Season Review: The Cyclones Won In The Dark

Season Review

-Iowa State, which was ranked No. 25 in the final regular-season AP poll, tallied its second-straight 8-5 season and qualified for its second-straight bowl game with an appearance in the Valero Alamo Bowl, falling to No. 12 Washington State, 28-26.
-The Cyclones set a school record for conference wins in a season (six) and finished in a tie for third in the Big 12 standings (6-3), their best league finish in 40 years (1978, T3rd).
-ISU, winners of seven of its last nine games, posted an above .500 record in conference play for the second-straight season. It marked just the third time since the Big 12 was formed in 1996 where the Cyclones had a winning record in conference play: 2000 (5-3), 2017 (5-4), 2018 (6-3).
-ISU won its final six games at home and was 6-1 in games played at Jack Trice Stadium, tying for the most season victories at home in school history: 2018 (6-1), 2002 (6-1), 2005 (5-1), 1977 (5-1), 1976 (5-1).
-ISU's eight regular-season wins are the most since 2000 and ties for the modern-era school record.
-ISU's 16 wins in the last two seasons ties for the best two-year winning stretch in school history.
-ISU appeared in all six CFP rankings and was ranked in two polls at the end of the regular season: AP (#25) and CFP (#24). It marked the first time ISU had been ranked in the final regular season AP poll since 1976. ISU's five-week run in the AP poll was the fourth-longest season streak in school history.
-ISU head coach Matt Campbell was the 2018 Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year, winning or sharing conference CoY awards in three of the last four seasons: 2015 (MAC CoY), 2017 (Big 12 CoY), 2018 (Big 12 Co-CoY). He was also named the AFCA Region 4 Coach of the Year for the second-straight season.
-The Iowa State defense was stellar in 2018, holding 11 opponents to below their season scoring average. The Cyclones led the Big 12 in scoring defense (22.9) and ranked second in total defense (349.2).
-ISU was third in the Big 12 in sacks with 33, breaking the school record for sacks in a season. ISU was third in the Big 12 and ranked 39th nationally in sacks per game (2.5) with 16 different players recording a sack.
-ISU's offense made a resurgence with the insertion of true freshman QB Brock Purdy in the last nine games. With Purdy at the helm, ISU was 7-2 with wins over two over ranked teams, and averaged 30.9 points, 402.7 yards of offense and 6.7 yards per play. He was named Big 12 True Freshman of the Year by ESPN.
-Purdy was sensational, averaging 250.0 yards passing, 284.3 yards of total offense and completing 66.4 pct. of his passes. His 169.91 passing efficiency total ranked sixth nationally and his 16 TD passes ranks fifth on ISU's season list. He broke season marks in passing efficiency (169.91) and completion pct. (66.4), and tied for first in 300-yard passing games with three.
-WR Hakeem Butler was a big-play machine, ranking third nationally in yards per reception at 22.0. Iowa State had 14 plays from scrimmage of 40 yards or longer and Butler owned 10 of them to rank third nationally.
-Butler led the team in receptions (60), receiving yards (1,318) and TD catches (9), ranking ninth nationally in receiving yards per game (101.4). Butler set or tied school records in receiving yards (1,318), yards per reception (22.0) and 100-yard receiving games (6). He was named 2nd-Team All-American by The Athletic and CFN.
-Butler, who broke an ISU bowl record with 192 yards vs. Washington State, the fifth-best single-game total in school history, is ISU's career leader in yards per catch (19.5). He ranks second in 100-yard receiving games (8), third in TD receptions (18) and fourth in receiving yards (2,149) in school history.
-RB David Montgomery ranked third in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally in rushing at 101.3 yards per game. Montgomery, who had seven 100-yard rushing efforts this year to tie for third in school history, became the eighth Cyclone in school history to record multiple 1,000-yard seasons (2017- 1,146; 2018- 1,216). He was named 1st-team All-American by PFF and was a first-team All-Big 12 pick for the second season in a row.
-Montgomery, who led the Cyclones with 13 rushing TDs, tying for ninth in school history, is 6th in school history in career rushing yards (2,925) and tied for 8th in career rushing TDs (26).
-ISU had an 1,000-yard rusher (Montgomery) and 1,000-yard receiver (Butler) for the first time in school history.
-Iowa State's senior class (2015-18) is the only class in Cyclone history to achieve a victory over every conference opponent: Seniors Brian Peavy and Chris Francis are the only two players to play in all nine victories.
-DE JaQuan Bailey has 18.5 career sacks, tying the school record (Shawn Moorehead, 2004-06). Bailey led the Cyclones and ranked fourth in the Big 12 in sacks with 8.0, tying third on ISU's season list. He also posted 14.5 TFL, the eighth-best single-season total in ISU history and sixth-best in the league.
-Iowa State led the Big 12 in rushing defense (115.0) and allowed a Big 12-low 10 rushing touchdowns (T8th).
-Iowa State recorded 88 TFL, the second-best total in school history and the fourth-best total in the league.
-ISU posted its third-best season home attendance total in school history, averaging 56,010 fans per game.

Season Review: The Cyclones Won In The Dark

Players Mentioned

JaQuan Bailey

Hakeem Butler

Chris Francis

David Montgomery

Brian Peavy

Brock Purdy

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Season Review: The Cyclones Won In The Dark

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Players Mentioned

JaQuan Bailey

Hakeem Butler

Chris Francis

David Montgomery

Brian Peavy

Brock Purdy

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