Iowa State Crushes Texas A&M 42-14

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Todd Blythe set an Iowa State record with four touchdown catches and Stevie Hicks rushed for 122 yards and two more scores as the Cyclones routed Texas A&M 42-14 on Saturday.

Bret Meyer went 20 of 32 for 371 yards and four touchdowns against the Big 12's worst pass defense, and the Cyclones (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) beat the Aggies for the first time in eight meetings.

Blythe caught a career-high eight passes for 214 yards, the second highest single-game mark by an Iowa State receiver. His four TD catches was also a record for a Texas A&M opponent.

Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2), meanwhile, had a five-game home winning streak snapped and suffered its worst defeat at Kyle Field since a 46-15 loss to Texas in 2003.

The Cyclones toyed with A&M's league-worst defense all day, piling up 549 yards and going 11 of 18 on third-down conversions.

Hicks, who missed two games earlier this month with a sprained ankle, started the Cyclones' first drive with a 10-yard run, foreshadowing the dominance to come. Iowa State glided down the field on its opening drive and Blythe capped the march with a 1-handed touchdown catch.

The Aggies got more than half their rushing yards on Courtney Lewis' 73-yard touchdown run with 1:27 left in the opening quarter. The run by Lewis was the longest against Iowa State this season and Lewis' longest run since an 86-yard dash against Baylor in 2003.

Meyer, meanwhile, shredded A&M's secondary from the start, completing 13 of his first 19 passes. He threw a 23-yarder to Austin Flynn to give the Cyclones a first-and-goal at the A&M 3 and Hicks scored two plays later, his first TD since the season opener against Illinois State.

Facing third-and-20 on the Cyclones' first drive of the second half, Meyer scrambled 21 yards to spark another touchdown march. On another third down, Meyer scrambled to his right and lofted a pass to Blythe, who shed a tackler and sprinted for a 53-yard touchdown.

Hicks went over 100 yards rushing on the Cyclones' next drive. Meyer found Nickell for a 24-yard gain on third-and-3, then hit Blythe in the corner of the end zone with 4:12 left in the third quarter.

Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal, erratic all day, drove the Aggies inside the Iowa State 5 and even then, it seemed like A&M would find a way to come away with nothing. The Aggies were called for offensive pass interference in the end zone and McNeal was sacked, bringing up third down. McNeal salvaged the drive by zipping a pass to Jason Carter just across the goal line to make it 28-14.

The maroon-clad crowd of 86,172 - the fifth largest in Kyle Field history - desperately tried to rally the Aggies, but Meyer silenced them again and sent the first wave of fans to the exits with a 63-yard TD pass to Blythe down the sideline. The pass play was the longest of the season for Iowa State, surpassing the 53-yarder from the third quarter.

Lewis fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Hicks barreled into the end zone four plays later.

The Aggies had rushed for 635 yards in their last two games, but were held to 126 against the nation's 20th-best rushing defense.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Todd Blythe

Todd Blythe

Austin Flynn

Austin Flynn

Bret Meyer

Bret Meyer

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics