Cyclones beat Cowboys

By Michael O’Deay @MODeay70

Iowa State knocks off Oklahoma State 24-21. This game had a little bit of everything. Tough defense. Playmakers on both sides. One really bad call. A loud Jack trice Stadium. And some Sweet Caroline!  Oklahoma State started the scoring on their 2nd drive. After a short punt Oklahoma State was in business. They took 6 plays and drove 48 yards to score a TD. QB Spencer Sanders completed a 5 yard TD pass to Brennan Presly. Iowa State went 3 and out. Oklahoma State put together a nice drive going 41 yards in 9 plays, however, kicker Tanner Brown missed a 50 yard FG. Then the Cyclones started a long 15 play, 67 yard drive that was capped off with a Brock Purdy pass to Xaiver Hutchinson for a 1 yard TD. Sitting in the other end zone it looked like Purdy’s keeper, a Breece Hall Run and another Purdy keeper all scored. They didn’t. I watched the game again, and agree the refs got that right. (We’ll talk about the refs later) After ISU and OSU traded punts, it seemed the teams were destined to be tied at 7 at halftime. With less than 2 minutes, after a negative play on first down, Sanders connected with Tay Martin for a 25 yard gain. Then a prayer of a throw was answered. Spencer dropped back and rolled out and chucked a ball into double coverage, that Brennan Presley went up and caught for a TD. It was a heck of a dangerous, should’ve been picked but somehow the WR made the catch, we’re down 14-7 at half time. Oklahoma State received the second half kick with a chance to gain momentum. ISU defense was having none of it. The defense got a huge stop on 3rd and 2 holding RB Jaylen Warren to no gain. ISU got the ball back and probably the most significant sequence of the season occurred. Breece Hall had a big 28 yard rush to get ISU out of the shadow of their own end zone. Brock Purdy hit Darren Wilson Jr for a 5 yard gain. Then on 2nd and 5 Brock Purdy hit Hutchinson for a 54 yard TD and ISU was a PAT away from tying the game. As Hutchinson blew kisses to the crowd the back judge was discussing a penalty with the ref. A penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct was called on Xaiver Hutchinson at the 3. With replays and listening to the radio call after the game and watching the TV replay, everyone agrees that was a call that shouldn’t have been made. Hutchinson looked back and “high stepped” one step into the end zone. In college football, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty prior to scoring a TD, makes the play dead at the spot of the foul and 15 yards are assessed from that point. They took the TD off the board. In this situation ISU could’ve crumbled and kicked a FG. They didn’t. It took 3 more plays for Purdy to hit Hutch for the TD and ISU was in business. At that point, Jack Trice was the loudest I’ve ever heard. We, the fans, relentlessly booed the ref on all 3 plays and the whole media timeout. It was awesome. The energy continued throughout the rest of the game. It was an intense environment. That garbage penalty ramped up the noise in the stands. I have never been more proud to be a Cyclone. But there was still football to play. Oklahoma State went on a drive to get the momentum back. Sanders was making plays with his arm.  He opened the drive with completions of 22 and 13 yards. Oklahoma St went 59 yards in 7 plays. ISU held the Cowboys to a 2nd FG attempt. Tanner Brown missed again. The score remained tied at 14. ISU drove down and kicked a FG. In the 4th quarter Oklahoma State regained the lead on a beautifully thrown 25 yard pass from Sanders to Martin and the Cowboys went up 21-17. Have no fear, the Cyclones were there. Against K State I said ISU had their best drive of the season, an 18 play 93 yard TD drive. This week ISU had their biggest drive of the season. Down to the number 8 team in the nation, the Cyclones used their experience and a raucous JTS crowd to go on the drive that kept Big 12 title hopes alive. Brock Purdy had 3 huge completions. A 30 yarder to Breece Hall, a 13 yarder to Hutchinson, and a 33 yarder to Tarique Milton. That set up Hall’s 4 yard TD run. Hall now has a TD run in 19 straight games. Cyclones take a 24-21 lead. The defense came up huge after that. With the stadium shaking Will McDonald had two sacks. The Cowboys were forced to punt. ISU had a chance to end the game but the Cowboy defense forced a punt. With 3:18 to play and 76 yards away from the end zone OSU had one shot left. In 3 plays, all Sanders completions, the Cowboys were at midfield. A false start pushed the ball back to the 45. Sanders hit Martin for a 10 yard gain, then threw an incompletions, on 3rd and 5 Jaylen Warren gained 3 yards to set up a 4th and 2. Oklahoma State ran a WR screen to Presly and he was SHORT! A review confirmed he was short. ISU took two knees, the fans stormed the field, and it was SO GOOD SO GOOD SO GOOD! Great win! The Cyclones are in Morgantown to face the Mountaineers on Saturday. ​Go Cyclones!