IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa State defeated Iowa 9-6 in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk football game Saturday, Sept. 8, at Kinnick Stadium.

Euphoria and intensity — followed by chants of “Cyclone State” from the cardinal and gold faithful — filled Kinnick Stadium as Jake Knott intercepted a pass from James Vandenberg to seal the deal for the Cyclones (2-0).

“It’s a great victory; I’m very proud of our kids,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads after the game. “[They were] two teams that just hung around, persevered, waited for the opportunity to win a football game. No. 20 [Knott] decided to go win the football game.”

The win was Iowa State’s first at Kinnick Stadium since 2002.

The Cyclones turned the ball over three times in the red zone during the contest, giving the Hawkeyes (1-1) opportunities to capitalize and take the lead for the first time.

However, staunch defensive stanzas prevented Iowa from doing so, including a critical goal-line stop at the beginning of the fourth quarter that forced the Hawkeyes to kick a field goal to drive the score to 9-6 in Iowa State’s favor.

“That was obviously the game-changing red-zone stop,” Knott said. “We knew that we had to stop them, and coach Wally Burnham preaches that all the time down there in the red zone. It’s definitely a different mentality and was a huge part of the game.”

The ISU defense was effective in stopping the run, holding a run-heavy Iowa team to 68 yards rushing — the lowest total since holding No. 2 Oklahoma State to 60 last season.

“That’s just game-planning for us,” said senior nose tackle Jake McDonough. “We were able to focus a lot on it and we knew coming in that they’re a great running team. They’ve been known for it for years.”

Quarterback Steele Jantz went 5-for-5 in his opening drive, which resulted in a 5-yard strike to Aaron Horne for a touchdown.

The U of I defense adjusted to Jantz’s favoritism of short-passing gains, stifling him to a 67-percent completion percentage and two interceptions since the opening drive.

“It’s beyond fortunate,” Jantz said of his team winning the game with three turnovers in the red zone. “That’s why so much credit goes to the defense because turnovers in the red zone leave that many points on the field.

“It’s tough for the defense; it’s momentum for them. So we’re going to learn from it, but for now, we’re enjoying the win.”

Check back with iowastatedaily.net for more coverage of Saturday’s win by the ISU football team, and be sure to check out the Daily’s print edition on Monday.