It’s crazy how one great game can right the ship. I was one of the many doubters of this team coming into the annual rivalry game. I’m glad I ate my words. After losing to Northern Iowa, this team could have easily crumbled, but instead they took it as extra motivation for this week’s game with the Hawkeyes.

The Great

Bret Culbertson

The senior kicker from Des Moines tied a Cyclone record with five field goals. His game-winning kick with one second left was by far the biggest field goal of his career. Culbertson’s five field goals accounted for all of Iowa State’s points scored.

Phillip Bates

In what was arguably the game’s biggest play, Bret Meyer threw up a 38-yard strike to Bates to put the ball on the Iowa 16-yard line with a minute remaining. It was the true freshman’s first catch as a Cyclone, and couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Good

ISU secondary

The Hawkeye receivers made no big plays and had no impact on the game. I would like to think it’s because of how well the Cyclones’ secondary played, and not because the Iowa wideouts were too busy thinking about what to buy with the credit cards they found in the locker room. Allen Bell and Chris Singleton were lockdown at the corner positions and Chris Brown did a nice job of replacing injured safety Steve Johnson.

Line play

The Cyclones looked more explosive than Iowa on the offensive and defensive line. The defensive line had four sacks and the offensive line gave up zero sacks while leading the way for 143 yards on the ground.

The Bad

Zero touchdowns

While I’m not complaining about the outcome of the game, it would have been nice to punch a couple of those long drives into the end zone and go into halftime with a 20-point lead.

The Ugly

Hawkeye fans

Most fans refrain from trash talking after their team loses a game in which they were 17.5-point favorites. This must not apply to Iowa fans. One of my favorites was, “You guys still lost to UNI.” Ouch. That means the Hawkeyes lost to a team that lost to UNI. Could Iowa beat Drake or Wartburg? Maybe next year, the Hawkeyes should take on the Ames High Little Cyclones.