Iowa State leads Western Illinois 21-0 at halftime on Saturday evening at Jack Trice Stadium. This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

James White utilized solid run-blocking schemes on the Cyclones’ opening drive to net a 56-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the game.

After a quick punt, the Cyclones got to work again for another score — this time in the form of a pass from Steele Jantz connecting to Chris Young on a curl route with 9:34 remaining in the game. The touchdown was Young’s first of the season.

The WIU offense was discombobulated for most of the first half, managing to cross midfield only once and converting 2-for-8 on third downs.

WIU quarterback Josh Hudson went 5-for-9 in passing and amassed 40 yards through the air for the Leathernecks.

The Cyclones’ offensive production stalled in the second quarter, failing to score until late in the quarter when Jantz connected with Young following a punt return for a touchdown by Aaron Horne getting called back for holding.

Kirby Van Der Kamp continued his streak of punting without any returns, nailing the Leathernecks inside the 20-yard line in each of his first-half punts. The true junior nailed a 59-yard punt from the ISU 25-yard line to the WIU 16-yard line for the 18th consecutive punt without a return this season.

The Cyclones will kick off to start the second half.