It wasn’t the flashiest win, but Iowa State stuck to its bread and butter of solid defense and methodical offense to defeat Baylor, 28-14.

The first half featured Iowa State’s defense absorbing lots of yardage but holding the Bears scoreless.

The bend-but-not-break strategy thrived with a struggling Baylor field goal unit. Baylor’s Connor Martin missed a 29 and 31-yard field goal attempt.

Offensively, the Cyclones failed to thrash the Baylor defense with chunk plays, but they cruised down the field. 

The opening drive consisting of 11 plays finished with an 11-yard touchdown pass from freshman Brock Purdy to junior Deshaunte Jones.

In the second quarter, Iowa State added an eight-play drive capped by Purdy scurrying into the end zone from two yards out to make it 14-0. The Cyclones ended the half with a 15-play drive and three points off a Connor Assalley 34-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-0 at half.

The second half stirred up some controversy. Junior running back David Montgomery crashed through a water cooler after being dragged out of bounds by a Bears defender. 

A few plays later, a scuffle emerged and Montgomery and Baylor’s Greg Roberts were ejected after exchanging swings at each other. 

The drive continued and Iowa State tacked on a 37-yard field goal to make it, 20-0. Baylor responded with a six-yard touchdown from Charlie Brewer to Denzel Mims, cutting the score to 20-7.

Johnnie Lang Jr. put the Cyclones back on the scoreboard with an 8-yard score. Matt Campbell called up some trickery on a pass from Jones to Purdy to add two more points.

Leading 28-7, Iowa State gave up a touchdown to a Brewer to Pooh Stricklin touchdown, trimming the deficit to 28-14.

With a little over five minutes left, Brewer received a personal foul. During the scuffle, every player received a personal foul, so Brewer’s second triggered an ejection.

Backup quarterback Jalan McClendon failed to jump start the offense, and Iowa State secured the win.