Ames Iowa ? Who says Iowa State had nothing to play for in its season finale?
The Cyclones, already assured their first bowl bid since 1978, improved to 8-3 overall, 5-3 in the Big 12 with a 38-17 victory over Kansas on Saturday at Trice Stadium.
Just six other ISU teams have finished with eight victories.
“The difference between seven and eight wins is big,” ISU coach Dan McCarney said. “Eight wins is a milestone no matter what part of the nation or conference you belong to one grain, one pebble at a time.
“Today we accomplished three goals. We won the senior bowl, we are going to finish in the top five in turnover ratio and we had eight wins for the season and we still have a couple of goals left and we are just grateful that we are being given the chance to follow through with them.”
Twenty-five ISU seniors were acknowledged before the game.
“I was kind of selfish,” Iowa State senior defensive tackle James Reed said. “I hoped my class would be the one to turn this program around. From the beginning of the season we knew we had a lot to look forward to.”
If ISU plays its to-be-determined bowl game like it played Kansas, it could be looking forward to its first bowl victory in school history. ISU is 0-4 all time in postseason bowls.
“We had a meaningful week, but we understand that we have another game, and so it will be a lot more meaningful after that,” ISU senior wideout J.J. Moses said.
The Cyclones extended their best season in years. ISU won five league games for the first time since 1977 and is over .500 for the first time since 1989.
A big part of it is its running game, which gained 335 yards on the Jayhawks, the most ever by an ISU team against KU. Ennis Haywood, the Big 12’s leading rusher, had 190 yards and red-shirt freshman Michael Wagner had 102.
“I could choose what holes I wanted,” Haywood said. “The line did an exceptional job.”
Actually, the Cyclones were pretty solid all around. They held Kansas to 296 total yards while rolling up 506.
“I never had a doubt about anyone’s focus for the game today and all week,” said sixth-year coach McCarney. “The focus and the leadership has been tremendous. When the 25 seniors stood up here last night, it could have been the greatest meeting that I have been a part of.”