AMES, Iowa – A lively Halloween night crowd welcomed the Iowa State football team home after two straight road losses and the Cyclones responded with a rousing upset victory on Kyle Konrardy’s walk-off field goal.
Konrardy connected from 34 yards out as time expired to lift Iowa State past No. 24 Oklahoma State 51-49 on a wild Saturday night on MidAmerica Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium.
The two teams suited up for the occasion with Iowa State (4-4 overall, 2-3 Big 12) in all black and the Cowboys (5-3, 3-2) in all orange and they treated fans to a classic that produced 100 points, 1,114 yards and a succession of long scoring drives. Thirty-four of those points came in the fourth quarter, which began with ISU leading 38-28.
It was the most combined points in the 60-year series between the two rivals.
Oklahoma State had taken just its second lead of the night on Drew Mestermaker’s underhanded shovel pass to Wyatt Young, who scored from 7 yards out to put the Cowboys up 49-48. Only 53 seconds remained, but that was enough for Iowa State, which put up huge offensive numbers after managing only 13 points and 412 total yards in successive road losses to BYU and Arizona.
Starting at the ISU 37, quarterback Jaylen Raynor connected with freshman wide receiver Jamal Polite Jr. for 33 yards, Polite leaping to make the catch after slick adjustment on a ball thrown behind him. Runs of 3 and 11 yards by Aiden Flora took the ball to the 11 and then coach Jimmy Rogers called on Konrardy, who had kicked earlier field goals of 39 and 29 yards.
His kick was perfect – the third game-winner for the ISU junior, who now has made 23 straight from 45 yards on in. It was Iowa State’s first victory over a ranked team since beating Kansas State in last season’s opener in Ireland and the most points the Cyclones have put up in a Big 12 game since a 59-7 rout of Kansas on Oct. 2, 2021.
Konrardy came through after big games from Flora, Raynor and Polite enabled the Cyclones to match the high-scoring Cowboys score for score.
Raynor threw for a season-high 309 yards and three touchdowns, completing 18 of 28 passes with one interception. He had TD throws 2 yards to Easton Miller, 43 yards to Polite and 40 yards to Cameron Pettaway. He also ran 8 yards for a score and finished with 48 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Flora ran for a career-high 221 yards on 29 carries and scored on runs of 29 and 75 yards. He now has 937 yards for the season, is averaging a league-best 7.2 yards a carry and has the three highest single-game rushing totals in the conference this season. His 75-yard burst down the left sideline came one play after Okie State had pulled within 38-35 on Mestemaker’s 41-yard TD pass to Justin Bowick with 11:19 left in the game.
Polite had career bests of six catches for 171 yards and the first touchdown of his career. He came into the game with just 115 receiving yards for the season on eight receptions, stepping up when the Cyclones needed a productive game from everyone.
Iowa State finished with a season-high 581 total yards and needed every one of them to survive OSU’s playmakers. Mestemaker, the Big 12’s leading passer, completed 27 of 42 passes for 323 yards and five touchdowns, which matched his career best. He was intercepted once, by Beau Goodwin in the fourth quarter, and it led to Konrardy’s 29-yard field goal, which put the Cyclones up 48-42 with 2:56 left. Oklahoma State then went 75 yards in 12 plays in just 2:03 to take its one-point lead.
It was the fifth 75-yard drive of the game for the Cowboys, who finished with 533 yards, a figure that included 194 yards rushing from Caleb Hawkins. Hawkins ran for two scores, including a 75-yarder, and caught a 59-yard TD pass.
Iowa State also capitalized on a muffed punt that Caleb Schmidt recovered at the OSU 36. The Cyclones turned that into a 39-yard Konrardy field goal for a 24-21 lead going into halftime.
And that’s not all. Konrardy helped the cause by surprising the Cowboys with an onside kick after the Cyclones had tied the score at 14 on Raynor’s touchdown pass to Miller early in the second quarter.
Konrardy recovered the ball himself at his own 48 and ISU needed only three plays to score, Raynor connecting with Polite from 43 yards out. Polite twisted and was backpedaling toward the end zone when he made a leaping catch.
The game had an interesting twist even before it started, matching two of the most extensively rebuilt teams in the country. Iowa State has 83 newcomers in its first season under Rogers. Oklahoma State, in its first season under former North Texas coach Eric Morris, began the season with 91 newcomers.
Iowa State goes back on the road for its next game, playing at Baylor next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m, Cyclones Pre Game at 9 am on 96.5 FM KSOM.
