Iowa State edged Kansas St. 24-21 as a three-point underdog in the annual Week Zero opener Saturday at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The Cyclones cashed tickets as +130 or +135 underdogs on the money line.
Wagers on the total went to the wire, but bettors on ‘under’ 51.5 points were victorious after some anxious moments at crunch time.
On a fourth-and-three play for Iowa St. from Kansas St.’s 16 with 2:26 left and the Cyclones leading 24-21, quarterback Rocco Becht threw to Carson Hansen for what initially appeared to be a 16-yard touchdown pass. The play was ruled a TD on the field.
However, the video review revealed Hansen’s elbow hit the turf inside the 1 before the ball crossed the plane of the goal line. After the reversal, the clock ran down to the two-minute warning.
With the Wildcats out of timeouts, Matt Campbell called for Victory Formation, the favorite play of EVERY football coach NOT named Mario Cristobal. From there, three kneel downs secured the Iowa St. victory and a win for ‘under’ backers.
Iowa St. caught the first break of the game when Kansas St.’s Dylan Edwards coughed up a fumble fielding a punt. The Cyclones Tre Bell had beaten his blocker and was closing in on Edwards at full speed as the ball was arriving.
Edwards heard and sensed footsteps, causing him to bobble the catch. Any chance Edwards had of recovering his own muff was lost when he was popped by Bell and Aiden Flora’s fumble recovery set Iowa St. up with first and goal at KSU’s 8.
Even worse, Edwards sprained his ankle on the play and was out for the rest of the game.
The Wildcats forced the Cyclones into a third-and-goal situation from the 16 after Tobi Osunsanmi sacked Becht for a seven-yard loss. But ISU was given new life when VJ Payne was flagged for pass interference on the third-down attempt.
On a second and goal from the 1, Becht’s pitch to RB Abu Sama was fumbled and recovered by KSU. The playcall for a pitch was a head scratcher, especially when considering the wet conditions on the field.
The Wildcats went three and out on back-to-back possessions, however, giving Iowa St. great field position at the KSU 49. The Cyclones picked up a couple of first downs on completions by Becht, and then they drew first blood on his 23-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Overby with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter.
Kansas St. answered on the first play of the second quarter when QB Avery Johnson ran for a 10-yard TD on a third-and-four play. The extra point knotted the score at 7-7.
Chris Klieman’s team seemed to completely take momentum back when Qua Moss’s sack forced Becht to fumble and KSU’s Chiddi Obiazor returned the fumble 10 yards to set his team up at the enemy 16. But the Wildcats’ Joe Jackson was stuffed for no gain on third and fourth-and-one plays to waste a golden opportunity.
Both teams had additional opportunities to take the lead before halftime, but KSU’s Jackson lost a fumble at the end of a 17-yard gain at ISU’s 21. Next, the Cyclones went 48 yards in 12 plays, but they missed a 49-yard field goal.
Iowa St. went back in front 14-7 when Becht found WR Brett Eskildsen for a 24-yard scoring strike with 1:07 left in the third quarter. KSU promptly answered, though, with a five-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 37-yard TD pass from Johnson to Jayce Brown.
Campbell’s team responded with a 10-play, 57-yard drive with sophomore kicker Kyle Konrardy’s 34-yard field goal giving the Cyclones a 17-14 advantage with 10:04 remaining.
Several plays later, Klieman elected to go for it on a fourth-and-one play from KSU’s own 30. Johnson was stopped for no gain, giving ISU outstanding field position with 8:19 left.
Becht connected with Benjamin Brahmer for a 21-yard gain to set up his own seven-yard TD run to put the Cyclones ahead by double digits with 6:38 remaining. However, KSU answered on the next play from scrimmage when Johnson hit WR Jerand Bradley for a 65-yard TD pass.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they never got the ball back. Campbell’s team executed its “four-minute offense” to perfection by going 60 yards in 12 plays. In addition to the aforementioned pass from Becht to Hansen on fourth and three, the Cyclones got another key completion from Becht to Gabe Burkle for 17 yards on third and one.
Becht completed 14-of-28 passes for 183 yards and two TDs without an interception. He added 18 rushing yards and one TD on 12 attempts.
Hansen had 71 rushing yards on 16 carries and also had 19 receiving yards on a pair of catches. Eskildsen had three receptions for 46 yards and one TD.
Marcus Neal led the ISU defense with a team-best eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass broken up. LB Kooper Ebel recorded five tackles and one sack, while CB Jontez Williams had five tackles and 0.5 TFL’s.
Johnson connected on 21-of-30 throws for 273 yards and two TDs without a pick. He had 21 rushing yards and one TD on eight attempts. Brown had four catches for 79 yards and one TD, and he also contributed 29 rushing yards on just two totes.
Jackson had a team-best 51 rushing yards on 12 carries, while TE Garretty Oakley had five receptions for 62 yards. KSU LB Austin Romaine had eight tackles, one fumble recovery and one PBU.
KSU had a 383-313 advantage in total offense, but the Cyclones had a 19-13 advantage in first downs. They also controlled time of possession with 33:52 compared to 26:08 for the Wildcats, who had six penalties for 48 yards.
Campbell’s team committed just one five-yard penalty.
Both teams return home to face FCS competition in Week 1. Iowa St. will host South Dakota, while Kansas St. takes on North Dakota.
The Cyclones are now 5-1 straight up and 6-0 against the spread in the last six head-to-head meetings in this rivalry.