The final week of the college football season is here and there is still plenty left to play for with conference play in full swing. One of the most important games of the weekend took place in Ames, Iowa as the Iowa State Cyclones hosted the Kansas State Wildcats.
Iowa State was fresh off a close win over Utah on the road while Kansas State came off a big win over Cincinnati at home. When these two schools meet up you just know it’s going to be a battle until the very end. It’s Farmageddon and with a potential trip to the Big 12 championship game on the line, the stakes couldn’t be higher. There was no shortage of drama in this one as Iowa State pulled off a 29-21 victory. Here are my three takeaways from the game.
Iowa State Went Old School
There are two things in the game of football that will never die. That, of course, is running the football and playing great defense. On Saturday night, Iowa State did both of those things and won the game. The Cyclones outrushed the Wildcats as they finished with 187 yards on the ground led by Abu Sama III. Carson Hansen played a good game and despite Rocco Becht not having his best game through the air, he was able to make a few plays with his legs.
But the real reason Iowa State won was because of their defense. They put the offense in some great spots and got off the field when they needed to. In fact, they allowed Kansas State to convert just 23% of their third down attempts and made some crucial stops in the red zone. The defense forced Avery Johnson to make a few mistakes, and the special teams stepped up and blocked a big field goal. Between the defense and the ability to run the football, it gave Iowa State a chance to win the game.
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Kansas State Made Mistakes
It feels weird talking about Kansas State shooting themselves in the foot because that is not what they are known for. However, this season has been a little different due to a young quarterback in Avery Johnson. We have seen Avery make some bad mistakes this season, but sometimes that is what happens with young quarterbacks. They have to learn as they go. Against Iowa State, Avery fumbled the ball on the very first possession of the game and then ran backwards and got an intentional ground penalty from his own end zone that resulted in a safety.
To make matters worse, Kansas State had another fumble and also had a blocked field goal in the third quarter that would have made it a one-score game. Outside of a few throws to Jayce Brown by Avery Johnson, there wasn’t a whole lot to smile about on the Kansas State sideline. There were several key drops as well that didn’t help and the eight penalties really hurt this team in some key situations. Between the turnovers and mistakes, it was just too much to overcome. Too many times this season Kansas State has beaten themselves and they have to correct that next season.
Making History
As I am typing this, we do not know if Iowa State will make the Big 12 championship game until the BYU vs. Houston game ends. If BYU wins that game, then Iowa State will be playing in Jerry World for a Big 12 title next weekend. If they lose, then Colorado is in, and Iowa State would fall to third place.
It would certainly be disappointing for the Cyclones to win on Saturday night and be left out due to another team losing, but that’s life in the Big 12 in 2024. However, no matter what happens, this team has made history. For the first time in program history, Iowa State has won ten games in a season. That itself is quite an accomplishment and Matt Campbell should be extremely proud of his team.
