Each day leading up to Iowa State’s season opener against South Dakota State, Cyclone Fanatic will check another day off the calendar with a memorable statistic, player or game as part of our Countdown to Kickoff presented by Tailgate Clothing.
On Oct. 10, 1987, Iowa State mounted one of its biggest comebacks in school history to give Jim Walden his first victory as the Cyclones’ head coach. The Cyclones recovered from a 38-21 deficit with 10 minutes remaining to complete a 39-38 win over Northern Iowa, which remains tied for the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in program history.
The comeback started with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brett Sadek to Eddie Bridges to pull the Cyclones back within 10 points with 9:06 left to play. Later in the quarter, Sadek, who finished the game 15-of-29 passing for 295 yards and three touchdowns, orchestrated an eight-play 60-yard scoring drive to bring the score to 38-34 then Eddie Jones’ two-point conversion rush pulled the Cyclones within two points.
Following a successful onside kick and a long pass from Sadek to Dennis Ross, Jeff Shudak knocked through a 28-yard field goal with 1:23 left on the clock to put Iowa State in the lead for good.
The win, which included a combined 957 yards of total offense, was Iowa State’s first of three in Walden’s debut season.
