Iowa State took command in the second half on the way to their first victory of the season. The Cyclones outscored Tulsa 24-7 after halftime and took advantage of four turnovers in a 38-21 win. Trailing 14-7, the Cyclones tied the game late in the second quarter and never looked back.
“After two hard losses and then a second open date and 12 days to prepare, you are going to challenge somebody’s character and figure out what they’re made of and how they are going to come back and work in a practice setting like that, and our guys did,” ISU coach Paul Rhoads says. “They worked in the meetings they worked on the practice field and you saw the results tonight.”
Rhoads who says the Cyclones made progress in every area including game day effort and production. “Thirty-eight points is a lot of points and to finish drives and score that and to hold a team under 100 yards rushing with the quality of backs they have, is a big statistic,” Rhoads says.
The biggest moment of the game came just prior to halftime when the Cyclones drove for a tying touchdown moments after Tulsa grabbed its first lead. Rhoads says the defense bent a little bit, but he says it was a beautiful drive to come back and tie the game.
Jeff Woody scored three touchdowns and junior Aaron Wimberly had 129 carries for 137 yards as Iowa State improved to 1-2 heading into the start of Big 12 play next Thursday night against Texas. “We had never been 0-2, we’d never been 0-1, let alone 0-2, so it was uncharted ground for our program, our kids, our coaching staff…we got a victory , confidence swells when you do that and we’ll be really anxious to get back to work,” Rhoads says.
Iowa State hosts Texas next Thursday.