AMES − Despite not making the College Football Playoff, there’s no way you can convince the Iowa State football program bowl games are not important.
“The Memphis game, the Liberty Bowl (loss) from last year drove my whole offseason − it drove me absolutely nuts,” offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said. “I hated it. I’m still sick about it. Depending on what happens with this game, good or bad, there’s still a lot that we can learn and grow from, but I think to be able to go into the offseason after winning a football game, obviously, it provides great momentum. You have 11 wins, it puts a good taste in everybody’s mouth and you can really drive the start of your offseason like the way it raises the standard.
“The expectation is to win football games. The expectation is to be a 10, 11-win football team every single year and if not, it’s not good enough. When you draw a line in the sand with your young guys like that, that drives into the next offseason, like we have to find a way to be better than last season.”
In a year of many milestones, the Cyclones are aiming for that 11th win. With a 10-3 record heading into the Pop-Tarts Bowl against Miami on Dec. 28, they are the program’s first double-digit-win team in 133 years, but they want even more.
Although they may have fallen short of some of their bigger goals, like a College Football Playoff berth or a Big 12 title, they are still on the brink of history.
“Any time you can make that step, it says a lot and it does mean a lot, and that’s what you’re working for,” defensive coordinator Jon Heacock said. “When we walked in the doors here nine years ago, man, we wanted to make this place special. We want to make this place different than it’s ever been, and we’ve worked really hard to do that. … We’ll have a shot at it, but it’s going to take everything that we have. It would mean the most to me to see the smiles on those seniors’ faces on what they’ve accomplished and kind of put a cap on it all.”
Iowa State is preparing to take on a Miami team that also just missed a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Hurricanes boast the highest-scoring offense at the FBS level, posting 44.2 points per game. The high-powered offense is headlined by a pair of All-Americans in wide receiver Xavier Restrepo and quarterback Cam Ward, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist.
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“Very important − going out with a win is not only great for the seniors, but it’s a great ending point for this team moving forward into next year,” wide receiver Jaylin Noel said. “So, it’s going to be a very important game, not just for us seniors, but obviously the whole team, we’re looking forward to it.”
The Cyclones are making their seventh bowl game appearance in nine seasons under head coach Matt Campbell. Before his arrival in Ames, Iowa State had only played in a total of 12 bowl games, with the first coming in the 1971 Sun Bowl.
The program is 5-13 all-time in bowl games. Campbell is 2-4 since taking over in 2016. Here’s a look back at each of the Cyclones’ bowl games since Campbell arrived in Ames.
It was Campbell’s first time leading the Cyclones to a bowl game, and they emerged victorious to end the year 8-5, after finishing 3-9 the year before.
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The Cyclones earned three wins over top 25 teams that year, including one over Memphis to end the season. The Tigers entered the bowl game ranked No. 14.
Allen Lazard was named Liberty Bowl MVP after tallying 10 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown. He caught the go-ahead touchdown pass late in the third quarter. Both teams went scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Hakeem Butler also caught five passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Iowa State was held to just 32 rushing yards, but quarterback Kyle Kempt completed 24-of-38 passes for 314 yards for two touchdowns.
Freshman Brock Purdy earned the starting quarterback job midway through the season after an injury to Kempt and overtaking Zeb Noland on the depth chart.
Purdy had a rough start to his first bowl game. He threw two early interceptions and the Cyclones played from behind the entire way, trailing by as much as 14 points, but they nearly came back.
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Down 21-20, Iowa State missed a potential go-ahead 49-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the third quarter. After stopping Washington State on the next possession, the Cyclones fumbled the ball away in their own territory, which eventually led to a touchdown by the Cougars to extend their lead to 28-20 with 10:24 left in the game.
Purdy capped off a five-play, 74-yard drive with a quarterback sneak touchdown to make it 28-26, with 4:02 remaining. But the Cyclones were unable to muster the game-tying two-point conversion and the Cougars hung on for the win.
Purdy completed 18-of-27 passes for 315 yards and two interceptions, and he had two rushing touchdowns. David Montgomery had 26 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown. Butler had nine receptions for 192 yards.
Iowa State finished 7-6 in a season where it lost four games to top 25-ranked opponents by a combined margin of 11 points, but the Fighting Irish put together a complete performance and dominated on both sides of the ball for a more decisive result.
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Notre Dame outgained Iowa State, 455-272, and recovered a pair of fumbles. The Cyclones scored all nine of their points on Connor Assalley field goals, as he went 3-for-3 on the day.
The Fighting Irish led the whole way and took a 20-6 halftime lead.
Purdy completed 17-of-30 passes for 222 yards. Breece Hall logged 17 carries for 55 yards in his first bowl game.
An iconic moment for Cyclone football, as Iowa State played in its first New Year’s Six bowl and won to top off a successful 9-3 season. It was a bounce-back win to end the 2020 campaign on a high note, after falling in the Big 12 title game to Oklahoma.
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The Cyclones dominated time of possession, holding onto the ball for more than 42 minutes. They led the Pac-12 champion Ducks, 28-17, at halftime, thanks to back-to-back second-quarter touchdowns by Purdy and Hall.
In the second half, Iowa State’s defense and special teams clamped down on the Ducks. The Cyclones recovered a fumble, had an interception and took control of a muffed punt. They kept Oregon scoreless after halftime, while the Cyclones tacked on a pair of field goals to extend their lead.
Iowa State never trailed in the game. Purdy completed 20-of-29 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he ran the ball nine times for 39 yards and a rushing touchdown and was named Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP.
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Cyclones linebacker O’Rien Vance had four tackles, including one for loss, and two fumble recoveries to take Fiesta Bowl Defensive MVP honors. Hall finished with 136 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries. Charlie Kolar caught five passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Xavier Hutchinson added four receptions and 45 yards in his first bowl game. Mike Rose had an interception and Gerry Vaughn recovered a fumble.
Current Miami head coach Mario Cristobal was coaching the Ducks at this time.
It was a disappointing end to a season that fell short of lofty expectations after the Cyclones returned a large chunk of its NFL-caliber talent from the previous year.
Iowa State struggled to find its footing offensively until it was too late. The Cyclones played without Hall and Mike Rose, as well as starting center Colin Newell and safety Isheem Young.
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Clemson only had a 6-3 halftime lead. The Tigers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away, including a pick-six on a tipped pass that fell into the arms of Mario Goodrich.
Purdy connected with Kolar for the Cyclones’ lone touchdown to trim the deficit to 20-13, with 9:42 left in the game. Iowa State would possess the ball two more times before the final whistle, but it never crossed midfield on either drive.
Purdy completed 23-of-39 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown and an interception in his final game as a Cyclone. He also had a fourth-down fumble that was recovered short of the first down marker on the Cyclones’ final possession. Jirehl Brock started in place of Hall and finished with 42 yards on 14 carries. Noel, who was a freshman at the time, led Iowa State with a team-high four receptions for 54 yards. Kolar, who also played his final game at Iowa State, finished with four receptions for 33 yards and the lone touchdown of the game.
Iowa State finished 7-6 and suffered its fifth one-score loss of the season.
After missing out on a bowl game in 2022, the Cyclones were bowl-eligible once again.
The Cyclones fell into an early 19-0 first-quarter deficit. They eventually trailed 36-13 midway through the third quarter, until they were able to muster a late push offensively and score back-to-back touchdowns to make it a 36-26 game. Memphis ground down the clock and had a fourth-quarter drive that spanned over nine minutes, preventing any opportunity for the Cyclones to come back.
Memphis was physical up front and held Iowa State to zero rushing yards. Rocco Becht completed 22-of-38 passes for an Iowa State bowl game-record 446 yards and three touchdowns. He didn’t have any interceptions. Jayden Higgins was also impressive in his first bowl game with the Cyclones, racking up a career-high 214 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions.
Noel caught six passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Easton Dean had a 15-yard touchdown reception. Chase Contreraz was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts.
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
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