Iowa State Football: First-hand account of craziness vs. Baylor

On almost a yearly basis, if not more often should my schedule allow it, I’ve made a trip down to Ames to take in an Iowa State football game live.

Honestly, there is nothing better than being there in-person, especially when you are provided luxury accommodations.

But, enough about that, let’s get down to the business at hand, which is: what exactly went down between the Cyclones and visiting Baylor Bears this past Saturday evening inside Jack Trice Stadium?

A little background information first.

Iowa State, winners of four in a row, entered the weekend with a shot at earning one of the two spots in the Big 12 title game should they win out coupled with a loss by West Virginia or two losses by Oklahoma down the stretch. Those two teams have yet to play each other, leaving a very good chance of it all happening — should ISU take care of business.

Baylor, meanwhile, still needs to reach the six-win mark to achieve bowl eligibility, meaning every game is of vital importance to Matt Rhule and the Bears.

With the Cyclones in complete control of the contest, a wild brawl broke out including several members of both teams. David Montgomery, Iowa State’s star running back, appeared to be shoved deep out of bounds, toppling over a table on the ISU sideline.

From my vantage point, it seemed like Montgomery was clinging to the jersey of the Baylor player, with neither wanting to let go of the other. The end result was Montgomery going down, Cyclone fans wanting a penalty, and nothing being called.

End of story, right? Right? Wrong.

On the very next play, Montgomery went charging into a crowd of players who were all gathered around another incident yards away from the actual play that began with Hakeem Butler of Iowa State taking Baylor’s Blake Lynch down to the ground. He grabbed Greg Roberts and the two ended up squaring off, boxer vs. boxer style, right there on the field.

Roberts was the first to try and throw a punch, missing as the referee stood between the two. Montgomery retaliated, Roberts again threw another punch and before you knew it, about a half-dozen police officers were on the field attempting to separate 20-or-so players.

Montgomery and Roberts were both ejected and could miss the first half of this coming Saturday’s games for their respective teams due to the brawl.

It’s disappointing that such a ridiculous event overshadowed what turned out to be a historic day for the Cyclones, as they became the first team in school history to win five consecutive conference games.

True freshman Brock Purdy, who threw for 230 yards, improved to 5-0 since taking over under center, and Iowa State earned its sixth win of the season as they prepare for a battle in Austin this Saturday vs. Texas.

Matt Campbell, who took over control of the offense and has been calling the plays, has the Cyclones headed in the right direction. However, he’ll be forced to answer more questions than he wants to about the status of Montgomery and the ability of his team to play smart football after this past weekend.