On the strength of clutch performances by a rapidly improving defense, a battered and bruised offensive line and one of the top running backs in college football, the Iowa State Cyclones came together and won their season finale over the Kansas Jayhawks, 23-20.

“We were two teams with a lot on the line, and I’m proud of the way we responded,” head coach Dan McCarney said. “The offensive line, the defense and Darren Davis really were the difference in us winning the game.”

In truth, from top to bottom, the entire Cyclone roster stepped up to provide fans, coaches and especially senior players with a win on the last day of the season.

“We had one of the most inspirational meetings last night that I’ve ever been a part of,” McCarney said after the game.

“All of the seniors got up and decided we were going to win this one for each other,” senior center Charley Bogwill explained. “Luckily, the rest of the team played their butts off for us out there, and everything just clicked.”

Iowa State was slow out of the gate, going three-and-out on their first two possessions, but the defense stood tall, allowing only a field goal over the course of the first two Jayhawk drives.

On the third ISU possession, quarterback and senior leader Todd Bandhauer found tight end Damian “Big Daddy” Gibson over the middle and the burly senior rumbled for 51 hard-fought yards to the Kansas 19-yard line.

Five plays later, a perfectly-thrown Bandhauer toss to the corner of the end zone was caught by Damien Groce, the Cyclones’ leading receiver, for the go-ahead touchdown.

“It was a great call by the coach,” Bandhauer said. “There was a nice little window in the corner for Damien to run to.”

After another strong defensive stand, the Jayhawks were forced to punt. But return-man J.J. Moses fumbled inside the Iowa State 30-yard line, and Kansas was in position to go back on top.

However, the highly-charged ISU defense had other plans, stuffing standout running back David Winbush on two attempts and turning away a third down pass by quarterback Jay Alexander. On fourth-and-11, the Jayhawks had to settle for another field goal.

After trading possessions with Kansas early in the second quarter, the Cyclone began to march behind the running of Darren Davis and the sure hands of receiver Chris Anthony.

When the drive stalled at the KU 37-yard line, senior kicker Jamie Kohl came on to attempt a field-goal of 54 yards. Prior to the Kansas game, Kohl had attempted several field goals from beyond 50 yards but had never connected, maintaining a career-long of 48-yards.

On Saturday, however, Jamie was apparently no stranger to the adrenaline that was racing through the entire Cyclone sideline, as he converted the monster kick to give Iowa State a four-point lead.

After the ensuing kickoff (which spiraled out of the back of the end zone), Kansas put together only its second effective drive of the game.

They marched from their own 20 to the ISU 24 where, on second-and-13, Alexander hit receiver Harrison Hill over the middle near the 15-yard line.

From there, Cyclone corner Jamarcus Powers jarred the ball loose with a powerful hit, and Javon Daniels was quickly on the scene to recover for Iowa State.

The Jayhawks would eventually reclaim the lead on a 57-yard touchdown pass to Termaine Fulton over corner Breon Ansley with under two minutes to play.

“Both the wind and my depth perception hurt me there,” Ansley said after the game. “The wind was a factor, but I just have to perceive the ball better.”

Iowa State, not content with a three-point halftime deficit, drove to the Kansas 12-yard line in the final 1:17 to kick the tying field goal.

Early in the second half, both the Cyclone and Jayhawk defenses stood tall.

With just over six minutes remaining, though, Alexander again went after Ansley, beating him with a 39-yard pass to Hill which took Kansas to the Cyclone one-yard line.

A lunge by Winbush gave the Jayhawks a 20-13 lead.

The Iowa State offense immediately responded, however, driving the length of the field in eight plays. Paced by Davis’ 34 yards and assisted by clutch catches by Groce and Anthony and a timely 15-yard face-mask penalty against Kansas, the Cyclones scored with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the quarter. Davis plowed through the line of scrimmage for the touchdown on third-and-five.

The game may have been decided on the next KU possession.

After managing nine yards after two plays, Winbush was hammered by linebacker Jesse Beckom on third-and-one for no gain.

Jayhawk head coach Terry Allen elected to go for it on fourth-and-one, though his team was on its own 36-yard line.

Alexander attempted a quarterback sneak, but the Cyclones held the line of scrimmage and denied the Kansas quarterback the one yard he needed.

“They weren’t respecting our run defense,” lineman James Reed said. “We knew it was going to be a sneak, so we were well-prepared for the play, and I think we earned some respect out there.”

Safety Jeff Waters was also impressed with the play of his group against the Jayhawks.

“We just came out in the second half and said, ‘We have to do it. There’s no tomorrow.'”

The Cyclones weren’t able to advance the ball after the change of possession, but a heady timeout call by the much-maligned Cyclone coaches with only seconds remaining gave Kohl the wind at his back for another huge field goal attempt.

The senior split the uprights with distance to spare from 47 yards out to give ISU a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“It was an outstanding game for Jamie Kohl,” McCarney said. “He’s had some highs and lows, but he really responded out there. He was a big-game kicker today.”

The defense provided two more big stops in the fourth quarter, and Davis and his line completely took the game over.

The elusive junior had 100 yards after three quarters but added 84 in the final frame to guarantee victory for his team.

Offensively, the fourth quarter consisted of one incomplete Todd Bandhauer pass, two kneels by the senior QB to kill off the final seconds of the clock and no fewer than 17 carries by Davis.

“We ran the same play five or six times in a row, and they just couldn’t stop us,” Bogwill said.

“That’s how you win games,” McCarney pointed out. “You put it on the shoulders of your offensive line and your running back in those last couple series.”

The oft-injured line dominated their Jayhawk adversaries in the fourth quarter and milked the clock, consuming nearly two-thirds of the final 15 minutes.

At one point, with time winding down, the entire Cyclone sideline spilled out onto the field in a massive, emotional huddle.

“I almost lost it there,” Bandhauer said after the game. “I’ll never forget that. I’m proud to say I was a part of this football team and this organization.”

Davis’ totals gave him over 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season, but the talented tailback was eager to share the glory with his line.

“My O-line stepped up tremendously today,” Davis said. “Those guys up front got the 1,000 yards for me, and I want to thank them.”

McCarney was more excited than anyone about getting his veterans a big win in their final game.

“These seniors have been through four of the toughest schedules in the history of this university and four of the toughest schedules in the country,” he said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them.”