Seneca Wallace among Iowa State fans at Kinnick for ‘surreal’ win over Iowa

IOWA CITY — Seneca Wallace stood in the Kinnick Stadium tunnel early Saturday evening as a friend snapped his picture.

The former Iowa State star quarterback smiled, savoring his former team’s grinding 10-7 win against Iowa that ended in a driving rain. Wallace was dry, but reflective while reveling in the moment.

“It’s surreal, because it’s taking me back to 2002,” he said.

That’s when Wallace and his fellow Cyclones rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to beat the Hawkeyes, 36-31. Wallace threw for 361 yards and a touchdown that day — and Saturday was the first time he’d returned to Kinnick since that monumental moment.

“For us to finish the game like this, here at Kinnick, and in my first time being back in 20 years, and to see them compete, yeah, it was sloppy on both sides of the ball, but it shows the resilience of Iowa State,” Wallace said.

Both Iowa and ISU committed three turnovers. The Hawkeyes blocked two punts — and Wallace, like every other Cyclone fan, watched nervously as Iowa kicker Aaron Blom’s last-second 48-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

“For them to just compete until the very end,” Wallace said, “we got the win.”

No style points required. Just toughness and the ability to bounce back repeatedly as ISU head coach Matt Campbell beat Iowa for the first time in six tries.

“Seeing our team continue to grow at a rapid pace right now, maybe at times where we haven’t done that early in the season through the early parts of some of my tenure here, I think that’s an area we’ve really worked to address,” Campbell said. “That’s probably the greatest reward, seeing our guys persevere through adverse situations.”

O’Rien’s belt

Iowa State sixth-year senior linebacker thoroughly enjoyed watching his team’s 21-play, 99-yard game-winning touchdown drive that used 11:49 of clock.

After all, he’d help set the stage for the methodical and decisive maneuver by forcing a goal-line fumble that teammate Kendall Jackson recovered at the 1-yard line.

“I enjoyed (it),” said the former Cedar Rapids Washington star, who led the Cyclones with six tackles in his first and last start at Kinnick Stadium. “They give us a break and kept them on the field. I enjoyed it. Whenever they’re doing that, that’s when we’re thriving.”

Bruising Brock

ISU tailback Jirehl Brock has started a miniature trend early the season by shouldering a heavy second-half load.

Brock rushed 18 times for 54 yards after halftime in Saturday’s 10-7 Cy-Hawk win and finished with a career-high 27 carries for 100 yards.

The redshirt junior rushed for 99 of his 104 ground-based yards in the second half of the Cyclones’ 42-10 season-opening victory over Southeast Missouri State, so he’s establishing himself as the go-to back in key situations — despite a costly goal-line fumble against the Hawkeyes.

“At the end of the day you’ve got to go block people and you’ve got to be relentless running the football,” Campbell said. “And I thought for the most part, Jirehl did. His character, man, turning the ball over on the 1, that’s tough. Yet his ability and resiliency to come back with some of those runs were critical for this football team in the heat of the moment.”

Etc.

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com