 3-9 – providing Tom Farniok returns immediately to the lineup – but it's too early to focus 100 percent of the attention on basketball just yet.

The Cyclones lost badly against FCS national power North Dakota State on Saturday, a 34-14 drubbing against a team that's won 25 games in a row and five straight against perceived BCS big boys. But giving up hope?

Too early for that, although a lot of regrouping must be done if anyone thinks this team's going to beat 21st-ranked Kansas State in the Big 12 Conference opener next week.

Beat?

Right now, keeping the outcome respectable would be a major accomplishment.

Of all the 37 losses now on his resume since replacing Gene Chizik before the 2009 season, this clearly was Paul Rhoads' worst. No question.

North Dakota State is good, but 20 points better than Iowa State? That shouldn't happen. It shouldn't have happened, but it did – and there's plenty of blame to be passed.

Let's do the right thing and start by praising new coach Chris Klieman's guys. After trailing 14-0, they kept to their plan. They continued to pound away at a defense that was getting tired, whose players cramped up while the Bison were scoring the game's final 34 points.

Iowa State's defense was horrible. Yards after North Dakota State catch? Astounding, it seemed. Eighty-yard run for a touchdown. Sixty-six yard run for a touchdown.

If North Dakota State can do that, then burners around the Big 12 have to be chomping at the bit.

Iowa State's offense? It still hasn't been allowed admission into the stadium since 2008, but Saturday, there's at least an excuse.

We discovered last year that the team had trouble functioning when Farniok was injured – like what happened in the first-game loss against Northern Iowa.

Saturday, it happened all over again, the offensive's line anchor leaving the game with an MCL knee injury on Iowa State's 15th play, his team leading 7-0 and the offense rolling. Iowa State averaged 6.3 yards a play with Farniok. Without him?

Now you know what 3.8 yards per play gets you. It gets you beat badly.

"We can't say Tom not being out there was why it went from 14 early points to nothing," Rhoads said. "Jamison Lalk is good player. Oni Omoile is a good player."

Lalk moved to center from starting guard. Omoile replaced Lalk. No one replaced the leadership lost when Farniok walked off with assistance.

"If you're going to win games over the course of the season in a man's league, you have to be able to overcome a guy going down," Rhoads said. "Not for a second will I use that as an excuse."

Point taken.

Now, this word from tailback DeVondrick Nealy.

"He's the captain of the team," Nealy said of Farniok, "and ultimately the leader. He tells everyone what to do. He starts the play off.

"It put a big dent in us."

Another point taken.

And don't forget that top receiver Quenton Bundrage didn't return to the game after suffering a knee injury on the fourth play. That was a problem, too, although replacement Allen Lazard turned his only reception into a nice 48-yard catch and run.

"When those guys went down, everything went downhill from there," Nealy said.

If you don't believe that one or two players can make or break a football team — you haven't been following Iowa State. Every team suffers injuries. Some even overcome them.

A repeat of last season?

Only if the Cyclones can find three wins somewhere, and right now, that's open for debate.

Cyclone columnist Randy Peterson has been with the Register for more than four decades. Follow him on Twitter: @RandyPete.