It was a tale of two halves at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday night, as the Cyclones trailed by double digits heading into the locker room at the half only to rally with 28 unanswered points in a span of just over 15 minutes. Mike Rose's third interception of the season in the end zone kept the Bears at bay and 17th-ranked Iowa State held on for a 38-31 victory.

Breece Hall provided a consistent spark to the offense, rushing 31 times for 133 yards and three touchdowns. However, it would take a clean second half from quarterback Brock Purdy for the Cyclones to prevail. The junior quarterback was intercepted three times in the first 30 minutes, but threw just as many touchdown passes in the second half. He ended up passing for 164 yards on 15-of-24 completions.

Purdy completed passes to eight different players in the seven-point victory. Charlie Kolar led all pass catchers with three catches for 45 yards. His 22-yard catch from Purdy got I-State with 11:11 remaining in the third got the I-State rally going.

Not only was Rose's interception late in the fourth key, but the veteran linebacker led all ISU defenders with 11 tackles. He added 1.5 tackles-for-loss and two quarterback hurries.

Although Baylor outgained the Cyclones by a 366-362 margin, the home team owned a decisive 184-22 edge in the decisive third quarter.

ISU improved to 5-2 overall on the season and has won five of its six games in the conference. With Kansas State's loss to Oklahoma State earlier in the day, Matt Campbell's squad is in sole possession of first place in the Big 12.