Cyclones Top Northern Iowa, 17-10

AMES, Iowa (AP) - Austin Flynn passed for a touchdown and ran for another in his college debut as Iowa State struggled to a 17-10 victory over Northern Iowa on Saturday night.

Iowa State was stuck in a 10-all tie late in the third quarter with its Division I-AA opponent when Flynn, a redshirt freshman, hit Lane Danielsen on a perfectly thrown pass for 48 yards.

That put the ball at the Northern Iowa 5 and Flynn scored on a 3-yard run two plays later. Iowa State then held on with its defense, making two key pass breakups and forcing a fourth-down incompletion with 1:08 left.

Flynn, who succeeded Seneca Wallace as the Cyclones' quarterback, completed 9 of 18 passes for 158 yards, including a 13-yarder to Jack Whitver for a second-quarter touchdown.

He also showed an ability to scramble out of trouble while rushing for 67 yards in 13 carries.

Flynn was intercepted once and it was costly. With Iowa State leading 10-3 in the second quarter, defensive end Ryan Arnold tipped Flynn's pass and Justin Sandy picked it off, returning the ball 29 yards to the Cyclones' 1.

Northern Iowa tied it two plays later, Terrance Freeney bursting into the end zone standing up for his first college touchdown. The Panthers had a couple of decent drives after that, but never got inside the Iowa State 45.

Late in the third quarter, Northern Iowa tight end Brian Cutright was wide open over the middle and had his hands on Tom Petrie's pass for what would have been a big gain. But Marc Timmons charged across the field to knock the ball loose and force the Panthers to punt.

On its next series, Northern Iowa stalled at the Iowa State 45 and faked a punt. Punter Cory Henke threw the ball downfield, but Iowa State's punt returner, Todd Miller, raced in to break it up.

Iowa State took a 10-3 lead on Flynn's touchdown pass to Whitver, who caught the ball at the 7 and had a clear path to the end zone after defensive back Dre Dokes fell.

Flynn had a 46-yard completion to Lance Young and a 20-yard scramble to set up a 27-yard field goal by Adam Benike that put Iowa State ahead 3-0. Northern Iowa tied it on the next series on Brian Stegall's 44-yard field goal.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Adam Benike

Adam Benike

Lane Danielsen

Lane Danielsen

Austin Flynn

Austin Flynn

Todd Miller

Todd Miller

Marc Timmons

Marc Timmons

Seneca Wallace

Jack Whitver

Jack Whitver

Lance Young

Lance Young

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics