By Mark Carlisle
Twitter: @mwcarlisle

No. 10 Iowa State controlled the ball and controlled the game throughout on their way to a 34-17 win over No. 25 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl Saturday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale for the biggest bowl win in the program’s 123-year history.

Playing in their first New Year’s Six Bowl, the Cyclones’ steady offense, led by quarterback Brock Purdy, a Gilbert Perry graduate, took small chunks of yards and large chunks of clock on several long scoring drives. Between that and Iowa state winning the turnover battle 5-0, the Cyclones dominated time of possession — 42:48 to 17:12.

For a program that’s seen far more losing seasons than winning seasons and finished 3-9 as recently as 2016, this win means a lot.

“We were the laughingstock of the Big 12 at one point,” said Iowa State sophomore running back Breece Hall. “Just seeing, like I said, just envisioning what Coach (Matt) Campbell thought that we could do here. That's the reason why I came here. To see what we accomplished today, it's Iowa State history. So just to be a part of that, that means a lot to me, and I'm happy to be here.”

Iowa State (9-3) had probably its best season ever behind Hall, who was second in the nation in rush yards and tied for second in rushing touchdowns, and Purdy, who was named the game’s Offensive MVP Saturday. The Gilbert native completed 20 of 29 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. He also ran for a touchdown and totaled 39 rushing yards on nine carries.

The Fiesta Bowl wasn’t the battle of two Valley quarterbacks it was billed to be. Aside from Oregon (4-3) not being able to keep the ball its hands, Duck quarterback Tyler Shough, a Chandler Hamilton graduate, couldn’t get off the Oregon sideline for most of the game.

Oregon had turned to backup Anthony Brown, a senior transfer from Boston College, for mostly goal line work in their Pac-12 Championship win over No. 17 USC. It was Brown’s first action of the season. But in the Fiesta Bowl, Oregon coach Mario Cristobal gave Brown the reigns for most of the game.

Shough, a sophomore, started the game and did well, completing 3 of 3 passes for 41 yards, taking the Ducks 69 yards on its first drive to the 6-yard line, where Brown came in for the goal line work and ran it in. In the second quarter, Brown came in again when the Ducks were backed up to their own 2, but this time stayed in and put together a 98-yard touchdown drive.

It was Brown’s game from there. Shough, with only three first-half passes under his belt, didn’t throw another pass until late in the third, after the Brown-led offense went scoreless on its first three drives of the half.

Cristobal said he liked what he saw early from Brown and was playing the hot hand.

Brown finished completing 12 of 19 passes for 147 yards. He ran in the only two Duck touchdowns and totaled 36 rush yards on four carries and lost a fumble. Shough completed 7 of 9 passes for 79 yards and threw an interception. He ran four times for 8 yards.

Shough said he didn't know how to interpret being taken out after completing his first three passes.

"I just — trying to control what I can control. Whenever I'm inthe games, (I) do my best."

The Ducks defense kept Hall, Iowa State’s biggest playmaker, relatively in check, but the Cyclones fed him a lot. The First Team AP All-American  averaged 4 yards per carry Saturday, rushing 34 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Despite the high yardage total, it was Hall’s second worst yards-per-carry game of the year. Entering Saturday’s matchup, he’d averaged 5.9 per carry. The only other time Hall averaged less than 4.3 yards was in Iowa State’s loss to No. 6 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship.

Oregon actually had the more efficient offense outside of two very important metrics — turnovers and third downs. The Ducks led in yards per play, (11.9 to 7.8), yards per rush (4.8 to 4.1) and yards per pass attempt (8.1 to 5.4).

The difference was Oregon couldn’t stay on the field, going 0 for 6 on third down and 0 for 1 on fourth down. Iowa State, on the other hand, was constantly extending drives, converting 11 of 19 third downs. Two of the unsuccessful third downs quickly turned into fourth down conversions, where they went 2 for 3.

But it was mainly the Ducks' five turnovers that kept them behind the eight ball all day. On its second drive, Oregon got the ball down 14-7 and junior running back fumbled to give the ball to the Cyclones 15 yards away from the end zone. The Ducks’ defense made a goal-line stand, stuffing Hall on 4th and goal from the 1, to keep it a 7-point game.

Oregon tied the game at 14, but after Iowa State went up 21-14 by way of Purdy’s rushing touchdown, Cyclone kicker Drake Nettles sent a high kickoff near the sideline that sailed over Oregon tight end DJ Johnson’s head. Iowa State’s Rory Walling fell on it first, giving the ball right back to the Cyclones. Hall’s second touchdown of the day put Iowa State up 28-14, but Oregon was able to add a field goal just before half to cut the lead to 28-17.

Both offenses dried up in the second half, leading to just 6 points for Iowa State and 0 points for Oregon. After neither team punted in the first half, the third quarter featured nearly nothing but punts — Iowa State punted three times and Oregon punted twice in the quarter, with the Ducks adding another punt seconds into the fourth.

One of those punts led to Oregon’s third turnover. Oregon’s Mykael Wright ran right in front of his own return man and the incoming punt bounced off Wright’s helmet. The Cyclones fell on it on the Oregon 16-yard line, which led to a field goal to extend their lead to 31-17.

Down 14 with 6 and a half minutes left in the third quarter, Oregon was very much still in the game. However, the Ducks went 3 and out on their next possession. The possession after that, a run from Brown looked like it was about to be the Ducks’ first third-down conversion of the day, but Brown fumbled the ball for Oregon’s fourth turnover.

The margin remained 14 into the fourth quarter. The Cyclones faced a third and 8, trying to avoid punting for the fourth time in the half. Purdy dodged the pass rush and ran outside the pocket where he found no open receivers downfield and Third Team AP All-American defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux chasing him down. Purdy scrambled and dove to reach the ball across the sticks, converting the first down on his most impressive play of the day.

Campbell said that play will stick with him.

“To me, that will be the play that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life,” he said. “And him screening in a critical moment to get the first down when all odds are against him, that's Brock Purdy. And Brock Purdy from Day 1, Game 1, every game we played, he's given us a chance to be successful. And without Brock Purdy, there's no Fiesta Bowl, there's no Iowa State. We are who we are because of the leadership and the character and the humility of Brock Purdy.”

The drive ended in a field goal but was the Cyclones’ third drive of the day that took at least seven and half minutes — half a quarter — off the clock. Leading to Oregon getting the ball down three scores with six minutes on the clock, that field goal all but sealed the victory, barring a miracle.

That miracle never game for the Ducks. Instead, Shough threw the game’s only interception, the Ducks’ fifth and final turnover, into the hands of linebacker Mike Rose, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a Second Team AP All American, to put the game on ice.

The game’s only passing touchdown was caught by Iowa State’s Third Team AP All-American tight end Charlie Kolar, who had five catches for 53 yards, both game highs. Senior receiver Johnny Johnson III, a Chandler High graduate, led the way in the Ducks’ air attack, catching four passes for 41 yards. Travis Dye led Ducks’ ground attack with eight rushes for 52 yards.

Nose tackle Jordan Scott had a sack for the Ducks, and defensive end Will McDonald had one for the Cyclones, bringing his total to 10.5 for the year.

Iowa State linebacker O’Rien Vance, who recovered two fumbles and had four tackles, including a tackle for loss, was the game’s defensive MVP.

NOTES

Purdy and Shough  grew up playing baseball together and work out with the same quarterback coach in the offseason in the Valley. They faced four times in high school football, twice in the playoffs, with Purdy and Gilbert Perry winning each time. Purdy improved his friendly rivalry record to  5-0 with Iowa State's win over Oregon.

The two caught up for a quick chat after the game.

"I told him he played a heck of a game and they executed well on all sides of the ball," Shough said. "I told him I would see him soon in the off-season. We always train. He's a great dude and he has a great family."

“We said congrats on a great year to one another," Purdy said. "He did a tremendous job this year. I told him that I loved him, and he loves me, and we want the best for one another. So, we said that. And, obviously, we'll be seeing each other in the offseason back here at home working out together with Coach Manucci. So that was really about it. And then we just went our ways. I have a lot of respect for Tyler and everything that he's doing at Oregon."

This was the first time these two schools have ever faced each other in football.

This was only the fifth bowl win in Iowa State's history. They are 5-11 in bowls. 

Oregon is 15-18 in bowls. The Ducks are no strangers to January bowl games having won the Rose Bowl just last year.

This was Oregon's third trip to the Fiesta Bowl and first loss. They beat Colorado in 2002 and Kansas State in 2013. The 2002 win over Colorado was played at Sun Devil Football Stadium in Tempe, before State Farm Stadium was built.

The Ducks are now 1-2 in State Farm Stadium. The other loss was to Auburn in the BCS National Championship in 2011.

Oregon got to the Fiesta Bowl by winning their second-straight Pac-12 Championship game. Their end-of-season game against Washington would have determined which school won the Pac-12 North and went on to the conference championshiop game, but Washington had positive cases of COVID-19, leading the game to be cancelled. Washington had the better record heading into the game, so they advanced to the conference championship by default. However, Oregon got their chance to play for the conference title back when Washington had to bow out of the Pac-12 Championship game also because of COVID-19 cases. The Ducks beat USC in the game.

Iowa State lost in the Big 12 Championship game to Oklahoma, which went on to beat No. 7 Florida in the Cotton Bowl.

Iowa State's win completes a perfect, 5-0 bowl season for the Big 12. The only other conference undefeated in bowl games was the Mid-American Conference (2-0).

Oregon's loss means the Pac-12 went winless this bowl season, 0-2. Many Pac-12 teams opted out of bowl games due to COVID-19.

Mark Carlisle
Associate Editor | Daily Independent
@mwcarlisle

mcarlisle@iniusa.org

Mark is passionate about accurately informing his readers to what is happening in their community. He also loves reading and writing about sports. Mark has worked for Independent Newsmedia for five years. He married his high school sweetheart, adopted a boxer mix, and awaits his first child.