IOWA CITY - The Cy-Hawk game turned into exactly the kind of bruising, possession-by-possession fight that usually comes down to one kick. On Saturday, that kick belonged to Iowa.
Caden Buhr drilled a 42-yarder with 15 seconds left to lift No. 21 Iowa past Iowa State 16-13, handing the Cyclones a gut-punch loss after a game that swung back and forth in tight, tense fashion all afternoon.
For a moment, it even looked like Iowa State might get one last chance. Jaylen Raynor found Carter Pabst for a 24-yard completion near midfield as the clock appeared to run out, but an official waved it off with, “The game’s not over” - and after review, that was that.
Raynor said the Cyclones needed to handle the situation better before it ever came to that.
“Obviously we don’t want to get to a point where the game’s in the ref’s hands, so (we’ve) got to do a better job of just executing in the times that we have the ball,” he said.
Iowa State’s first-year coach Jimmy Rogers was left to sort through a loss that felt winnable for long stretches. The Cyclones had a 13-10 lead until Buhr tied it with a 32-yard field goal with 6:12 remaining, then watched Iowa finish the job late.
“I’m proud of the locker room as far as how we played, but we still lost,” Rogers said. “And that was the message our guys just got. We came here to win the game.”
The Cyclones entered as two-touchdown underdogs, but they struck first and built a 10-0 second-quarter lead behind Konrardy’s 29-yard field goal and Raynor’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Vince Benetti. Iowa answered before halftime with Hank Brown’s 1-yard scoring run and a 45-yard Buhr field goal to make it 10-10 at the break.
Iowa State nudged back in front on Konrardy’s 51-yarder early in the third quarter, only to see penalties help stall the drive and set up the kind of long attempt that eventually left the game hanging on the final minute.
“You can’t give that team and that defense hidden yards,” Rogers said. “Because they’ll expose you.”
There were encouraging signs for the Cyclones up front, even in defeat. They outgained Iowa on the ground 138 yards to 93 and, at times, controlled the line of scrimmage. Aiden Flora led the way with 89 yards on 19 carries, including a 34-yard run that moved Iowa State to the Iowa 19 before the drive backed up because of a holding penalty and an illegal substitution flag.
Jake Taylor, a transfer offensive tackle, didn’t hide from the frustration.
“My standpoint, the offense, we put up a good effort, but a good effort will only get you so far,” he said. “We need the results.
We need to win. … I’m gonna put all the responsibility on me.
This game’s on me. I’m supposed to lead the offensive line and this offense, and I just couldn’t do that enough today.”
Raynor finished 10-for-19 for 117 yards, though much of that came on the final sequence that ultimately didn’t matter. Iowa State’s defense did limit Kamari Moulton to 57 yards on 15 carries after he ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns the week before, but the Cyclones couldn’t get the stops they needed when the game tightened late.
“There (are) always plays you’re gonna want back as a defense,” said Max Baloun, who has also played for Rogers at Washington State and South Dakota State. “I think there (are) gonna be a handful that we’re gonna want back (on Saturday). I think they executed well towards the end.”
Buhr’s finish sent Iowa into a loud celebration and left Iowa State with its first loss under Rogers.
“We’ll continue to get better,” Rogers said. “The guys are committed.
The guys are hurting. At the same time, we have ten games left.
And we need to work and get ourselves ready to win every one of them.”
In Other News...
Iowa State Showed Something In Cy-Hawk Loss That Fans Will Debate
Iowa State left the Cy-Hawk matchup with plenty to argue about after taking an early 10-0 lead and then watching No. 21 Iowa claw back to a 16-13 win. The Cyclones did enough in spots to keep the game tight, and their defense had real positives to hang onto, especially with Iowa's rushing attack held to 93 yards.
Still, the second half told a different story for Iowa State's offense, which could not sustain drives once the game tightened up and let the momentum swing away. The result will linger because the Cyclones showed they could control stretches of the rivalry game, but they also left enough unfinished business for fans to wonder what this performance says about how far the offense can carry them when the margin gets thin. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Let A Statement Cy-Hawk Win Slip Away Late
Iowa State had the kind of early edge that can make a Cy-Hawk win feel like it is already taking shape, building a 10-0 lead and leaning on a defense that had Iowa scrambling to find a rhythm. But the game never fully loosened for the Cyclones, as the Hawkeyes kept answering enough to stay in striking distance and turn a rivalry day that looked promising into a tense, possession-by-possession fight down the stretch.
Iowas rally kept the pressure on Iowa State until the final moments, with the Hawkeyes tying the game twice before the finishing kick settled it late. For the Cyclones, it was a missed chance to keep their recent run of dramatic rivalry victories going after they had taken the previous two meetings on late field goals, a reminder that in this series even a solid start can disappear fast when the game reaches its sharpest edge. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Let Another Rivalry Gut Punch Slip Away Late
Iowa State spent much of the afternoon in a grinder of a rivalry game that felt exactly like one of those meetings where every yard has to be earned. No. 21 Iowa had to dig out of a 10-point hole to pull level, and both sidelines came away talking about how physical and competitive the matchup was, which only fit the tone of a matchup that never offered much margin for error.
The part that will sting the Cyclones is how close they were to forcing the issue late before the game slipped away in the final moments. A single defensive stand or one cleaner sequence at the end could have changed the entire conversation, but instead Iowa left with the kind of gut punch that lingers in a rivalry and sends Iowa State back to the film room wondering how a tightly contested afternoon turned so quickly. [Read more 🡒]