UCF had No. 9 Iowa State on the ropes, but couldn't execute down the stretch, in all three phases, enabling the Cyclones to march down the field for a last minute, go-ahead touchdown.

Here's everything head coach Gus Malzahn had to say after the game.

Opening statement:

"Okay, obviously disappointing way to lose. Our guys fought hard, played hard. Obviously, had two minutes, 40-yard line, punted the football, went in the end zone. We didn't give them the short field and they drove down and scored a touchdown. We couldn't get a field goal range.

"Our guys fought hard, disappointed in the fact that we had an opportunity to win that game. It's a top-ten team on their home field and we didn't get it done. I mean, it's the bottom line, we didn't make the plays with the game on the line. They did. And that's the big reason we lost."

Going into the locker room, what was your message to this team? I mean, this has got to be a heart-breaking loss.

"Yeah, I mean, we could've, should've, but we didn't. They're a really good team and got a really good quarterback. They answered the bell with the game on the line. We just didn't make the plays to win the game. Our guys fought hard. We did improve. I think everybody sees that.

"I think that is one of the top teams in college football. We played them toe-to-toe on their home field. We've got to find a way to win the game. That's just the bottom line. That's what's disappointing about the whole thing."

Jacurri opened things up for you running, but struggled throughout the night passing. What more do you need to see from him?

"Yeah, we've got to improve our passing game. We've just got to hit one of those. We've got to hit a pass. I mean, he did some really good things. He's still growing, still learning and all that. Bottom line is you've got to make the play to win the game, whether it is in any phase. But, yeah, we weren't able to make that explosive pass play. We were close a couple times, but close doesn't get it done."

Because of the struggles on offense, you had the defense on the field a lot in the second half.

"Well, yeah, we did. We had the two pick sixes, you know, and then they went back out there and all that. But, yeah, we just didn't get in too much rhythm in the second half right there."

Gus, where do you go from here?

"Well, you go the next game. We're playing, what, another top ten team at home, and this is what you do. I mean, you know, it stinks. I mean, it really stinks. Really disappointed. You know, to have an opportunity to win a game like this would have meant a lot, but we didn't. So, we've got to figure it out."

How do you explain some of the third down deep balls by Jacurri? Why did you put him in that position?

"Why did I put him in that position? We're trying to win the game. It just didn't work. We've got to hit a pass. That's the reason."

Defensively, in that last drive against them, what did you want to see from your group? You got pressure on the quarterback again, but you're just one step maybe away from making a sack or making a play.

"Yeah, there were some close plays. Kind of like I said, we just didn't make that play to win the game. We were close a couple times to make a play. You know, they had the P.I. down there. That was a tough one right there, and then they ran the ball in. Like I said, we tried to get in field goal range, and they picked it off."

What do you say about RJ Harvey and the effort he showed tonight?

"Yeah, I mean, RJ is one of the better running backs in college football, and he showed again tonight with 177 yards rushing. You know, I think that team (was allowing) 11 points a game or something. I mean, it's one of the better defenses in college football."

You were able to get off to a quick start. You got a touchdown early on you did pretty well in the red zone. What were some of the things that you thought Jacurri did well?

"Yeah, I mean, he kept the plays alive. He ran the ball extremely well. Any time the quarterback can be a runner, that opens up other things. You know, so we got off to a better start, and that was a big factor and something we talked about. We just wanted to get to the fourth quarter close and find a way to win. Obviously, we didn't."

You're up five about halfway through the fourth quarter. You still seem to be in a hurry up offensively instead of trying to drain the clock.

"Yeah, we were trying to score points right there. Obviously, it didn't work on that one, but we're trying to win the game."

Braeden Marshall's situation, he crosses the goal line and would have had a pick six except he dropped it. Is that something like a teaching lesson for a young player?

"Yeah, there's no doubt about it. I mean, he made a great play on it. You know, we were really fortunate. He didn't go out of bounds or something like that. Got the ball at the one."

Brandon Adams got his first pick six and has had a couple good games in a row.

"He did. He's started to come on, and that was a huge play right there, I guess right before halftime. Gave us some momentum going to the locker room for sure."

I know it's early, but what do you know about Nyjalik Kelly going out?

"I'm really not for sure. I know we were slipping all around, and we had to put in our longer cleats and all that. I'm not for sure exactly what happened."

Yeah, talk about that a little bit. You saw a lot of guys slipping. Why was that?

"Yeah, we needed longer cleats. They have a different kind of field than what we're used to. We slipped four, five, six times early and just made adjustments after that."

Were you able to do your regular walkthrough? Is that not anything you noticed before?

"Yeah, walkthrough and pregame with your cleats on and all that. It's not like the real game, but we definitely changed that."

RJ had a good performance tonight. Looked like he got kind of back on track. What did you notice from him and what you guys were able to do maybe to free him up a little bit more?

"He protected the ball. He broke some tackles. He did a really good job. We were close on that third down little pass out of the backfield. That was a really close one there. That would have been nice, but he's a really good running back. I think you all know that."

What do you hope you can build on from this one?

"What you can build on is the reality is when you take away that it stinks that we lost that game, that we played one of the top ten teams in college football on their home field and we had opportunities to win. We just didn't win. We've got to figure out a way to take the next step. We improved last week even though we didn't win. We improved quite a bit this week. We've got to find a way to take the next step and win a game."

Now you have another team that's undefeated that you face at home.

"Next opponent. They're really good. Obviously, I've not really watched much, but obviously they're a really good team. It's another great opportunity. We need to figure out a way to take that next step and win a game against a top ten team."

You go into this next week. I think it was asked the last couple of weeks. How do you keep the locker room? How do you keep these guys positive?

"We've got leadership. We're real close with our staff. We're not going to turn on each other. We've got to find a way to win. That's it. It stinks. We've got to figure it out. That's what we'll do."

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