Hines: Iowa State football wins Cy-Hawk in historic fashion

Posted by author September 7, 2024 Football

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IOWA CITY – Kyle Konrardy missed his first-ever collegiate field-goal attempt.

This might be the only time anyone ever mentions it.

The freshman Iowa State kicker delivered the Cyclones from the brink of yet another loss to rival Iowa with a 54-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to give Iowa State an improbable, wild and amazing 20-19 victory Saturday over the Hawkeyes.

The Cyclones (2-0) seemingly had no business even being in the game let alone winning it after a sloppy start that looked as though would end with the Hawkeyes (1-1) beating Iowa State coach Matt Campbell for the seventh time in eight tries.

Instead, they came up with enough plays for long enough to simply hang around a Hawkeye team that could not deliver a knockout blow.

And the Cyclones now have one of the most memorable wins in series history after spending most of the afternoon looking like they couldn’t wait to forget the whole day.

The Cyclones committed penalties. They turned it over. They missed on chances to capitalize on Iowa’s malaise.

For so long Saturday it felt as though the Cyclones were destined to suffer the same defeat they so often do against the Hawkeyes.

But instead they pulled a role reversal on the Hawkeyes. Kirk Ferentz’s teams have so often won games that they seemingly had no business prevailing in. So often, they had bailed themselves out of poor play with defense and timely play with a dash of the spectacular.

This time it was the Cyclones finding a way. Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins made big plays. Rocco Becht grinded against Iowa’s difficult defense. The Cyclones’ defense held strong against what felt like an early Iowa onslaught and then held steady.

Then Konrardy stepped near the Tigerhawk logo at midfield of Kinnick Stadium and made himself a legend.

Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.