No. 23 Iowa never trailed on its way to a 40-21 thrashing of in-state rival Iowa State Saturday, breaking a five-game losing streak to the Cyclones in a nationally televised game at Jack Trice Stadium.

Two blocked Troy Blankenship punts by junior safety Sean Considine led to 10 Iowa points in the third quarter, and an interception by senior linebacker Grant Steen set up another field goal as the Hawkeyes extended a 20-7 halftime lead and put the game out of reach.

Only a superlative performance by the ISU defense kept the game from becoming more of a rout. Iowa converted only two of five trips inside the ISU 20-yard line into touchdowns, as senior Nate Kaeding became the leading scorer in Iowa football history with four extra points and four field goals, three of them from under 25 yards.

“It’s hard when a defense has to be on the field for a long time, especially with our backs against our end zone,” ISU senior safety JaMaine Billups said.

The Cyclones were unable to continue their longest winning streak in the series against Iowa because of continued struggles running and protecting the football. ISU running backs combined for 10 yards on 18 carries. Redshirt freshman quarterback Austin Flynn was the Cyclones’ leading ground gainer, scurrying for 57 yards on 20 carries, including three sacks.

“We didn’t execute that well when we took that field, and that’s disappointing,” ISU head coach Dan McCarney said.

Flynn had Iowa State’s only touchdown while the game was competitive, a 25-yard scramble on a third-down play late in the first quarter to cut Iowa’s lead to 10-7.

Iowa State lost out badly in the field position battle. A “non-contact knee injury” to ISU punter and kickoff specialist Tony Yelk contributed to a 25-yard advantage for the Hawkeyes in average starting position. Placekicker Adam Benike kicked off deep twice in the first half, and twice Iowa returner Ramon Ochoa brought the ball past the Iowa 30-yard line. Blankenship averaged just 23 yards on six punts. Several snaps by Iowa State’s Eric Schmitz forced Blankenship to jump to control the football.

In contrast, Kaeding pounded seven of his nine kickoffs into or out of the end zone, and Iowa punter David Bradley pinned Iowa State inside the 20-yard line three times.

“In close games … special teams, field position, turnovers make the difference,” Kaeding said.

The Cyclones held first-team all-Big 10 running back Fred Russell to 75 yards on 26 carries, and the Hawkeyes passed for just 72 yards on the afternoon. But two big plays by Iowa quarterback Nathan Chandler helped start the Hawkeyes to their first win over their in-state rival since a 63-20 win in 1997.

Leading 3-0, Iowa started a drive on the ISU 40-yard line midway through the first quarter after Iowa linebacker Abdul Hodge forced a fumble by Flynn and Steen recovered. Facing third-and-four from the 17-yard line, Chandler pump faked, then threw a perfect lob pass to wide receiver Maurice Brown five yards into the end zone. The officials ruled Brown had possession of the ball inbounds for a touchdown that put Iowa up 10-0.

On Iowa’s next drive, Chandler faked a handoff to Russell, who was running left, and rolled out to his right to find the entire field open. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound junior rumbled to the ISU 4-yard line before being dragged down by cornerback Harold Clewis. Russell scored a play later from three yards out to start a run of 23 consecutive Iowa points.

“It’s a great win for our football team,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We played a very physical, hard-nosed football game.”

Iowa State did not pick up a first down in the second half until its fifth drive. In that period, safety Chris Smith recovered Considine’s first blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown, and Steen’s interception and the other blocked punt set up Kaeding field goals.

The Cyclones had a chance to narrow the gap late in the third quarter when a 39-yard fourth-down completion to wide receiver Lance Young gave Iowa State a first-and-goal at Iowa’s 1-yard line. But the Cyclones could not score in four tries, and a later fourth-quarter first-and-goal at the Iowa 2-yard line turned into points only when Flynn found senior wide receiver Lane Danielsen cutting across the middle on fourth-and-goal from the 9 with 6:10 left. Danielsen’s 11th career touchdown catch made the score 33-14.

Iowa running back Marcus Schnoor ran 33 yards for a touchdown on his only carry of the game, and ISU wide receiver Jack Whitver caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from third-string quarterback Cris Love to close the scoring.

Iowa State outgained Iowa, 390 yards to 243. But the Cyclones could manage only one turnover, a fourth-quarter fumble forced by defensive tackle Jordan Carstens, while Iowa recovered an ISU fumble, intercepted a pass, took over the ball three times on downs and collected the two punt blocks.

Iowa, 3-0 on the season, travels home to face No. 16 Arizona State next Saturday. Iowa State (2-1) has a week off before going on the road for the first time in 2003 Sept. 27 against Northern Illinois.