November 2, 2024; Ames, Iowa, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders wide receiver Coy Eakin (8) catches a pass in front of Iowa State Cyclones defender Myles Purchase (5) at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory attribution: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

As rain fell and day turned to night at Jack Trice Stadium, it looked like fate would give No. 11 Iowa State every opportunity to turn the cards around, resulting in a 23-22 loss.

The Cyclones had their chances but couldn't capitalize on them enough to defeat Texas Tech.

“We beat ourselves,” defensive back Myles purchase said. “We made a lot of mistakes. We had rash penalties and things we need to take control of. The things we can control, we must be able to control – for example, not imposing such punishments.”

Iowa State's defense allowed the Red Raiders to face third-and-10 from their own 14-yard line in the third quarter. Jayden Higgins, who finished with 140 yards on 10 catches, had scored just before halftime to give the Cyclones a 13-10 lead.

Jontez Williams Then he picked off the Texas Tech quarterback Behren Mortonwho had thrown three interceptions all season before Saturday.

It would have been Morton's third pick of the game, but he was a defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim was flagged for hands to the face, giving Texas Tech the first down.

The Red Raiders completed a 98-yard drive to take a 17-13 lead late in the third quarter.

“A lot of mistakes were made,” said the defender Joey Petersen he said in a somber voice, still completely digesting the group's first loss of the year. “We often shoot ourselves in the foot.”

On the ensuing drive, Iowa State moved the football when it was wide out Jaylin Noel found space and caught a ball, which would have been a gain of 20 yards.

But senior offensive lineman Jarrod Hufford was marked as too far down the field.

The teams met during the TV timeout before the fourth quarter. Shortly thereafter, Abu Sama gave the stadium hope that it hadn't felt that way most of the game as he ran all the way to the 1-yard line while causing defenders to miss their target in the most unlikely of ways.

After a review, Iowa State would get the ball first and score with one yard left to gain to find paydirt.

Senior full-back Stevo Klotz A false start was called and the Cyclones would settle for a field goal.

“I think it was just the precision and the lack of mental intelligence – we had a lot of penalties today, more than ever before,” Quarterback said Rocco Becht said. “That hurt us a lot. I think everyone needs to look at themselves in the mirror and just see what they need to figure out.”

That's just a sampling of the eight penalties that cost Iowa State 59 yards in the one-point loss.

“Some of those (penalties) weren’t called (this year),” Trainer said Matt Campbell said. “We need to get it corrected because it's so close to what it is or isn't that it puts us in a really difficult position. From our side, we need to train better. It starts with the head football coach, and then we have to implement it better.”

So 7-0 becomes 7-1 and the next six days become more important as Iowa State prepares for its next game against Kansas.

There's no room for error now, especially when you set preseason goals as high as reaching the top 12 of the College Football Playoff.

“Honestly, we’re doing good,” Purchase said. “It is a defeat, but a defeat will not ultimately affect our season. We still have everything ahead of us. We still control our own destiny. The leaders in the locker room keep everyone informed.”

This is where the captains – and other leaders in the room – can shine the most.

“It’s really important,” Purchase said of the leaders on the team. “We have a lot of young guys playing who have never been in those situations and the guys who have been in those situations have to be able to pick those guys up. It’s really important.”

As postgame press conferences were taking place, No. 17 Kansas State fell behind 4-2 in Big 12 play after being upset by Houston.

There's no telling how either outcome will impact the national perception of the league as the first CFP rankings are released on Tuesday, but the difference in margin for error between a loss and a win is so great at this point , as only possible in a game.

Regardless, Iowa State will compete in the Big 12 Championship Game if it wins its final four games to end the regular season.

“You don’t want to play like that, especially early in November, and that’s what we did,” Campbell said. “We have to own it. We live with it and we grow with it. Hopefully we have enough courage to correct this and move forward.”

That courage will be what matters this season, and how this team responds to their first loss as a group will be the biggest part of that.