Shreveport, La.- Iowa State did everything it needed to do, except

win.

The Cyclones dominated the Alabama Crimson Tide on the stat

sheets, but the final 14-13 score told a different story.

Tony Yelk’s missed 47-yard field goal with :46 seconds left in the

game proved to be the difference as Iowa State lost a heartbreaker

in the Mainstay Independence Bowl Thursday.

“That was a heck of a game,” ISU head coach Dan McCarney said.

“They came out one point better than we did.”

It was a questionable call on the final kick by Yelk that may

overshadow a splendid game by both squads. Replays show that

the ball, which sailed above the right upright, may have been good

after all.

“I didn’t have a very good seat, but I thought it was good,”

McCarney said. “The guy that has the best seat in the house

should be standing right under the uprights. He said it was no

good so I [have] to trust his decision.”

After the kick was up, Yelk and several other Cyclone players

started to celebrate, but fell to the ground in agony as the referees

waved their arms signaling the kick was no good.

“It looked like it went through to me,” said ISU linebacker Matt

Word who was named co-defensive player of the game. “The

referees said it didn’t. They’re the ones who decide the game.”

Cyclone wide receiver Lane Danielsen expressed sentiments that

many Cyclone fans probably feel.

“I feel like we got screwed,” he said. “From my view it looked good.

I don’t know. I didn’t get a chance to see everything, they wouldn’t

show a replay or anything.”

Yelk, who missed two other field goals (2-for-5 in the game), said

he felt like he let the team down.

“I thought it was good, it was tough to tell,” Yelk said. “Bottom line

is – it was no good. It’s unfortunate I didn’t pull through and help

this team.”

The Cyclones lost despite a dominating performance on offense

and defense.

The ISU offense racked up a total of 456 yards, 172 yards on the

ground and 284 through the air. The Cyclone defense held

Alabama to 269 total yards including 150 rushing yards and 119

passing yards.

“It hurts to lose a game like this, when you control the whole

game,” Word said.

ISU quarterback Seneca Wallace earned offensive player of the

game honors, making it the first time in the Independence Bowl’s

26 years that players from the losing team were game MVP’s.

Wallace threw for 284 yards on 25-for-42 passing. His 25

completions broke the Cyclones one-year-old record set by Sage

Rosenfels last year in the Insight.com Bowl. Rosenfels completed

23 passes in the Cyclones 37-29 win over Pittsburgh.

“He’s special,” McCarney said of the junior Wallace. “We’ve got

one of the best quarterbacks in the country at Iowa State. I’m glad

we’ll have him back next year.”

Not returning will be senior running back Ennis Haywood. He

finished his career at Iowa State in fine fashion, rushing for 125

yards on 20 carries. He also caught five passes for 34 yards as

Iowa State dropped to 1-5 overall in bowl games.

“Ennis is a great back,” said Wallace who rushed for eight yards

on seven carries. “He always comes in and plays with full effort.”

The loss marks the first time the Cyclones have been defeated

when Haywood rushes for more than 100 yards.

“It makes it very hard to swallow,” Haywood said.

The Cyclones jumped out to an early lead, 3-0, after a field goal on

the first drive.

Iowa State increased its lead to 10-0 with a run by Joe Woodley

from one yard out. Danielsen set the play up with a 33-yard

scamper down to the one yard line.

The Tide rolled back when Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow

waltzed into the endzone from eight yards out making the score

10-7.

Iowa State had a chance to increase its lead after senior defensive

back Adam Runk intercepted a pass. The Cyclones drove down

field setting up Yelk for a 25-yard attempt, which he pushed to the

right.

Yelk made a 41-yard field goal for the only scoring in the third

quarter, and Iowa State led heading into the final stanza 13-7.

Then the Alabama special teams came up with a pivotal play.

As Yelk set up to punt with Iowa State on its own 44-yard line,

Waine Bacon rushed in and blocked the punt. Alabama’s Shontua

Ray recovered the ball at the ISU 29 yard line.

Bacon shared co-defensive player of the game honors with Word.

Two plays later Zow tossed a ball to tight end Terry Jones Jr. for a

27-yard touchdown pass and the final score of the game.

“It was huge,” McCarney said of the blocked punt. “That is the

biggest play in any football game. It was a tremendous job by

Alabama.”

Alabama head coach Dennis Franchione said his team had been

practicing a formation to block a punt.

“It was a big play,” Franchione said.

Iowa State put on a spectacular display driving down field after the

Crimson Tide’s score left just 4:44 on the clock.

Wallace led Iowa State from its own nine-yard line to the Crimson

Tide’s 30, setting up Yelk’s miss.

“They made the plays when it counted,” said Word, who finished

with six tackles and two sacks. “That’s how it goes sometimes.”

Still, the loss is hard to swallow

for the 18 ISU seniors who won’t be back next season.

Last yea

r they got to watch the graduating class celebrate the Cyclones firt

ever bowl win. This year, despite dominating the game in all

categories, they will head back to Ames with a loss.

Did the better team win?

“I can’t really say,” Haywood said.

Only the referees could answer that question.