Editor’s Note: Due to software and computer difficulties at the Iowa State Daily, this article was not able to be uploaded on the Daily Web site until now. The Daily apologizes for any inconvenience.

Updated Sept. 24, 2005 at 2:35 p.m. CDT

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Field position, spurred by defense and special teams, trumped offensive production Friday night, as the ISU football team defeated Army despite being out-gained by nearly 140 yards.

The Cyclones gained just 229 yards to Army’s 365, but parlayed three interceptions and a strong special-teams performance into four touchdowns.

The Cyclones won 28-21.

With offensive production lagging, the Cyclones had just 71 rushing yards — the game came down to big plays, said ISU Head Coach Dan McCarney.

“Special teams made some big plays,” McCarney said. “We had two big kick returns and a punt block that led to a big, momentum shift.”

The blocked punt, coming on Army’s first possession of the second half, put the Cyclones on the Black Knights’ 23 yard line, where it took only four plays for Cyclone Quarterback Bret Meyer to connect with Running Back Greg Coleman for a four-yard touchdown pass.

DeAndre Jackson led the charge in the return game, picking up 125 yards in two second-half returns. The subsequent drives, each ended without a Cyclone score.

But Jackson made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball as well, pulling down an interception on Army’s 27 yard line with 13:22 remaining in the game.

“After the first half, I wanted to play more physical,” Jackson said of his corner-back duties. “So in the second half I jammed him on the line. Then when the ball came I just went up for it and came down with a big play.”

The interception seemed to reenergize the Cyclones’ long-absent power game. Following the play, the ISU offensive line began to break through the smaller Army line, allowing Coleman and Fullback Ryan Kock to rack up 45 of the team’s 71 rushing yards in short gains over the course of the final quarter.

Following the Jackson interception, Iowa State drove from the Army 27 to the 19, where it faced a fourth down and two. Down by 14 to 21, McCarney opted to go for it. The subsequent pass play broke down, with Meyer forced out of the pocket and sacked for a hefty loss. The play was called back, however, when Army committed an unintentional face-mask penalty in the sack. The five-yard penalty gave the Cyclones the distance needed for the first down, and two plays later Ryan Kock found pay dirt to knot the score at 21.

Army responded with a three-and-out punt, and four minutes, six plays and 48 yards later, Ryan Kock was in the end zone again, breaking the tie for good.

The Cyclones’ first score came in the first quarter, on a 15-yard pass to Wide Receiver Austin Flynn. The play was the culmination of a 39-yard drive begun after the second of two interceptions by Free Safety Steve Paris.

The Black Knights, too, capitalized on special teams and defense, scoring touchdowns off an interception and 29-yard punt return. But the strongest part of Army’s game on Friday was its sustained offense, racking up 365 yards on the arm of quarterback Zac Dahman (233 yards passing) and the legs of running back Carlton Jones (122 rushing yards). The Black Knights put together the only sustained scoring drive for either team, driving 80 yards in 8 plays in the second quarter to score its first touchdown.

The Army win puts Iowa State at 3-0 heading into next weekends’ bout against Nebraska on Saturday.

Notes:

* Starting back Stevie Hicks did not play in the second half, after nine carries for 25 yards in the first. He was injured in the first half, McCarney said, declining to specify the injury.

* The Michie Stadium crowd was not a factor in the game. Just 25,007 fans were on hand, well below the stadium’s capacity of 40,000. That 25,007 included a contingent of ISU fans numbering in the thousands.

* Dahman threw three interceptions, including one on each of Army’s first two possessions.