Bret Meyer threw for three touchdowns and Stevie Hicks rushed for 149 yards as the Iowa State Cyclones defeated Kansas State 45-17 and became bowl eligible for the second straight year and the fifth time in the last six seasons.

The Cyclones got on the board early taking their first possession 41 yards in just five plays to take the lead 7-0 on a 13-yard pass to Ben Barkema.

By the end of the first quarter the Cyclones built a 17-0 lead thanks to a Bret Culbertson 38-yard field goal and a Todd Blythe 26-yard touchdown catch.

“It was a great effort by our team today,” ISU coach Dan McCarney said. “We will enjoy it for 24 hours and then get ready for Colorado next week.”

The Wildcats managed to rally during the second-quarter with a Jeff Snodgrass 36-yard field goal and a 1-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper by Allan Evridge to make the score 17-10 in favor of the Cyclones at the half.

That, however, would be the closest Kansas State would get. Iowa State would score 21 unanswered points in the third-quarter, thanks in part to two 1-yard touchdown runs by Ryan Kock.

Then, in the fourth-quarter, Stevie Hicks uncorked a 37-yard touchdown run to ice the game. It was the longest run of the year for Hicks.

“We lost some momentum in the second-quarter,” McCarney said. “But we came out in the second half and executed.”

Blythe”s touchdown catch in the first-quarter was the 15th of his career, tying him for first all-time in ISU history for touchdown catches in a career.

That wasn’t the only milestone the Cyclones hit Saturday either. It marked the first time since 1993 that Iowa State beat the Wildcats in Ames, as well as the first time in school history that the Cyclones scored at least 37 points against three straight conference opponents.

The ISU win coupled with Colorado’s victory over Missouri pushed Iowa State into a tie for second in the Big 12 North with Missouri and set the stage for next week’s showdown with division leader Colorado.