No. 18 Iowa State tops No. 24 Kansas State for 1st 10-win season

On By Littum

NCAA Football: Cincinnati at Iowa StateNovember 16, 2024; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell watches his team play the Cincinnati Bearcats at Jack Trice Stadium. The Iowa State Cyclones won the game 34-17. Mandatory credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

No. 18 Iowa State scored 14 points off turnovers and defeated No. 24 Kansas State 29-21 Saturday on a cold night in Ames, Iowa.

The Cyclones (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) will face Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 7 if BYU beats Houston later Saturday. The Cyclones last won a conference football championship in 1912 when they were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Iowa State has 10 wins in a season for the first time in school history.

The Wildcats (8-4, 5-4) have lost three of their last four games.

Trailing 24-14, K-State appeared to make it a one-score game midway through the third quarter after a first-and-goal at Iowa State’s 5-yard line. But two short gains set up a 21-yard field-goal attempt that was blocked.

The Wildcats converted on their next possession when Avery Johnson hit Garrett Oakley for a 7-yard touchdown to trim their deficit to 24-21 with 4:41 left in the third. Kansas State stopped Iowa State on fourth-and-2 at the K-State 7. On the Wildcats’ ensuing possession, Johnson was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, extending the Cyclones’ lead to 26-21 with 13:22 left in the game.

Iowa State then got a 20-yard field goal by Kyle Konrardy with 6:16 left to score.

Johnson’s throw on the first play of the game was ruled a reverse pass, which was recovered by Iowa State at the KSU 27-yard line. Six plays later, Rocco Becht found Jayden Higgins for a 15-yard touchdown.

After going three-and-out on their second drive, the Wildcats found their footing. Johnson found Jayce Brown for a 28-yard touchdown to cap a 10-play, 83-yard drive and tie the game at 7-7.

Iowa State regained the lead early in the second quarter on a 41-yard field goal by Konrardy. K-State then turned the ball over again when Keagan Johnson fumbled at the Wildcats’ own 30 after receiving. Five plays later, Becht found Jaylin Noel in the back of the end zone for a 17-7 lead.

Kansas State got back into the game when Johnson threw a 65-yard touchdown to Brown to cut the Wildcats’ deficit to 17-14 with 5:49 left in the first half.

Becht’s 5-yard run with 43 seconds left in the second quarter gave Iowa State a 24-14 halftime lead.

–Field-level media