The end of Saturday’s Cy-Hawk game felt like a strange episode of “The Twilight Zone.”

In 2011, Iowa State knocked off Iowa in triple-overtime, 44-41 at Jack Trice Stadium. Iowa State’s game-winning touchdown was scored in the west corner of the south endzone after Iowa had made a field goal in the previous half of overtime.

Just six short years later, the 2017 Cy-Hawk game ended with the same score, also in overtime, in the same corner of the same end zone.

The only difference was the winner — and if one or two plays had gone differently, maybe Iowa State could have walked out victorious.

What went right

Iowa State’s offense answered the challenge presented by Iowa’s defense. After the Hawkeyes shut down Wyoming in week one, holding the Cowboys and potential first-round NFL pick Josh Allen to only three points, the Cyclones moved the ball up and down the field Saturday.

Quarterback Jacob Park threw for 347 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite target, Allen Lazard, caught six passes, including two touchdowns.

“They execute,” Park said of Iowa’s defense. “They run what they run. It’s not all that complicated. They almost run it to perfection.”

Redshirt sophomore Hakeem Butler added a pair of receiving touchdowns, including a 74-yarder to give Iowa State a 38-31 lead with 4:36 remaining in the 4th quarter. He finished with five catches and 128 yards to go along with his pair of scores.

Butler’s emergence was a main theme of offseason workouts. Coaches and teammates alike raved about his improvement from last year, when he had nine total catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

In two games this season, Butler already has 12 catches, 203 yards and three trips to the end zone.

“He made some great plays,” coach Matt Campbell said. “And he would tell you he probably had the chance to make some more plays. He’s come a long way for this football team and we’re going to need him to continue to improve.”

When the passing game wasn’t working, Iowa State counted on sophomore running back David Montgomery to provide a spark.

“I thought at times he was able to put this team on his back and really do some really remarkable things,” Campbell said.

Montgomery tallied 112 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown against a talented Iowa front seven that allowed just 59 yards on 30 carries against Wyoming. He had some dazzling broken tackles and left some defenders in the dust with his quickness.

“He’s really special,” Campbell said. “I don’t know what adjectives I could give him that tell you how much I feel about who he is and what he means to our football team. He’s a special football player.”

What went wrong

Dropped passes and an inability to make the final play killed Iowa State’s offense and allowed Iowa to come back and win.

Iowa State wouldn’t have been in position to win without Butler’s career-best performance, but Butler also had a critical drop on third down in overtime when Iowa State was near the end zone.

“People want to say Hakeem’s drop at the end, that’s the reason why [we lost],” Lazard said. “But that’s really not. There’s plays [that hurt] all over the game, including myself.

“As a leader and as a senior on the team I’m going to push him and make sure that never happens for him again.”

Campbell pointed out that Butler and the other receivers with drops also made some “incredible plays” that allowed Iowa State to be in that situation in the first place.

Because of the drop, Iowa State had to settle for a field goal. Iowa’s touchdown on the ensuing possession won the game.

Additionally, Iowa State made costly mistakes with the lead during regulation.

Park led Iowa State’s attack all day long, but with a three-point lead and just six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Park threw a costly interception that allowed Iowa to tie the game. Without that turnover, Iowa State could have taken valuable time off the clock for Iowa’s comeback.

“It’s a team that a lot of people think you’ve got to come out and out-physical these guys,” Park said. “You don’t. You’ve got to come out here and out-execute them.”

“That was our downfall today.”