IOWA CITY -- Iowa State's defense came up big early and its offense made the plays late to give the Cyclones the edge in a 20-19 win on Saturday.
Before redshirt freshman Kyle Konrardy drilled a game-winning 54-yard field goal to clinch Iowa State's second consecutive win in Iowa City, two goal-line stands and two big connections between quarterback Rocco Becht and wide receiver Jaylin Noel turned momentum in Iowa State's favor.
Here are four turning points from Iowa State's win over Iowa on Saturday:
Second Quarter | 15:00 | First and Goal | Iowa State 1
Trailing 7-0 after one quarter of play, the Cyclones defense found itself thrust back onto the field in the shadow of their own end zone after a Rocco Becht interception.
The Hawkeyes offense come onto the field with the ball on the Iowa State 12-yard line with a chance to extend its lead.
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An 11-yard gain on a third and 10 pass from Cade McNamara to running back Leshon Williams set Iowa up with a first and goal one yard from the goal line.
With its back against the wall, the Cyclones' defense stiffened, stopping Iowa running back Kamari Moulton for a loss of three yards.
Defensive lineman Domonique Orange exploded through the Hawkeye offensive line for the tackle for loss.
Iowa State dropped Terrell Washington for a loss on second down and Beau Freyler broke up a pass intended for Jacob Gill on third down to force Iowa to settle for a field goal.
Second Quarter | 1:20 | Third and 3 | Iowa State 3
Leading 10-0, Iowa took over possession on its own 20-yard line with 2:57 remaining in the first half. The Hawkeyes drove 77 yards in six plays behind runs of 37 and 26 from Kaleb Johnson to get the ball down to the Iowa State 3-yard line for first and goal.
McNamara failed to connect with tight end Addison Ostrenga on first down and defensive back Cam Smith brought down Williams for no gain on second.
With Iowa State eyeing another goal-line stand, Iowa went back to the air on third and goal.
McNamara evaded Iowa State's initial pressure from defensive lineman J.R. Singleton and stepped up in the pocket with his eyes downfield. The graduate senior looked to fit the ball into a tight window to Ostrenga.
Myles Purchase held up in coverage, forcing the incompletion and another field goal attempt from Iowa.
"It was a collective effort," Purchase said. "We got to the red zone a couple times there ... It was bend don't break. When you get to the red zone, you got to always try to hold them to three and preventing a touchdown. I felt like we were really good at doing that today and it paid off in the end."
Third Quarter | 4:47 | First and 10 | Iowa State 25
After scoring its first touchdown of the game to cut Iowa's lead to 13-7, Iowa State's defense failed to get a stop on the Hawkeyes' ensuing drive.
Iowa marched 79 yards in seven plays for a touchdown, extending its lead to 19-7 after missing on a two-point try.
The Cyclones did not let the response stall their swelling momentum.
On the first play of their next drive, Becht connected with wide receiver Jaylin Noel down the seam for a 75-yard touchdown to trim the lead to 19-14.
Noel got behind the Hawkeyes' secondary with a double move.
As the senior cut towards the sidelines on what appeared to be an out route, linebacker Jay Higgins passed Noel off to defensive back Xavier Nwankpa.
Nwankpa bit on the out just as Noel turned up field.
Becht read the miscommunication and hit Noel in stride for the score.
Fourth Quarter | 0:29 | First and 10 | Iowa State 32
Down two points, Iowa State regained possession with 33 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Cyclones gained 10 yards on the first play of the drive before Noel ducked out of bounds to save the clock.
On the next play, Becht and Noel connected again on a double move as Noel beat Sebastian Castro with an out and up down the right sideline for a gain of 30 yards from the Cyclones' 32 to the Iowa 38.
Following the game, Becht praised Noel's route in creating the opportunity for the explosive play.
"After we hit them on the 10-yard out route to Jaylin, we came back with a play that would kind of get a pick on his guy," Becht said. "He ended up just beating him with speed. I knew that safety was high, taking off with Jayden (Higgins). I just tried to give (Noel) a chance. I tried to put a ball out there for him to go get it and he did the rest of it."
According to Noel, he studied in the lead up to Saturday's matchup to face Castro one-on-one in man coverage.
"I felt like we were getting a two-man look," Noel said. "I was studying to go against Castro all game. He is a great player, but I felt like I had the ability to go win that matchup. And, when they needed me, I felt like I won that matchup."
Photos: Iowa State defeats rival Hawkeyes, 20-19, in stunning comeback 0 Comments Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
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