Football

Takeaways: ‘Not think,’ Porter the hero, a defensive show & more from Cy-Hawk

Iowa State players celebrate with the Cy-Hawk trophy after defeating Iowa Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. © Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

What. A. Finish.

Iowa State’s Kyle Konrardy split the uprights on a 54-yard field goal in the waning seconds of his team’s 20-19 win over Iowa Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

The Cyclones moved to 2-0 in improbable fashion and happily bring the Cy-Hawk trophy back to Ames. Here are some of my main takeaways from the big win in the Big Game.

Not think.

When asked after the game about his mental routine before attempting a kick, redshirt freshman Kyle Konrardy had a short answer.

“Not think,” Konrardy said. “Not think. That’s it. Just go out there, not think and just do what you do.”

He didn’t need to. The redshirt freshman who had missed his first kick of the game – and his career – at the end of the first half just did what he did best.

Iowa State’s got lots of confidence in him, too, because of what Konrardy has shown during practices leading up to the season.

“I didn’t flinch much when we missed it,” coach Matt Campbell said of Konrardy’s missed field goal. “Because it was like, man, the kid didn’t get a chance to kick a field goal last week, right? And so I was just glad that it was still a two-score game… I just have such faith in him. I watched this guy kick a 64-yarder in fall camp.”

Konrardy isn’t currently on scholarship – he’s paying his own way to attend classes and be the kicker in Ames. That will change, though. Matt Campbell confirmed that after the game.

Cyclone fans won’t forget his name soon.

Now that the obvious one’s out of the way…

Iowa State stole this win

If someone were asked to script a worse start to the game for Iowa State, it would challenge Hollywood’s best writers. It’d be damn tough for anyone to put together.

Movement on the offensive line on back-to-back plays took the Cyclone offense from a 3rd and 2 to 3rd and 9 with Rocco Becht snapping the ball in his own end zone.

Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson ran 27 yards into the end zone untouched four plays later and the Hawkeyes quickly took a 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing drive, a second snap infraction on a 3rd and 2 look moved the Cyclones back. They failed to convert, punted it away and Becht threw an interception on the team’s third drive that gave Iowa the ball at the Iowa State 12.

Iowa outgained Iowa State 196 yards to 101 in the opening 30 minutes along with its defense blanking the team in cardinal and gold.

Up until Porter’s interception, there wasn’t a feeling that Iowa State could claw itself back into the game – not with how Iowa plays and what it had shown to that point.

Becht looked off. The run game wasn’t working. Iowa could seemingly explode with a big rush from Johnson – who averaged 7.5 yards per carry – at any time.

Iowa State was down and out, and that’s what makes that win so satisfying for this group.

“There was never any sense of quit at all,” said wide receiver Jaylin Noel, who totaled 133 receiving yards — with 40 coming on that game-winning drive.

Rocco Becht’s second half

The comeback started with Becht’s second half, where he looked much more like his normal self that fans in Ames saw last season.

Becht was 11-19 with 72 yards and an interception up until Porter picked off his first ball of the day.

He finished completing 12 of his last 16 passes totaling 200 yards with a touchdown to Jayden Higgins and a 75-yard bomb to Jaylin Noel.

“Having the poise and the competitiveness to go out there each drive, especially for (my teammates),” Becht said. “I think coach Campbell just told us to trust and stay loyal to each other.”

Darien Porter’s six-year road to stardom

When Porter arrived at Iowa State in 2019, he was in the wide receivers room next to Noel.

On Saturday, he secured two interceptions. One that swayed the momentum of the game and another that clinched the win.

“That’s the craziest part,” Noel said of Porter turning from receiver to a starting defensive back. “Just for him to go in every day and hone his craft – that’s the type of person he is. He’s one of the most talented people on our team, the most athletic… I always try to tell people I’m the fastest but this guy… really just goes in and goes to work every day. It’s really a testament to his work ethic.”

Porter, a Bettendorf native, has been a standout special teams player for the Cyclones for the last five seasons while waiting for his shot.

It’s fitting that he got it in the Cy-Hawk game.

“The game really swung from there,” Campbell said of the Porter interception. “Our game captain today, Darien Porter, right? I mean, the ultimate team player here for the last six years is the guy that makes the play that swings the tide. The most selfless, most incredible human on our football team, and that guy makes the play to swing the tide.”

Myles Purchase saved the Cyclones from being down three scores at half

If it wasn’t for Purchase, Iowa State could have found itself down 21-0 at halftime.

The decorated senior defensive back was on the coverage for three different 3rd down-passing attempts in the first half alone. Two would have been Iowa touchdowns.

“It was a collective effort,” Purchase said. “We got to the red zone a couple of times there. It’s ‘bend, don’t break.’ When they get to the red zone, you’ve got to always try to hold them to three (points). We were really good at doing that today and it paid off in the end.”

Iowa finished the game 6-17 on 3rd down conversions and totaled 19 passing yards in the second half.

2-0 into the bye week

Iowa State has goals of reaching the College Football Playoff. It’s not a secret – both Noel and Jayden Higgins are on our YouTube channel saying as such during media day.

This win doesn’t get them there, right? But the ramifications and impact out of Saturday’s Cy-Hawk game could pay huge returns.

The Cyclones had no business clawing their way back into that game, and that’s the same case with the improbable drive down the field with 29 seconds on the clock.

“To me, there’s no greater win than that,” Campbell said. “That’s what we do. We teach 18-to-22 year olds mental toughness, and the game teaches us physical toughness. And so, the greatest joy that I feel like we get out… the real win is when you see young men respond to adversity.”

Now, they’re 2-0, with a bye week to regroup ahead of the final 10 games. The next pair of games are against Arkansas State and a Houston team that opened the season getting throttled at home by UNLV. After that, a home game against Baylor, which went 3-9 last season.

Iowa State is in an advantageous spot to have its hottest start in the Campbell era – and that was true even before Saturday’s game.

Now, the Cyclones have a ‘never-give-up,’ win on top of it, and that will only help improve the relentlessness they’re coached to have.

Two down, 10 to go.

@cyclonefanatic