The Iowa State Cyclones exorcised the demons on Saturday afternoon, defeating Iowa by a final score of 16-13. The leg of Kyle Konrardy delivered a victory one again for the good guys, who has cemented himself into legend status in 2 seasons in Ames.
Outside of the first quarter, Iowa really outperformed Iowa State for the duration. Iowa State dominated the first quarter but only managed to turn it into 6 points on two field goals. The Iowa offense could do nothing in the first half, going 3 and out twice
before eventually stringing together a 5-playm 21 yard field goal drive.
There were 2 pivotal moments in the game – first, Jeremiah Cooper intercepted a Gronowski pass and returned it to the 15 yard-line, leading to a Benjamin Brahmer touchdown.
Towards the end of the 2nd quarter the officials, a Big 10 crew who was possibly biased, picked up a kick-catch interference flag and proceeded to award Iowa the ball, saying it touched Xavier Townsend on the catch. Iowa would go on to score a touchdown before the half, making it 13-10 and sucking the air out of the stadium.
Running the ball was clearly the plan for the Hawkeyes, who at one point ran it 12 straight plays in the second half. This would lead to some long Iowa drives resulting in a tying field goal.
With the game tied, Iowa State got a drive when they needed to, with Gabe Burkle catching two key balls on 3rd down to keep the drive going. Kyle Konrardy nailed a 54 yard field goal (AGAIN), and the Iowa offense failed to get a single yard on the final possession.
Game. Set. Cyclones.
