Iowa State grinds out 20-13 win at Oklahoma State to close the regular season

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was written in Iowa

The wind howled and swirled as Oklahoma State desperately clung to vanishing hopes of ending a 17-game Big 12 losing streak Saturday against Iowa State.

The clock clicked down cruelly, and the Cyclones — leading 20-13 late in the fourth quarter on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla. — ran for two first downs and finally punted with 16 seconds left.

Then the clock hit zeroes as the Cowboys’ final fruitless possession ended in a short completion, allowing ISU (8-4, 5-4) to cement its eighth winning season in conference play in the past nine years.

“It’s year 10 and I feel like we’ve been waiting for a football team that maybe just epitomizes every ounce of effort that we’ve (used) to build this program, and it takes everything you’ve got,” Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell said on the Cyclone Radio Network after winning on his 46th birthday. “It takes resiliency, courage, toughness, and I feel like this group defined it every single step of the way. From starting in Ireland, to going through (a) rough patch with some really tough injuries and to how they finished, which was just exceptional.”

Was it a pretty win? Not at all.

Does that matter? Not much.

ISU won its third straight game and rushed for 150-plus yards in its seventh consecutive game. Tailback Carson Hansen surpassed 100 rushing yards for the fifth game in a row, and backfield mate Abu Sama broke off a 40-yard touchdown run as the Cyclones dominated the line of scrimmage while keeping Oklahoma State (1-11, 0-9) winless in Big 12 play since 2023.

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“I’m so excited about this team and where we’re going, and what we have going on,” said quarterback Rocco Becht, who threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chase Sowell that gave his team an early 7-0 lead. “There (are) a lot of guys that played today that weren’t dressing in the beginning of the year. That just shows you something about this team — how everybody stays engaged no matter who goes down, no matter who comes in and plays. Everybody’s involved.

Particularly on defense, where several injuries in the secondary forced players such as Caden Matson — who’d mostly played on special teams — to become major down-and-distance contributors.

The safety from Humboldt had a career-high-shattering seven tackles against the Cowboys, who rushed for a scant 27 yards and converted just two of their 13 third downs.

“Four losses either makes or breaks a team,” Matson said of the Cyclones’ four-game skid that preceded their current three-game upswing. “I feel like it made us all come together so much closer.”

ISU, which entered as a two-touchdown favorite, never trailed and forced two turnovers while losing one on another special teams gaffe. Safety Drew Surges forced a fumble Marcus Neal recovered, then made his first career interception to snuff out an Oklahoma State drive late in the third quarter. Linebacker Kooper Ebel led the Cyclones with nine tackles, including three for loss. Fellow linebacker Caleb Bacon matched that latter number — all on sacks.

“It sounds cliche, but there’s no secret to success,” Ebel said. “Just keep showing up and it will play off.”

ISU will try to become the fifth team in program history — and third under Campbell — to win nine or more games in a season when it plays in a bowl game in a month or so.

(We’ll be) putting a stamp and finish on ’25, but (we’re) also sprinting into ’26,” Campbell said.

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