1971 Sun Bowl LSU 33, ISU 15

In a season dominated by the Big Eight Conference, the Cyclones were the conference’s biggest surprise, making a bowl game after being picked to finish last in the conference rankings. Iowa State had an eight-win season with only three losses, against Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado — who were ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the country. Coach Johnny Majors led the Cyclones to a No. 17 national ranking and a trip to El Paso, Texas, for the Sun Bowl to take on Louisiana State. The Tigers boasted a defense that allowed the fewest yards in the nation in 1971, and the LSU defense dictated the Sun Bowl. Louisiana State forced five turnovers and relied on a 227-yard and three-touchdown passing performance by quarterback and game MVP Bert Jones to defeat the Cyclones 33–15. ISU tailback George Amundson led Iowa State with 102 yards of total offense. ISU linebacker Matt Blair was named Most Valuable Lineman of the game.

1972 Liberty Bowl Georgia Tech 31, Iowa State 30

In the 1971 offseason, ISU tailback George Amundson made the move to quarterback and experienced a banner year, passing for a school record 2,110 yards as he was named the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year. The 5–5–1 Cyclones received a bid to play in the Liberty Bowl held in Memphis, Tenn., against Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech started second-string quarterback junior Jim Stevens in only his second game as a starter due to a dismissal of Tech’s starter, Eddie McAshan. Stevens stepped in nicely for the Yellow Jackets, completing 12-of-15 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 31–30 victory over Iowa State. Stevens, who was named MVP of the game, threw a touchdown pass in each of the final three quarters to erase an early 14–3 deficit. With under two minutes left in the game, Amundson threw a touchdown pass to end Ike Harris, but the two-point conversion sailed through the end zone. Amundson led the Cyclones in total offense for the second straight bowl game with 153 yards passing and 78 yards rushing.

1977 Peach Bowl N.C. State 24, Iowa State 14

After failing to receive a bowl bid after eight wins in 1976, Iowa State redeemed itself with an invitation to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta after a second consecutive 8–3 season under head coach Earle Bruce. The 1977 season was highlighted by a 24–21 win over No. 9 Nebraska at Memorial Stadium, which didn’t happen again until 2009. Both North Carolina State and Iowa State boasted talented running backs in N.C. State’s Ted Brown and the Cyclones’ Dexter Green. But once again, it was impressive quarterback play that did the Cyclones in as Wolfpack quarterback Johnny Evans accounted for 264 yards of total offense in the Wolfpack’s 24–14 win. Evans and North Carolina State defensive back Richard Carter were named Co-MVPs of the game.

1978 Hall of Fame Bowl Texas A&M 28, Iowa State 12

A third consecutive 8–3 season under Earle Bruce earned the Cyclones a date with Texas A&M on Dec. 20 in Birmingham, Ala., for the Hall of Fame Bowl. Taking on a now-familiar foe, the Cyclones returned running back and Heisman candidate Dexter Green to try to help Iowa State win its first bowl game. Texas A&M had similar plans with their running back Curtis Dickey, who carried the Aggies to victory with 276 yards and one touchdown to win the duel of the running backs in Birmingham. Green still ran for 148 yards, which put him at the top of the ISU all-time rushing list with 3,437 yards and 34 touchdowns. More bad news for the Cyclones came after the game as Bruce announced he would be leaving Ames to coach at his alma mater, Ohio State, where he would coach the Buckeyes to an 81–26–1 record.

2000 Insight.com Bowl Iowa State 37, Pittsburgh 29

After a 22-year hiatus, Iowa State returned to post-season play after the finishing the 2000 season with a 9–3 record, the most wins since 1906. The Cyclones, under coach Dan McCarney, accepted a bid to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers in Phoenix. The Cyclone offense was one of the nation’s best, averaging 424 yards a game under the leadership of quarterback Sage Rosenfels and the bruising running of running back Ennis Haywood. With over 30,000 of the 41,813 fans wearing cardinal and gold, the Cyclones defeated the Panthers with a huge performance from Rosenfels, who threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns. Rosenfels and defensive end Reggie Hayward were named co-MVPs of the game. Ironically, current ISU head coach Paul Rhoads was on the Pittsburgh sideline in 2000 as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator.

2001 Independence Bowl Alabama 14, Iowa State 13

Under dual-threat quarterback Seneca Wallace, Iowa State achieved great success in 2001, going 7–4 and defeating Iowa in the last game of the season. The Cyclones received a bid to play the 6–5 Alabama Crimson Tide for the first time in both schools’ histories in Shreveport, La., for the Independence Bowl.

Iowa State led 13–7 with about five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Alabama blocked an ISU punt, and two plays later, Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow found wide receiver Terry Jones in the end zone for a 27-yard, go-ahead score. Wallace led the ISU offense down to the Alabama 30-yard line where the Alabama defense tightened, forcing ISU kicker Tony Yelk — who had already missed fourth-quarter field goals — to try his fourth field goal of the game. With 38 seconds left on the clock, Yelk booted the 47-yarder, but it sailed right by a few inches, giving the Crimson Tide the victory. The Cyclones crushed the Crimson Tide on paper, outgaining them on offense 456 to 269 yards. Wallace, the offensive MVP of the game, threw for 284 yards and running back Ennis Haywood ran for 135 yards on 20 carries. ISU linebacker Matt Word earned co-defensive MVP honors for the game along with Alabama safety Waine Bacon.

2002 Humanitarian Bowl Boise State 34, Iowa State 16

The 2002 season was one of the most memorable first halves of a season in ISU history. The Cyclones began the season with a close 38–31 loss to Florida State, but won their next six games, including victories over Iowa, Nebraska and Texas Tech. The 6–1 Cyclones were ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press Poll — the school’s highest all-time ranking. The Cyclones lost five of their last six games, but still earned a bowl bid to take on Boise State in Boise, Idaho, for the Humanitarian Bowl. The BCS-buster Broncos came into the game with a 12–1 record and a No. 15 national ranking under current Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins. Iowa State led 10–7 at halftime following a Seneca Wallace touchdown pass to Jamaul Montgomery, but the Broncos high-flying offense took off from there. The Broncos were led by the nation’s leading scorer, running back Brock Forsey, who scored his 30th, 31st and 32nd touchdowns on the season as Boise outscored Iowa State 27–6 in the second half to win the game 34–16. A disappointing final game resulted for Wallace as he only completed 13-of-38 passes for 107 yards and was injured in the first quarter.

2004 Independence Bowl Iowa State 17, Miami (Ohio) 13

Similar to the 2009 season, the 2004 Cyclones were coming off a 2–10 season in 2003. The team started 2–4 (0–3 Big 12), but went on a tear over its next four games, earning a share of the Big 12 North Division title. The Cyclones earned a bid in the 2004 Independence Bowl to take on the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks in Shreveport, La. Miami grabbed a 13–10 lead in the third quarter after being behind 10–0, but the Cyclones capitalized on their strong running game as Ryan Kock went in on a 1-yard touchdown run with 13:02 remaining in the game. ISU defensive back Ellis Hobbs sealed the deal with a late interception as Iowa State picked up the win 17–13. ISU running back Stevie Hicks led the ISU rushing attack with 159 yards on 27 carries as the Cyclones amassed 295 yards on the ground. Freshman quarterback Bret Meyer continued his impressive freshman campaign with 122 yards on 23 carries and 114 yards passing. Iowa State grabbed both MVP honors for the game with Meyer as the offensive MVP and defensive back Nick Moser as the defensive MVP.

2005 Houston Bowl TCU 27, Iowa State 24

For the 16th time in school history, Iowa State reached the seven-win mark, receiving a bowl bid to play against Texas Christian University in the Houston Bowl in Houston. Coming from nearby Fort Worth, the No. 14-ranked Horned Frogs went almost unblemished on the season, winning the Mountain West Conference with a 10–1 (8–0) record. Texas Christian jumped out to a 24–17 halftime lead, but Iowa State struck in the third quarter on a Bret Meyer pass to Todd Blythe, giving Blythe the ISU single-season record for touchdown receptions. With the game knotted up at 24–24, teams exchanged punts before a TCU drive stalled at the ISU 27-yard line. Horned Frogs kicker Peter LoCoco then nailed a 44-yard field goal to give the Horned Frogs the lead with under six minutes to play. Iowa State was unable to move the ball into field goal range and the Horned Frogs held on for the 27–24 victory. Meyer completed 20-of-33 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns, two of which fell into Blythe’s arms. The key weakness for Iowa State was its inability to run the ball, as the Cyclones were held to only 34 rushing yards. TCU quarterback Jeff Ballard earned offensive MVP honors with 275 yards passing and a touchdown. ISU defensive lineman Jason Berryman earned MVP honors on defense.