WEST POINT, N.Y. – It was close, but the ISU football team squeaked out a win against heavy underdog Army on Friday night.

Going into the game, Iowa State was favored by 17 points.

Army held a lead until the fourth quarter, with the Black Knights up a touchdown at both the end of the first half and the third quarter.

Two Ryan Kock touchdowns in the fourth quarter put the Cyclones ahead, helping them to their first 3-0 season start since 2001.

The Cyclones gained just 229 yards to Army’s 365, but parlayed three interceptions and a strong special teams performance into four touchdowns and a 28-21 win.

Even with the win, the Cyclones dropped to No. 23 in the AP poll.

With offensive production lagging – the Cyclones had just 71 rushing yards – the game came down to big plays, said ISU 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, 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, however, each ended without a Cyclone score.

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 cornerback 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 re-energize the Cyclones’ long-absent power game.

Following the play, the ISU offensive line began to break through the smaller Army line, allowing Coleman and Kock to rack up 45 of the team’s 71 rushing yards in short gains during the final quarter.

Following the Jackson interception, Iowa State drove from the Army 27-yard line to the 19, where it faced fourth down with two yards to go. Down 21-14, McCarney opted to go for it.

The subsequent pass play broke down, Meyer was 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 on the sack.

The five-yard penalty gave the Cyclones the distance needed for the first down, and two plays later 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, 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 safety Steve Paris.

The Black Knights, too, capitalized on special teams and defense, scoring touchdowns off of an interception and 29-yard punt return.

But the strongest part of Army’s game 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 eight plays in the second quarter to score its first touchdown.