For the first time since 2005, the Cyclones are bowl eligible after their 17–10 win over Colorado.

Iowa State (6-5, 3-4 in Big 12) used a strong defensive effort and a 100-yard rushing effort from Alexander Robinson to top the Buffaloes (3-7, 2-4) on Senior Day.

Although the Buffaloes’ offense was able to mount up 310 yards of offense, the ISU defense held them scoreless in three of their four trips into the red zone.

“Red zone defense … outstanding,” said coach Paul Rhoads. “Huge difference in the football game. And on third down, our guys were outstanding.”

The game started with back-to-back threes and outs by both offenses, but then the Cyclones drove 83 yards and scored on an eight-yard pass from quarterback Austen Arnaud to Marquis Hamilton, Hamilton’s fourth touchdown of the season.

On Colorado’s next series they would be forced to punt, but after an Arnaud interception the Buffaloes had the ball inside the five with a chance to score. On fourth and goal from the one, however, Iowa State’s Jesse Smith stopped Colorado’s Demetrius Sumler on the one yard line, ending the Buffaloes’ best scoring opportunity of the first quarter.

“Huge. We certainly came ready to play today,” Rhoads said. “It was a great surge, a great push and a great end to the play.”

The second quarter saw Colorado finally get on the board with a 22-yard field goal by Aric Goodman with 5:16 left in the quarter. After the field goal, though, the Colorado offense was again stifled by the ISU defense and was unable to mount any real threats in the remainder of the first half.

With just over a minute left in the first half, the Iowa State offense appeared to regain the rhythm they had lost in their previous two matchups. The unit drove 31 yards to the Colorado seven yard line and had two shots at the end zone denied before sophomore kicker Grant Mahoney put in a kick from 25 yards out to give the Cyclones a 10–3 lead at halftime.

The second half for the ISU offense got off to a rocky start, but on their second series the Cyclones drove 33 yards — following one of Colorado’s three turnovers, a fumble, was recovered by Stephen Ruempolhamer — and capped the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Arnaud to Robinson.

Iowa State’s defense quelled any potential scoring opportunities until Colorado drove to Iowa State’s nine yard line. However, once there, two 15-yard penalties — a personal foul and an unsportsmanlike conduct — pushed the Buffaloes back to the 39. The drive would stall out from there and end in a missed field goal try from 42 yards out.

In the fourth quarter, both teams struggled to finish their long drives. Again, the Cyclones’ defense was stout near the red zone, and they didn’t allow a Colorado score until Markques Simas scored on a 36-yard pass from Tyler Hansen with just 3:17 left in the game.

Iowa State got the first down they needed on the ensuing possession, forced Colorado to use both of their remaining timeouts and wore the clock down to under thirty seconds.

As the final seconds wore off the clock, the ISU crowd of 43,208 rose to their feet. With the win, the Cyclones have clinched a record of at least 6–6, their first non-losing record since 2005, also Iowa State’s last appearance in a bowl game.

“We’re thrilled to be at 6–5 and at this point in the season have an opportunity to not have had a losing record with this program,” Rhoads said.

Robinson’s 145 yards pushe the junior over 1,000 yards for the season, the first Cyclone running back to go over 1,000 yards since Stevie Hicks did it in 2004.

“If there was one player that was on a mission today, it was Alexander Robinson,” Rhoads said. “If you could’ve seen the look in his eye after last weekend’s game … you’d understand the competitor that we have.”

The Senior Day atmosphere was evident from start to finish, as several seniors had large impacts on the game, their last one in the Cardinal and Gold in Jack Trice Stadium.

Hamilton, a receiver from Oklahoma City, Okla., had three catches for 17 yards and the early touchdown for the Iowa State offense. The receptions moved Hamilton into a tie for eight all time in ISU history with 118 career receptions.

James and Jesse Smith made their mark on the defensive side of the ball, as well, going for seven and six tackles. James Smith also broke up two passes and recovered a fumble while Jesse Smith recorded a tackle for loss and a pass deflection.