Finally.

Using four interceptions from strong safety Nik Moser, cornerbacks LaMarcus Hicks and DeAndre Jackson, the ISU defense forced a total of five turnovers to beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 37-10 Saturday. The Cyclones had not forced that many since its last win in Jack Trice Stadium – a 23-3 victory against Iowa on Sept. 10.

“We challenged our team,” said coach Dan McCarney. “I asked the defense on Thursday night’s meeting, I said, ‘We need a minimum of four takeaways, four turnovers, minimum,’ and we end up with five.”

Moser and Jackson each had one interception, while Hicks tallied two. Linebacker Adam Carper also recovered a fumble forced by defensive end Jason Berryman.

OSU quarterback Al Pena threw the interceptions on four straight possessions in the second half, the biggest of which coming from Hicks late in the third quarter.

With 1:57 left, the Cowboys had driven 63 yards on eight plays and with first-and-goal on the ISU 9-yard line, Pena threw a fade pass to the corner of the endzone which was pulled down by Hicks, who managed to get a foot planted before falling out of bounds.

The play was reviewed, but stood as called on the field.

“Anytime you can get an interception in their endzone and stop the drive, that’s huge,” Moser said.

“LaMarcus made a great play on it.”

Iowa State seemed flustered early on defense, giving up 10 points on Oklahoma State’s first two drives. After that, though, the Cowboys were held scoreless throughout the remainder of the game.

“We really settled down I thought defensively after the first two series,” McCarney said. “We were a little bit out of sync.”

When it mattered most, the Cyclones nailed the coffin shut on the Cowboys. In the last three weeks, the Cyclones had not trailed in any game at the end of three quarters – but lost them all.

“The biggest thing that coach says is finishing strong and creating turnovers, like the old defense,” Jackson said. “We showed it today.”

Defensive lineman Nick Leaders said the Cyclones may have rewritten the script on how teams approach Iowa State.

“The biggest knock on our defense is that people throw the ball on us,” he said. “After getting four interceptions today, I can’t say that’s a knock anymore.”

The Cyclones won their first game in almost a month and seemed to get over the hump on both offense and defense, putting together a very rare blowout victory.

In the three games before Oklahoma State, Iowa State had forced just five turnovers – four fumbles and one interception.

“In the past three games, we hadn’t created many turnovers, so the biggest thing going into this game was to create turnovers when the opportunity came to take advantage of it,” Jackson said. “We did that today.”

Overall, Moser credited the effort of the Cyclones throughout practice as the reason the defense clicked Saturday.

“We were trying to make plays,” Moser said. “Our defensive coordinators were at it all week, trying to get the ball, get some big plays, some interceptions, and when you’re running with effort, that’s what happens.”