Iowa State Football: Cyclones survive Kansas State to finish third in Big 12

Iowa State football pulled off a late comeback to down Kansas State in Ames on Saturday. The Cyclones finished the season 7-4 ahead of a make-up game on December 1.

Scoring a go-ahead touchdown with less than five minutes remaining, Iowa State pulled off a 42-38 victory for their seventh win of the 2018 season. With the victory, the Cyclones finished third behind Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12 standings.

Brock Purdy threw for 337 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-29 passing, and he added 37 rushing yards from the quarterback position. The ground game was led by David Montgomery, who punched in 149 yards and three touchdowns against the Kansas State defense. It was a solid offensive performance as the Cyclones finished the day with nearly 500 yards of total offense.

The defense came through just enough for Iowa State in their final home game of the year. Though the Cyclones held Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson to 185 passing yards, they gave up three touchdowns and failed to generate an interception all day. And the Wildcats gashed the Iowa State front seven for 245 rushing yards and two scores.

Coming into the fourth quarter, Bill Snyder’s crew was up 31-21 on the road and looked on pace to reach six wins and bowl eligibility. They added a touchdown early in the fourth quarter that seemed to add further insurance.

Instead, the Cyclones scored 21 unanswered points to flip the script as Iowa State won the last frame by two scores. There was nothing that Kansas State could seemingly do once the Cyclones got rolling, and as the opportunity for a bowl appearance faded away the Wildcats seemed to be caught in a feedback loop that further secured their obsolescence

Now Iowa State prepares to make up the game they lost against FCS South Dakota State with a comparable contest against another FCS side, 7-3 Drake. That they get to play the game against the Bulldogs means the Cyclones missed an opportunity to play in the Big 12 championship game against Texas or Oklahoma, but they are still on track for their best season since going 9-3 in 2000.