For a minute, the entire world laid upon Kyle Simonson’s shoulders.

The ISU heavyweight stared down his match with Northern Iowa’s Blayne Beale with his team down, 20-18, with just his match to go on Friday at Hilton Coliseum.

With a takedown and some riding time, the big guy pulled through.

Simonson’s 3-2 victory over Beale, who replaced No. 14 Christian Brantley with an indefinite suspension, was the final hurdle in what was supposed to be a long night for the Cyclones.

On paper, No. 18 Iowa State (8-8, 0-3 Big 12) only won five of its matches against Northern Iowa (8-9, 2-0 WWC), but it was the big victories that made the difference.

After the Panthers jumped out to a 12-0 lead, Iowa State’s Max Mayfield took advantage of a disgruntled Brett Robbins in the 149-pound match, riding the redshirt senior for the entire second period to sway things in his favor.

Despite failing to record a single offensive point, Mayfield defeated Robbins in a 4-2 decision. The fourth point was awarded to Mayfield after the Davenport native was shoved out of the ring by Robbins, who was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, at the end of the match.

In the 165-pound match, Andrew Sorenson took a commanding 21-10 lead over the Panthers’ Nick Pickerell in a game of catch and release. With 15 seconds left in the match, Sorenson relented when he noticed Pickerell was having difficulty moving.

Pickerell was forced to take an injury forfeit. However, the details of this injury were not disclosed to the media.

Those six points awarded from the injury default, along with a five-point technical fall by 174-pounder Jon Reader, put Iowa State within striking distance.

A victory by Simonson and a major decision by 197-pounder Jerome Ward put the Cyclones over the top, giving the cardinal and gold the 21-20 victory.