Iowa football drops Cy-Hawk game by a field goal for second-straight season

AMES — The Hawkeyes may forever hate a 54-yard field goal.

For the second season in-a-row, Iowa football’s hopes of winning the Cy-Hawk game were squashed by Iowa State kicker Kyle Konrardy knocking down a 54-yard field goal — taking the Hawkeyes down, 16-13, this year.

“We had our opportunities, had several opportunities during the game, and we weren't good enough to cash in,” Hawkeye head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “...The margins are always slim.”

The No. 16-ranked Cyclones have won the instate battle three of the last four years, and a six-game streak inside Jack Trice Stadium comes to an end. Iowa’s loss also marks the 10th consecutive ranked loss over the last five seasons.

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All comes down to the fourth

How else would a Cy-Hawk game go?

“The series has kind of been the last six years decided basically at the end of the game,” Ferentz said.

Iowa’s 9 minute-drive in the third quarter meant the Cyclones’ response leaked into the final 15 minutes. No dice. Then Iowa made it all the way to the Iowa State 49-yard line and came up empty handed.

Konrardy made the kick for the deja vu feeling, and back-to-back sacks with a turnover on downs in a fire drill attempt delivered the sucker punch.

Secondary playing its part

Senior cornerback T.J. Hall has seen this Iowa State offense before. He knows the Cyclones like to spread out their offense, and he read that play well all afternoon.

Hall had three pass break ups, shutting down Iowa State’s tight ends in second- and third-and-long scenarios. All three of his PBUs were in the first half, and Koen Entringer picked up his first pass break up in the fourth quarter, halting a fast-approaching Cyclone drive from reaching the red zone.

The duo finished with eight tackles and all four of the Hawkeyes’ pass breakups.

One of the biggest concerns for Iowa’s defense ahead of the game was managing the receiving core Iowa State has built up. The longest completion quarterback Rocco Becht had was 35 yards.

The improvement was a positive for Ferentz. Entringer knew it still wasn’t enough this time.

“I mean the only stat I can about is winning,” Entringer said. “But to their credit, they’re a great offense.”

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Settled in late

Mark Gronowski’s second game at the helm didn’t start well, again. It took four drives before Iowa got its first first down — shortly before the start of the second quarter.

“We’ve just got to get the ball rolling earlier in the game start,” Gronowski said. “Gaining that momentum, gaining that rhythm on offense.”

Then in the second quarter, a punt return gone wrong for the Cyclones gave way for Drew Stevens to kick a 31-yard field goal. Before halftime, Iowa was down 10, and Gronowski pummeled his way to a 2-yard rushing touchdown for a 3-point game.

Stevens tied the game in the third quarter. Then the offense stalled again.

A struggle against the best

Despite the chaos of Cy-Hawk games from years past, it’s always a close game. An average of 4.4 points separates these two teams. This time, it was three.

The bigger picture, though, is how Iowa hasn’t beaten a ranked team in its last 10 games.

A point of frustration that Ferentz didn’t care to elaborate on.

“We were three points short today,” he said. “That’s about all I can say. It’s disappointing.”

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