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Snow foolin’: Cyclones’ offense was wondrous in Kansas State’s winter wonderland
Iowa State’s 42-35 win over No. 19 Wildcats had statistics that you just don’t see in any old snow-covered college football game
Nov. 25, 2023 11:25 pm, Updated: Nov. 26, 2023 12:04 am
I thought I was football-ed out early Saturday night after Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, and intermittent Northwestern-Illinois and Wisconsin-Minnesota.
People, I’m glad I camped out in the living room for a few hours for Iowa State-Kansas State. Football in snow is always fun to watch for a while. Usually, you only see such things from games at Washington State or Wyoming.
Saturday night, the Cyclones and the 19th-ranked Wildcats had a snowy field on which to play. K-State fans threw snowballs at the Iowa State sideline. Cyclone wide receiver Jaylin Noel had one of the best catch-and-go sideline-hugging touchdowns you’ll ever see.
Jaylin Noel is making ‘em slip and slide in the snow 🥶
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) November 26, 2023
Iowa State has the lead!
🎥: @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/6XosTbwjNU
The K-State defense wasn’t exactly stellar on the play, but Noel was sensational on the 82-yard play on a third-and-16.
It was broke a 35-35 tie with 8:04 left in the game, and it was the final scoring play. It also was the longest scoring play, which is saying something since Noel also had a 79-yard TD catch, and Cyclone first-year freshman running back Abu Sama III had rushing scores of 71, 77 and 60 yards.
Iowa State receiver Jayden Higgins went a measly 33 yards on the touchdown catch that came 4:27 before Noel’s 82-yarder.
Sama was thrust into a starting role because Iowa State left Eli Sanders and Cartevious Norton in Ames. They were the team’s two top rushers this season. Now they’re Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
After the game, ISU Coach Matt Campbell said they were still on the team, but had “personal” issues. Look for Sama to be RB1 and maybe RB 1-and-Only when the 7-5 Cyclones play their bowl game.
Meanwhile, the statistics were a bit mind-bending. Sama rushed 19 times for 276 yards, a fairly efficient 17.3 yards per carry.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Rocco Becht threw just 12 passes and completed eight. For 230 yards. That’s 19.2 yards per attempt, 28.8 yards per completion.
Kansas State (8-4) ran 102 plays to Iowa State’s 35. It had the ball for over 42 minutes. And lost.
Iowa State ran only two plays from K-State territory, one of them Higgins’ touchdown play. The Cyclones, who were 10-point underdogs, averaged 1.2 points per play.
Playmakers are fun, and even more so in the snow.
Hang it in the Louvre
— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) November 26, 2023
🌪🚨🌪 pic.twitter.com/3wzzKPOXQF
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