Iowa State beat No. 24 Oklahoma State 51-49 at Jack Trice Stadium, and the game came down to the last possession. D. Mestemaker gave the Cowboys their first lead since the first quarter with 53 seconds left, and Iowa State answered with a 34-yard K. Konrardy field goal that left the Cowboys no time to respond.

The Cyclones won it on the ground and on the clock. They ran 44 times for 272 yards and won time of possession 34:47 to 25:13, which kept a Cowboys offense that scored 7 touchdowns on the sideline when it mattered.

How It Happened

A. Flora opened the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown run. Oklahoma State answered twice before the quarter ended, as Mestemaker found W. Young from 10 yards and C. Hawkins from 59 to take the lead.

J. Raynor flipped it early in the second quarter. He hit E. Miller from 2 yards and J. Polite Jr. from 43 within about a minute of game clock. Mestemaker tied it with an 11-yard throw to J. Bowick, and Konrardy's 39-yard field goal with 7 seconds left sent Iowa State to the half up by a field goal.

The third quarter set the pattern for the rest of the night. Raynor ran in from 8 yards, Hawkins answered almost immediately with a 75-yard touchdown run, and Raynor's 40-yard strike to C. Pettaway put Iowa State back up by 10 heading to the fourth.

The fourth was a trade of haymakers. Bowick caught a 41-yard touchdown, and Flora went 75 yards 11 seconds later to restore the 10-point cushion. Hawkins scored from 1 yard, Konrardy added a 29-yarder, and Mestemaker's 7-yard pass to Young put Oklahoma State ahead by 1. Konrardy's third field goal ended it.

Key Performers

D. Mestemaker: 5 TD passes – 10, 59, 11, 41, 7 YDS
C. Hawkins: 3 TD – 59-yard TD reception, 75- and 1-yard TD runs
J. Raynor: 3 TD passes (2, 43, 40 YDS), 1 rushing TD (8 YDS)
A. Flora: 2 rushing TD – 29, 75 YDS
K. Konrardy: 3 FG (39, 29, 34 YDS), including the game-winner

Oklahoma State's offense did its part. The Cowboys went 27-of-42 for 323 yards, converted 8 of 12 third downs and averaged more than 6 yards a carry. Iowa State simply did more with fewer snaps through the air, averaging 11 yards per pass attempt to the Cowboys' nearly 8.

What It Means

Home field showed up again for Iowa State. The Cyclones are 4-4 overall, 4-1 at Jack Trice and 0-3 away from it, and this was the kind of game that split explains: a coin-flip shootout that tipped to the home side on the final kick.

Oklahoma State's travel problem is now its defining trait. The Cowboys are 5-3, perfect at 4-0 at home and 1-3 on the road. Scoring 49 points and losing to an unranked team puts their No. 24 ranking under real pressure.

Oklahoma State was the cleaner team with the flags, penalized only 3 times to the Cyclones' 7. But the Cowboys lost the turnover battle 2 to 1 and could not get the ball back often enough to make their discipline count.