Different year, same old story, but this time it got even worse. The 13th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes came to Ames and handed Iowa State a 63-20 thrashing for the fifteenth consecutive year.

Freshman tight end Andy Stensrud from Lakes Mills was the lone bright spot for ISU.

Stensrud hauled in seven receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns. “I was just trying to come out and do my best,” he said.

Stensrud finally broke the Cyclones into the scoring column in the second quarter while trailing the Hawkeyes 35-0.

“I just ran an out route and Bandi tossed a great throw, it just kind of fell into my lap,” Stensrud said. “Individual effort doesn’t matter if we lose. I think if play our hearts out, things will start to work out.”

The Hawks seemed to do no wrong while the Cyclones couldn’t get on track in the first half. Iowa’s Tavian Banks ran for three first half scores, including an 82-yard jaunt on the second play from scrimmage.

In the passing game, Iowa’s Matt Sherman found Tim Dwight for two touchdown strikes in the second quarter, helping send much of the capacity crowd of 50,066 home early.

“We really needed some momentum and that run crushed us,” linebacker Derrik Clark said. Clark ended the game with eight tackles and an interception.

“[Iowa] is outstanding and they will go nowhere but up,” ISU Coach Dan McCarney said. “They have no weaknesses. When we broke them down on film we didn’t see any and we certainly didn’t see any today.”

A point of major concern for ISU is the lack of a running attack. They had a net total of -11 yards.

“I looked up at the scoreboard and they were minus yardage on running, and of course you have to be more balanced,” Iowa Coach Hayden Fry said. “I’m not telling Coach McCarney what he’s got to do, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do with. They need to get their running game going because we pretty well loaded up and put a lot of pressure on [ISU quarterback Todd] Bandhauer.”

“We were looking to develop the running game a bit more this year from last,” McCarney said.

Freshman J.J. Moses and James O’Neal handled much of the rushing duties, carrying the ball for a total of 16 times for 41 yards.

“We just have to get Moses more opportunities and daylight,” McCarney said. “He has great feet and a love for the game.”

“It is hard to get much of a running game going when you’re down by that much,” Bandhauer said. Bandhauer ended the day with 375 yards passing and three touchdowns. He was 26 of 51 with two interceptions.

Bandhauer’s 51 passing attempts in a single game was a Cyclone record, and the 375 yards passing is second in school history.

However, Bandhauer’s numbers are misleading.

“Two hundred yards against their scrubs doesn’t mean much. I have confidence in this team, it is just going to take some time,” he said.

Moses originally was looked at as a defensive back, but was moved to tailback to help replace the injured Darren Davis. Davis appeared in the game for just one carry, before re-aggrevating an injured leg.

Moses said he is happy about the switch back to offense. “I feel much more comfortable at tailback and I had a lot of fun out there today.”

“The team is down right now, but we just have to forget about this and move on to Missouri,” Moses said.

It didn’t get much better in the second half for the Cyclones. Dwight and Banks each scored again for the Hawks.

ISU came back with Stensrud’s second score, but the Hawks bounced right back when Kerry Cooks intercepted a Bandhauer pass and returned it 30 yards for the score.

In the final stanza, Bandhauer found Tyrone Watley for a 30-yard scoring strike to cap the Cyclones’ day.

Iowa’s Randy Reiners found Damon Gibson for a 48-yard touchdown to put the final score at 63-20.

ISU’s defense was not able control to the Hawkeye’s offensive onslaught. The Hawkeyes averaged nearly 10 yards per play, and had 575 total yards.

“We have to improve in all aspects,” free safety Dustin Avey said.

Avey, along with Chin Achebe and Kevin Hudson, finished with seven stops. “We have to eliminate the big plays. The open date [next Saturday] will allow us to reevaluate and decide what changes are needed.”