Iowa State had Baylor right where it wanted it for a stretch in Waco. The Cyclones jumped out to a 10-0 lead, Aiden Flora was already over 100 rushing yards with 9:51 left in the second quarter, and the offense looked like it had carried over the same rhythm from the Oklahoma State game.
Then everything tilted.
From that 10-0 start until the end of the third quarter, Baylor ripped off 35 points while Iowa State managed only seven. That swing carried the Bears to a 42-31 win and left the Cyclones trying to recover from a game that slipped away in chunks.
The first big break came on a punt. Back-to-back sacks pushed Baylor into a kick, but Flora muffed it and the Bears recovered.
It was a costly mistake from the player who has powered this offense all season, and Baylor made Iowa State pay immediately. Gavin Freeman hauled in a one-handed catch, then Tony Livingston followed with another one-handed grab for a touchdown, trimming the lead to 10-7.
By halftime, Baylor had moved in front 21-17.
The second half belonged to the Bears for a long stretch. Baylor converted two third downs after Iowa State penalties, Taz Williams Jr. turned a catch into a 62-yard touchdown, and Ryelan Morris added a 33-yard scoring run to push the margin to 35-17 in the third quarter.
Through three periods, Iowa State had six penalties for 60 yards. Baylor had none.
Still, the Cyclones did not fold. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Raynor hit Vince Benetti for a touchdown, and the defense followed with a three-and-out.
But the rally stalled when Iowa State was sacked on fourth-and-16 with about seven minutes left. Baylor answered with another touchdown, and although Iowa State closed with a late touchdown and two-point conversion to make it 42-31, the Bears recovered the onside kick and finished off the clock.
Flora ended with 182 rushing yards on 26 carries and a touchdown, a 7.0-yard average that came up short of his career high of 212 against West Virginia. Raynor finished 22 of 37 for 256 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he also ran for 23 yards and a score. Iowa State totaled 216 rushing yards as a team.
For Baylor, DJ Lagway completed 16 of 28 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns, while also carrying 13 times for 119 yards and a touchdown.
In Other News...
Iowa State May Have Found The Identity This Team Will Lean On
Iowa States home season opener offered a pretty clear snapshot of what this group wants to be, and it started on the defensive end. In an 83-57 win over Southern Miss, forward Taj Manning made his presence felt with a career-high four blocks and the kind of active, disruptive work that can change the tone of a game without ever showing up in the box score the same way points do.
Coach T.J. Otzelberger pointed to Mannings defensive impact while also stressing rebounding and defense as the areas that have to keep driving this team forward. On the other end, Northwestern transfer Tre Singleton supplied the scoring punch with a career-high 28 points and led the Cyclones in rebounds, giving Iowa State a glimpse of the balance it may lean on as the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Tre Singleton Just Gave Iowa State The Bounce-Back It Needed
After a rough opener, Iowa State finally found some rhythm in an 83-57 win over Southern Miss, and Tre Singleton was at the center of it. He powered the Cyclones with 28 points and nine rebounds, giving them the kind of interior production and energy they had been missing while helping the team settle in on both ends.
The bigger takeaway was the response. Iowa State looked sharper defensively than it did against Memphis, a sign the group was ready to clean up some early-season issues before the schedule keeps moving. The Cyclones now head home to face Southern, where theyll try to build on a performance that felt more like the version of this team they expected to see. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Let Baylor Seize Control With Plays It Couldn't Answer
Iowa State walked into Joe Klandermans first home game as interim head coach and found Baylor in control of the kind of moments that tend to swing Big 12 games. The Bears did enough on both sides of the ball to leave with a 42-31 win, leaning on a defense that produced three sacks and nine tackles for loss even while giving up more than 200 rushing yards.
DJ Lagway was a problem Iowa State never really solved, throwing for 229 yards and two touchdowns while adding 119 yards and another score on the ground. Gavin Freeman helped keep the offense moving with six catches for 60 yards, and Koltin Sierackis fumble recovery for a touchdown was one more play the Cyclones couldnt match as Baylor seized control and held it. [Read more 🡒]