Recap: Iowa defense holds off Iowa State surge in Hawkeyes, 20-13, win over the Cyclones

AMES — Iowa football traveled to Ames to face Iowa State in the annual Cy-Hawk game on Saturday, and the end result was in the visitors’ favor.

The Hawkeyes defeated Iowa State, 20-13, to reclaim the Cy-Hawk trophy.

It was the Cyclones that entered Saturday’s matchup as the winner from the previous contest, beating Iowa, 10-7, in 2022. That was the first time since 2015 that Iowa State had beaten Iowa, but the Hawkeyes still hold the edge with a 47-23 overall record against the Cyclones.

With a pick six plus some, Iowa stayed on top for most of the game, simultaneously holding Iowa State to just two field goals well into the fourth quarter. That’s when Iowa State made it interesting.

The Cyclones scored their first touchdown of the game with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The defense forced Iowa to go three-and-out — making a stop on 3rd and 1 — on the next drive, giving the Cyclones the ball back with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter.

Here’s what happened during Saturday’s Cy-Hawk matchup.

FINAL — Hawkeyes’ defense stops Iowa State on fourth down

Cartevious Norton carried the ball on 4th and 1, but Iowa’s defense tackled him for a loss of two. Iowa State turns over the ball on downs, and the Hawkeyes take over on the 39-yard line.

1:48/Q4 — Iowa State gets the ball back with less than two minutes to play

The Cyclones defense stopped Iowa’s offense on its last drive, forcing Tory Taylor to punt. Iowa State takes over on the 31-yard line.

2:53/Q4 — Iowa 20, Iowa State 13

Iowa State made it to the 25-yard line, and then the offensive momentum stalled. Facing a 4th and 9, the Cyclones opted to go for it, and Rocco Becht found Jayden Higgins in the end zone for Iowa State’s first touchdown of the day.

13:18/Q4 — Iowa 20, Iowa State 6

Iowa State drives to the 28-yard line but can’t get any further down field. Chase Contreraz’s 46-yard field goal attempt is good, but the Hawkeyes still hold a 14-point lead over the Cyclones.

End of third quarter — Cyclones defense comes up big

Iowa State forced a three-and-out on Iowa’s drive immediately following the punt. Kaleb Johnson rushed for a loss of four, Seth Anderson missed a wide-open pass, and Jaziun Patteron rushed for one yard before Tory Taylor punted.

The Cyclones start the fourth quarter with the ball on the 42-yard line and in a 2nd and 3 situation.

2:22/Q3 — Iowa State punts again

The Cyclones have just one first down — and have converted on third down — in the third quarter. Iowa State punted for the second time in the quarter, giving Iowa the ball back on the 13-yard line.

3:57/Q3 — Iowa 20, Iowa State 3

The Hawkeyes drove all the way from the 15-yard line to the opposite 16 but couldn’t quite convert it to another touchdown. Cade McNamara’s pass up the middle to Luke Lachey on third down was incomplete, but Drew Stevens hit the 34-yard field goal to extend Iowa’s lead.

Iowa’s drive spanned 11 plays and 69 yards, taking nearly six minutes off the clock.

12:52/Q3 — Iowa goes three-and-out on first drive of second half

Cade McNamara completed a pass to Nico Ragaini on 3rd and 9, but Jeremiah Cooper was there to meet Ragaini and took him down almost immediately. Tory Taylor’s punt went 44 yards, and Iowa State took over on the 30-yard line.

HALFTIME — Iowa 17, Iowa State 3

Chase Contreraz gave the Cyclones their first points of the game on a 42-yard field goal. Iowa State’s final drive lasted 11 plays, 51 yards and took 4:25 off the clock. Keegan Shackford had a 61 yard kickoff, returned 23 yards by Kaleb Johnson as the clock ran down.

4:29/Q2 — Iowa 17, Iowa State 0

Well, that was an interesting set of drives.

Jeremiah Cooper intercepted Cade McNamara’s pass, intended for Nico Ragaini. That gave Iowa State the ball on the 29-yard line. On the next play, Abu Sama rushed for a loss of five yards, and Rocco Becht followed that with a picked off pass.

Sebastian Castro picked off the Cyclones quarterback and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

7:33/Q2 — Iowa State defense comes up with a stop

Iowa followed Iowa State’s three-and-out with one of its own. On 3rd and 10, Beau Freyler sacked Cade McNamara for a loss of three. Tory Taylor sent his punt 53 yards to the 38-yard line, which Jaylin Noel returned for a loss of two yards.

8:59/Q2 — Ball back in Iowa’s hands

The Cyclones went three-and-out on the last drive, which included two incomplete passes, both intended for Jaylin Noel. Tyler Perkins punted the ball 50 yards to the 12-yard line.

9:49/Q2 — Iowa State stops Iowa on third down

The Hawkeyes were in a 3rd and 15 scenario when Cade McNamara attempted a pass to Luke Lachey, but it was incomplete. Tory Taylor punted for the first time in this game, sending the ball 51 yards to the Iowa State 31-yard line.

Jaylin Noel had no gain on the return, with Cooper DeJean taking Noel down almost instantly.

Iowa State have the ball on the 31-yard line.

13:39/Q2 — Iowa 10, Iowa State 0

Jaziun Patterson runs up the middle for a gain of four yards and the first touchdown of the day. That was Patterson’s first career touchdown at Iowa, and Drew Stevens point after attempt was good.

The Hawkeye’s scoring drive was eight plays, 80 yards and took 4:40 off the clock.

End of the first quarter — Iowa 3, Iowa State 0

The Hawkeyes cap the first quarter with a 35-yard completion from Cade McNamara to Luke Lachey. Iowa will start the second quarter with the ball on the 17-yard line.

3:19/Q1 — Ball back in Iowa's hands after Tyler Perkins punt

Iowa stops Cartevious Norton on a 3rd and 1 attempt, setting Iowa State back four yards. Tyler Perkins punt travels 59 yards into the endzone for a touchback.

Hawkeyes take over on the 20-yard line.

5:56/Q1 — Iowa 3, Iowa State 0

Jaziun Patterson ran 59 yards to the Iowa State 12-yard line before T.J. Tampa caught up and prevented a touchdown. Patterson recorded 47 total rushing yards in three games played last season.

The Cyclones defense came up with a stop against Iowa’s offense, including Ikenna Ezeogu breaking up a pass from Cade McNamara on 3rd and eight. Iowa attempts a 28-yard kick, which was good.Hawkeyes take the early 3-0 lead.

8:40/Q1 — Logan Lee blocks Chase Contreraz's field goal attempt

Iowa State marched down the field on the opening drive, shaving over six minutes off the clock and getting down to the 18-yard line. Chase Contreraz attempted a 36-yard field goal but Iowa’s Logan Lee blocked it.The Hawkeyes take over on the 18-yard line.

2:05 p.m. — Iowa State looks to be without Eli Sanders

Cyclones running back Eli Sanders is out on the field without pads during warmups.

1:45 p.m. - Cade McNamara warming up while dealing with quad injury.

12:45 p.m. - Iowa football's injury report is out.

Quarterback Cade McNamara remains questionable but is obviously expected to play. Beau Stephens is off the injury report. The three gambling suspensions are listed as out too.

Injury report

OUT: Jacob Bostick, Reese Osgood, Jermari Harris (gambling), Chris Reames (gambling), Noah Shannon (gambling)

QUESTIONABLE: Cade McNamara

Iowa State and its fellow Big 12 schools do not release injury availability information. The Big Ten is the only major-college conference that requires members to report its players' availability for games.

12:45 p.m. – Take a look back at past Cy-Hawk games

Here are Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson’s top eight Cy-Hawk games from the last 25 years:

• 1998: Iowa State 27, Iowa 9 at Kinnick Stadium

• 2002: Iowa State 36, Iowa 31 at Kinnick Stadium

• 2003: Iowa 40, Iowa State 21 at Jack Trice Stadium

• 2011: Iowa State 44, Iowa 41 (3OT) at Jack Trice Stadium

• 2017: Iowa 44, Iowa State 41 (OT) at Jack Trice Stadium

• 2019: Iowa 18, Iowa State 17 at Jack Trice Stadium

• 2021: Iowa 27, Iowa State 17 at Jack Trice Stadium

• 2022: Iowa State 10, Iowa 7 at Kinnick Stadium

12:45 p.m. – Was Iowa State impacted by college football’s new game-shortening timing rules?

Last Saturday, Iowa State ran just 45 offensive plays in the 30-9 victory over Northern Iowa. That was the fewest in a win since the 37 plays the Cyclones ran in 1961 against Oklahoma State.

“It’s a reminder (that) you only get a few limited shots,” Iowa State offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase said Tuesday, “so you’ve got to be right when you get the opportunities.”

More: Iowa State among college football teams affected by new game-shortening timing rules

Even head coach Matt Campbell noted that the game was a bit different than usual, especially with the Cyclones’ first score coming off a pick-six from Jeremiah Cooper on the opening drive.

“The flow of the game was unique, a little bit, and that certainly plays into that statistic,” Campbell said.

12:45 p.m. – What offensive statistic could determine Iowa’s fate against Iowa State?

The Hawkeyes will start a “banged-up” quarterback on Saturday, which isn’t a good sign considering how Iowa State’s Jon Heacock-led defense has bottled up Iowa’s running game in the previous four matchups.

This is what Iowa columnist Chad Leistikow shared on the subject:

“In that time, the Hawkeyes have rushed for only 342 yards; just 85.5 per game and a meager 2.5 per carry. The past two meetings, the per-carry marks are 1.7 in 2021 and 2.3 in 2022. There has been little ground to gain, literally, when Iowa chooses to run the ball against Iowa State.”

More: Leistikow: One offensive statistic almost always decides the Iowa-Iowa State winner

12:45 p.m. – Is the end of the gambling investigation in sight?

News broke Wednesday that five athletes from the University of Iowa and Iowa State University have pleaded guilty to underage gambling as part of a sports-betting investigation that resulted in charges against more than a dozen current and former student-athletes between the two schools.

Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers, lineman Jacob Remsburg and former lineman Dodge Sauser, as well as former Iowa kicker Aaron Blom and baseball player Gehrig Christensen, all entered guilty pleas to underage gambling.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on X @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Recap from Saturday's Iowa vs Iowa State football game