BOULDER, Col. - Some 720 miles away from home, the Iowa State football contingent was left with a serious case of air-sickness Saturday.

Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins came off the bench and threw for four second-half touchdowns and the Buffaloes made a goal-line stand in the final minute to deal Iowa State another tough-to-stomach setback, 28-24, here at Folsom Field.

"It hurts, real bad … coming up one yard short," said Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud. "We should've won that game, but we let it slip away."

The loss - which came after Iowa State led, 24-13 with nine minutes remaining - extended Iowa State's road losing streak to 16 games.

Pass the Pepto-Bismol.

"A debacle," said linebacker Derec Schmidgall, "is exactly what it was."

Iowa State had a chance to pull this one from the fire during a last-gasp drive. Following a 37-yard Leonard Johnson kickoff return, the visitors drove to Colorado's 5-yard line with 10 seconds remaining. On a fourth-and-one from the five, wideout Darius Darks hauled in a pass on the doorstep of the goal line, sliding to a stop inches from paydirt.

The Cyclones quickly spiked the ball, setting up one final play with three seconds remaining.

Colorado "had been giving us a lot of blitzes up inside," explained Cyclone coach Gene Chizik, "so we called the option."

"We had been killing them all day with that option," noted left tackle Doug Dedrick.

Tailback Alexander Robinson took a toss-sweep right, tried to roll around right end, and … was buried by a Buffaloes charge led defensive backs D.J. Dykes and Jimmy Smith.

Within seconds, Folsom Field was a sea of fans clad in black - a color that matched ISU's mood.

"We came up a play short," sighed Chizik, whose program hasn't won on the road since Oct. 29, 2005, at Texas A&M.

It never should've come to such dramatic, late-game moments.

Iowa State (2-8, 0-6) owned the momentum for much of the afternoon at majestic Folsom Field, nestled among the Rocky Mountains here.

The Buffaloes, 10-point favorites by oddsmakers, apparently expended all their early energy when they chased their 1,200-pound mascot, Ralphie IV, onto the field.

This game's early going was anything but pretty. Yet, it was pure Picasso in Chizik's eyes; the Cyclones seized their first halftime advantage (10-0) in more than a month.

The second quarter was brought to you by Tide Ultra Clean, with laundry littering the field. Nine total flags were thrown in the first half, including five in a single series. Iowa State claimed control with 55 seconds remaining in the second quarter when senior tailback Jason Scales dove into the end zone behind left tackle, making it 10-0.

Dan Hawkins' club (5-5, 2-4) limped into Saturday averaging just 18.4 points per game and 311.7 yards per outing - both Big 12 lows. CU had scored just 31 total points in five league games before Saturday.

"When you have opportunities to get things done and you don't, it becomes a bit of a vacuum effect," said the coach, now 13-22 during his tenure in Boulder. "I'm really happy for them. These poor guys have been slugging it out."

Colorado sucked up most of the game's momentum in the third quarter as sophomore wideout Scott McKnight reeled in a pair of scoring strikes, including a four-yarder on fourth-and-goal, handing the hosts a brief, 13-10 lead.

While Iowa State's offense operated at a solid clip, it ultimately couldn't compete with Cody Hawkins' heroics. In just 30 minutes of action, the coach's kid completed 20 of 29 passes, for 226 yards and a career-high four scores. Those totals included the game-winning, five-yard strike to wideout Cody Crawford in the back of the end zone with 3:02 to go.

"He was just throwing it around," said Schmidgall of Hawkins. "He picked us apart for awhile."

Saturday's showdown illustrated just how early along these fledgling programs are in the rebuilding process. The average age of Colorado's five offensive assistants, for example, is 37. Iowa State has six assistants who graduated college in the 1990s.

And, of course, the Folsom Field turf was awash in 18- and 19-year-olds as the clubs started a combined 21 underclassmen, including 12 who donned cardinal and gold.

In the end, Colorado had enough experience to overcome. Iowa State, on the other hand, simply endured another gut-wrenching experience in a season pockmarked by such moments.

"We've just gotta stay together," said linebacker Jesse Smith, "and think positive."

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com.