Much like the eerie and bizarre costumes students wore this weekend, Iowa State’s Homecoming game against Baylor was scheduled perfectly close to Halloween.

The tone of Iowa State’s 35-21 victory against Baylor (3-4, 0-4 Big 12) was set by an onside kick on the opening kickoff that was recovered by Baylor.

With defensive stops, turnovers and remarkable plays by individuals throughout the game, the 100th Homecoming for Iowa State (5-3, 2-3) played out to be a bizarre one to the end.

In his post-game news conference, ISU coach Paul Rhoads tried giving the media some headlines for their stories. 

“‘Steele Jantz gets first Big 12 victory,’ ‘Steele Jantz heats up Jack Trice Stadium,’” Rhoads said. “I’m just trying to help you out. I don’t know what you want to use for your headline.”

What Rhoads was saying, however, was true. Jantz got his first Big 12 victory as a starter after going 0-5 against conference foes.

Rhoads didn’t seem surprised when Jantz put up career-high numbers of touchdowns (five) and passing yards in a game (381 yards).

“There’s a reason he’s our starting quarterback for the last two years,” Rhoads said. “He’s a physically gifted player. This, very well, could have been his best overall game as an Iowa State Cyclone.”

Teammates also saw an increased awareness and overall improvement from their quarterback. Tight end Ernst Brun talked about what made Jantz seem more comfortable on the field.

“Trust; trusting his [offensive line],” Brun said. “You look at the last games we had, Steele drops back and see one person, and he’s scrambling already.”

Brun said teammates have helped Jantz become more comfortable with stepping up into the pocket, which ultimately led to their win against the Bears.

Wide receivers continued to be a hot topic in the win against Baylor, as Jarvis West brought in three touchdowns — the first three of his career.

“Easily his best game,” Rhoads said of West. “Fun to see him making the big catches, catching the ball with his fingers away from his body.”

Rhoads said West came to the sideline after each of his touchdown receptions with a smile on his face and congratulatory cheers from his teammates.

Chris Young was another receiving threat in the game, tying a career-high of seven receptions, with the help of Jantz.

Young was short to speak and got right to the point when talking about Jantz’s performance.

“Steele was great, and we expect that out of Steele every week,” Young said. “He showed a lot of athletic ability [in the game]. He’s a capable starter and we know what he can do.”

Both Jantz and West were unavailable to comment during post-game interviews.