Watch out, Kansas University students. It appears that you have an closet Iowa State fan in your midst, if this week’s X-Factor simulation is any indication.
First, a little background.
After weeks of blowouts and incorrect predictions, the staff here at KUsports.com was looking for some way to make this simualtion at least a bit more realistic.
Enter Justin. This KU student sent us a list of changes to the default settings – including 10-minute quarters – that should make the score and stats more lifelike and “improve things a ton.”
We should have known something was up when this “help” came to us entirely without request. But, we’re a trusting sort here, so we figured why not.
Iowa State 52, Kansas 31. That’s why not.
Whether it was Justin’s “fixes” or some strange happenings because the real game is played the day before Halloween, the virtual Cyclones pounded the Jayhawks in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the score would make it seem.
Iowa State freshman quarterback Bret Meyer wasted no time putting the Cyclones on the scoreboard, leading his team to a 7-0 lead just four minutes into the game with a 13-yard run.
After a Kyle Tucker punt, Meyer scored his second rushing touchdown. The 1-yard run gave Iowa State a 14-0 lead with just more than three minutes left in the first period.
Kansas cut Iowa State’s lead to just seven points on the next play – an 80-yard pass from Adam Barmann to Brandon Rideau – but Meyer put the Cyclones’ lead back at 14 points with a 52-yard pass to Jon Davis three plays later.
Meyer threw touchdowns on Iowa State’s first three drives of the second quarter. He hit Todd Miller for a nine-yard score, Todd Blythe with a 37-yard touchdown and Davis for a 17-yard score. Davis’s second touchdown came just six seconds after Blythe’s score thanks to a fumble by Barmann and recovered by Shawn Moorehead.
Bret Culbertson gave the Cyclones a 45-7 halftime advantage with a 45-yard field goal with 2:31 left in the second quarter.
Kansas scored 17 points in the third period – a 13-yard pass to Mark Simmons, a 33-yard field goal by Scott Webb and a 53-yard pass to Rideau – but kept Iowa State ahead by four touchdowns with 57-yard score to Blythe.
John Randle finished the scoring with a 1-yard run with just a second left in the game.
Meyer finished 18-of-33 passing for 374 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 80 yards and two scores on 17 carries.
Davis caught seven passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and Blythe had four receptions for 137 yards and two scores.
Barmann finished 19-of-37 passing for 475 yards and three touchdowns, and Rideau caught 8 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns. Mark Simmons added six catches for 125 yards and a score.
Oh, and please take it easy on Justin. We kid because we care. We’re sure he’s actually a blue-blooded KU fan through and through, or he’ll at least admit as much after this story 😉
Get the stats: KU-ISU virtual box score