With its defense struggling for the first time this season, the Iowa State football team needed something good to happen.

Fast.

Northern Illinois had taken a 28-20 lead at the half, added another touchdown to take a 34-20 lead midway through the third period and had the ball at the ISU 30.

That’s when the ISU defense took control.

Junior safety Nik Moser gathered his second interception of the game, picking off a pass in the back of the end zone.

Iowa State marched down the field, but the drive stalled on the Huskies’ 21-yard line when Jon Davis and Todd Blythe both dropped passes that would have given the Cyclones a first down.

Having run the ball almost at will all day, Northern Illinois was stopped behind the line of scrimmage on three consecutive plays. On fourth down, the Huskies decided to punt, but failed to stop Ellis Hobbs, who blocked the punt.

Cornerback LaMarcus Hicks recovered the ball in the end zone, pulling the Cyclones within eight and shifting the game in favor of Iowa State.

“That blocked punt really just gave us momentum,” quarterback Austin Flynn said. “We missed a fourth-down play, I threw the ball basically out of bounds when [the receiver] was wide open. Ellis Hobbs made an unbelievable play. That in my mind was the biggest momentum shift.”

The next time Iowa State got the ball, Flynn – playing again in a backup role to freshman Bret Meyer – ran it in from 4 yards out and then found James Wright in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion to tie the game at 34.

“This was a tremendous victory for us,” ISU head coach Dan McCarney said. “There were all kinds of mistakes we made, obviously, in this game. In the end this was about as good a character or gut check or heart check you can have for a football team – especially a young football team.”

With the game tied, Iowa State’s defense stepped up again, as DeAndre Jackson intercepted Northern Illinois quarterback Phil Horvath’s pass – the third pick he had thrown – setting up another late Cyclone score.

Flynn found Todd Blythe for a 4-yard score, his third TD catch of the game, giving Iowa State its first lead since midway through the second quarter, 41-34.

Iowa State would add another touchdown on an interception return by Matt Robertson with just 19 seconds to play, and Northern Illinois scored again as time ran out for a 48-41 final.

“It was a roller coaster out there – there were a lot of ups and downs,” Moser said. “It was a tough game to play, but it was a fun game to play because you never knew what was going to happen next.”

The win moves the Cyclones to 2-1 on the season. They will have a week off before opening the Big 12 season at Oklahoma State.

Iowa State got off to a quick start when Moser picked off Horvath’s first pass of the afternoon and took it 30 yards into the end zone.

Moser had two interceptions on the day, as well as 11 tackles.

The Cyclones scored again in the first, building a 13-0 lead on a 39-yard pass from Meyer to Blythe.

Blythe had a breakout game, catching four balls for 104 yards and three scores. The freshman now has five touchdowns in his first three games with Iowa State.

“He’s an unbelievable competitor,” McCarney said. “Not only does he have talent and size, but he believes he can catch the ball, and he wants the ball.

“Some guys have talent but don’t have that fire inside of them. He wants the ball, he wants it thrown and he’ll go make a play. He’s just a tremendous player.”

Once again, the Cyclones had both Meyer and Flynn under center, with Meyer playing all but one series in the first half and Flynn seeing action in each series but one in the second.

Both quarterbacks had some success in the air, with Meyer completing 8 of 17 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns and Flynn going 6 of 11 for 76 yards and one score.

After the game, McCarney said the starting quarterback’s job was still up in the air.

“We have two weeks to evaluate,” McCarney said. “I’m not going to make any decision today who is going to start at quarterback.

“I believe we can win with both of them [at quarterback]. I still love both of those kids, and we’ll just take a lot of time to evaluate today’s game before we play Oklahoma State.”

For the second consecutive week however, it was Flynn in the backfield when the game was on the line. This time he was able to lead his team back to a victory. All of Flynn’s yards came in the second half.

Meyer also committed Iowa State’s first turnover of the year, throwing two interceptions in the first half.

“Austin’s a spark,” Blythe said. “You can’t downplay what Bret did either. He played great.

“Austin comes in and just goes down and throws the ball like he’s been in there all game. As a receiver, I’ve got to appreciate that.”

Even though Iowa State had its offense and defense clicking, the Cyclones still had problems with their kicking game.

Freshman walk-on Brian Jansen hit on just two of his four extra points, and another freshman, Scott Krava, hit both his PATs but smacked the upright on a 30-yard field goal.

“Today, I obviously didn’t play to my ability, and I need to work on that,” Jansen said. “I’m going to learn from it, just like everything else.

“I’m obviously not a finished product, I’m a work in progress. What I need to do is not dwell on this but use this experience to make me wiser and better for the next game.”