Cyclones’ comeback ends 27-year drought
NORMAN, Okla. — This Iowa State team is different.
Kyle Kempt passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns, including a 25-yarder to Allen Lazard that put the Cyclones ahead with 2:19 left, and Joel Lanning made plays on offense and defense to lead Iowa State to a stunning 38-31 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday.
The loss snapped Oklahoma’s nation-leading 14game winning streak and the Sooners’ 18-game run against the Cyclones that dated to 1990. It was just Iowa State’s second victory over Oklahoma since 1961, and the Cyclones (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) did it without their starting quarterback.
“There’s been a lot of adversity at Iowa State for a long time and there’s been a cloud around us,” Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said. “I think our kids said, ‘I’m sick of it, and we’re going to keep grinding, keep swinging and getting better one day at a time.’ So at the end of it, here we are.” Kempt answers call
Kempt, the senior who had thrown just two passes in his career before Saturday, played because regular starter Jacob Park went on leave for undisclosed personal medical reasons late this week. The Cyclones remained confident, despite having lost 20 straight against ranked opponents. Iowa State’s last win over a Top 25 team came against TCU in 2012. It was Iowa State’s first road win over a top-five team.
The Cyclones trailed 24-10 midway through the second, but outscored the Sooners 28-7 the rest of the way.
Lanning, who switched from quarterback to linebacker in the offseason, played both positions Saturday. According to the Des Moines Register, he’s the first Iowa State player since 1971 to get significant action both ways in a game. He ran for 35 yards, passed for 25 and had eight tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. He played 78 snaps.
“It was fun,” Lanning said. “Coming into an atmosphere like this, you can’t ask for anything better — especially playing both ways. I can’t say enough about my teammates and what they did to help me out. It was a lot of stuff going on for me. I didn’t have my best game defensively, but we got the win.”
Iowa State finished with 449 yards.
“We should have been better than that today,” Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. “Our execution as a whole was not good enough. That falls on us as coaches. We haven’t played well the last couple of weeks. We are just not making enough plays, and if you do that in this league you’re going to come out on the short end of the stick.” Riley’s first loss
It was the first loss for Sooners coach Lincoln Riley. Baker Mayfield passed for 306 yards and rushed for 57 the Sooners (4-1, 1-1), but his Heisman hopes and Oklahoma’s playoff hopes took major hits.
“I think it’s a sense of complacency,” Mayfield said. “We’ve been talking about it. It’s not like it’s not been apparent. We’ve let teams come back in games and give them hope. When you do that to a team that has their backs against the wall — we know exactly how it’s feels — it’s something that you can’t do.”