Cyclones Hold Off Hawkeyes, 17-14

AMES, Iowa - Tony Yelk kicked a tie-breaking 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and Adam Runk intercepted a pass with 1:37 left to preserve the victory as Iowa State beat 17-14 Saturday.

Iowa State (7-4) took advantage of an Iowa mistake fielding a punt to take a 14-0 halftime lead, then held off the Hawkeyes (6-5) after they tied it with two third-quarter touchdowns by Ladell Betts, who rushed for 150 yards in 25 carries.

The Cyclones also got a break when Iowa's Grant Steen fumbled after intercepting a pass. Iowa State's Ennis Haywood recovered and that enabled the Cyclones to run valuable time off the clock.

It was Iowa State's fourth straight victory in the series after losing to the Hawkeyes for 15 straight years.

Iowa State now awaits a second straight bowl invitation after making its first bowl appearance in 22 years last season. Iowa is hoping for its first bowl bid since 1997.

It was 14-all when Iowa State's Michael Wagner returned a punt 20 yards to the Iowa 31. Seneca Wallace passed 14 yards to Craig Campbell on the Cyclones' first play, but they stalled at the Iowa 15 and Yelk kicked his field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter.

Iowa appeared to get a break when Steen picked off Wallace's pass at the Iowa State 32. But Campbell stripped the ball on the return and Haywood recovered at the Iowa State 17. The Cyclones then drove to the Iowa 38 and only 3:41 remained when they punted the ball back to Iowa.

Five plays later, Runk leaped to intercept McCann's pass at midfield and Iowa State ran out the clock.

Betts caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from McCann and scored on a 42-yard run to tie the score with 5:48 left in the third quarter.

But Iowa State, its defense maligned after late season losses to Kansas State and Colorado, made the plays it needed to hold on. Johnny Smith broke up a third-down pass late in the third quarter to force a punt and Anthony Forrest sacked McCann on third down on Iowa's next possession to stop the Hawkeyes again.

Iowa State was leading 7-0 when Iowa forced a punt late in the first half. But Iowa's Kahlil Hill, who leads the Big Ten in punt returns, touched the bouncing ball with his right hand and Ellis Hobbs recovered for Iowa State at the Hawkeyes 36.

Wallace hit Campbell for 15 yards to the Iowa 7 and on the next play, Haywood cut behind tight end Mike Banks' block and sped into the end zone standing up with 57 seconds left in the half.

Iowa State drove 80 yards in 10 plays on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead as Wallace completed four straight passes for 62 yards. He hit Campbell in full stride on the left sideline for a 39-yard gain to the Iowa 1 and fired a 2-yard pass to Lane Danielsen in the end zone three plays later.

Wallace finished 20-of-27 for 228 yards and one interception.

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Players Mentioned

Mike Banks

Mike Banks

Craig Campbell

Craig Campbell

Lane Danielsen

Lane Danielsen

Anthony Forrest

Anthony Forrest

Ennis Haywood

Ennis Haywood

Adam Runk

Adam Runk

Michael Wagner

Michael Wagner

Seneca Wallace

Tony Yelk

Tony Yelk

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