Likes, dislikes from Iowa State football's humbling loss at Arizona

Likes

• When offense was struggling, Iowa State attempted change: For the first time this season, Iowa State switched quarterbacks. Connor Moberly relieved Jaylen Raynor under center entering the second half and the stayed there for the remainder of the game. The redshirt sophomore from Altoona completed 7-of-17 passes for 63 yards and helped the Cyclones get some third-down conversions after they went through the first two quarters without any. The timing for the change was pretty good, after a tough first half that was capped by a Raynor fumble. While Moberly didn't drastically change the offense, it was an important shake-up. It was good to see change and some data points for what Moberly can do in-game. Perhaps it lights a fire under Raynor, who completed 8-of-10 passes for 106 yards and had a fumble. Whether it's a temporary change or a more permanent one, or the start of a dual-quarterback system, we'll see. But when things weren't going well, it was good to see Iowa State experiment with change.

Dislikes

• Iowa State's offense never made it to the red zone: The Cyclones never reached the red zone or the end zone. They did cross midfield three times, with those drives ending with either a field goal, turnover on downs and a turnover. Besides that and a desperate fourth-down attempt that was stuffed in the fourth quarter, Iowa State's possessions ended with punts on all other drives.
• Offensive production: The Cyclones ended with 221 yards of total offense. They averaged 3.8 yards per play. It didn't help that ...
• Third-down struggles continued for Cyclone offense: Iowa State finished 3-for-14 on third-down conversions. With Raynor at quarterback in the first half, Iowa State went 0-for-4.
• Arizona held running back Aiden Flora in check: The Wildcats ran a similar blueprint as BYU. They limited Flora and put most of the offensive pressure on the Cyclones' quarterbacks. With that, Arizona also sent pressure from different directions, making life difficult in the pocket. Flora is a cornerstone in the Cyclones' run-heavy offense and he was kept quiet for the second week in a row. Flora had 10 carries for 35 yards. Overall, the Cyclones didn't get much going on the ground and finished with 44 rushing yards as a team.
• Iowa State's defensive execution: The Cyclones showed a bit of improvement on defense in the second half, if you look at it from a points-allowed standpoint. The Cyclones forced punts on three straight Arizona possessions out of the halftime break. Iowa State gave up 14 points late in the fourth quarter, but Arizona dealt all the damage it needed with 25 points in the first two quarters. Overall, the Wildcats finished with 477 yards of total offense, marking the fourth game in a row in which Iowa State surrendered 400-plus yards. Arizona's Noah Fifita was methodical and completed 79% of his passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns in a turnover-free game. On the ground, the Wildcats' collective running effort accumulated 143 yards. Arizona set the tone from the start and took control right away. The Wildcats were never in jeopardy. They scored a touchdown and successfully got a two-point conversion less than one minute into the game and proceeded to score on their first four possessions of the contest. The Wildcats were in position to add another score before half after recovering Raynor's fumble, but they missed a 31-yard field goal attempt as time expired.

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Likes, dislikes from Iowa State football's humbling loss at Arizona