Cyclones Edged by No. 17 Baylor, 31-24

AMES, Iowa – No. 17 Baylor (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) scored the first three times it had the ball and held on to hand Iowa State its first loss of the season, 31-24 on Saturday at MidAmerican Field at Jack Trice Stadium, the latest in a series of one-score games between the two teams.

Iowa State (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) twice rallied from double-digit deficits in the Big 12 opener for both, first cutting the lead to 17-14 at halftime, then drawing to the final seven-point margin on Jirehl Brock's 37-yard touchdown run and Jace Gilbert's 28-yard field goal with 55 seconds left.

Baylor recovered the ensuing onside kick, ending ISU's streak off 11-straight home wins against conference opponents. That had been the longest active streak in the league.

It was ISU's fifth game in the last seven with Baylor that was decided by a single score. Baylor has won four of those games.

A 10-play, 93-yard drive that freshman Richard Reese capped with a tackle-breaking 19-yard run stretched Bears' lead to 24-14 in the third quarter and Baylor added a fourth-quarter touchdown on a 38-yard flea flicker to go up 31-14.

But the Cyclones were far from finished.

They put together a 75-yard drive that Brock finished with his nifty TD run, cutting the lead to 31-21. Brock had the ball poked away at the 2-yard line, but after a review, it was ruled that he recovered it in the end zone for the score.

Hunter Dekkers passed for Iowa State's first two touchdowns, tossing a 2-yarder to Brock in the first quarter and firing a 24-yard strike to Dimitri Stanley with 46 seconds left in the first half to make it a three-point game. It was the first ISU touchdown for Stanley, who transferred in after catching 70 passes in four seasons at Colorado.

Dekkers finished 23-of-36 for 284 yards and two interceptions, connecting eight times with Xavier Hutchinson for 84 yards. Hutchinson passed Todd Blythe for third place on the school's career receiving chart, running his total to 183 receptions – one behind second-place DeShaunte Jones. He also passed Hakeem Butler for fourth place in receiving yards, increasing his haul to 2,161.

Jaylin Noel caught seven passes for a career-high 120 yards, while Brock added 73 yards rushing in 14 carries.

Penalties stung the Cyclones early while Baylor was building a 17-7 lead. Consecutive 15-yarders contributed to Baylor's first touchdown drive and another 15-yard walk-off on what appeared to be a third-down stop put the Bears in position for their second TD.

Iowa State was penalized eight times in all for 78 yards. Baylor was flagged three times for 30 yards.

The loss was Iowa State's first at home in Big 12 play since falling to Oklahoma State 34-27 on Oct. 26, 2019.

Iowa State will return to action next Saturday at unbeaten Kansas. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CDT.

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Team Stats

Hunter Dekkers

Players Mentioned

Jirehl Brock

Hunter Dekkers

Jace T. Gilbert

Xavier Hutchinson

Jaylin Noel

Dimitri Stanley

Players Mentioned

Jirehl Brock

Hunter Dekkers

Jace T. Gilbert

Xavier Hutchinson

Jaylin Noel

Dimitri Stanley

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics