Few Cyclones have had a better day at Jack Trice Stadium than Bret Culbertson did on Sept. 15, 2007. To make it even better, Iowa State’s victory on that day became one of the most memorable events in the past decade of Cyclone football.
Iowa State was 0-2 with losses to Northern Iowa and Kent State when rival Iowa rolled in Ames holding a 2-0 record.
The Cyclones jumped out to a 12-0 lead heading into halftime on four Culbertson field goals, but the Hawkeyes worked their way back in order to take a 13-12 lead with 3:28 left in the game.
A 38-yard pass from Brett Meyer to Phillip Bates put Iowa State on the Iowa 17-yardline and set up Culbertson’s biggest kick yet. The senior, who made 69.1 percent of his kicks in a Cyclone uniform, which is fourth all-time, knocked through fifth field goal of the day, a 34-yarder, with one second on the clock to tie a school record and give Iowa State the lead at 15-13.
Iowa State survived a scare on the ensuing kickoff in order to give new head coach Gene Chizik his first win at the school. The Cyclones went on to finish 3-9 that season, but Culbertson’s big day will forever live in Iowa State lore.
