Iowa State sent out 23 seniors from perhaps the greatest five-year run of success in school history in grand style Friday afternoon, routing TCU 48-14 in Jack Trice Stadium.
It also could have marked the final time running back Breece Hall donned a Cyclone uniform in Ames, and the junior rushed for a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to put away the Horned Frogs.
Hall finished with 17 carries for 237 yards and three touchdowns, while adding another 22-yard scoring catch from Brock Purdy. The senior averaged 13.4 yards per rush in a dominating performance in the regular season finale.
I-State’s four-year starting quarterback Purdy completed 21-of-30 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns, including one for 35 yards to Chase Allen on his final pass of the evening that wrapped up his home career.
Another senior playing in his final game at Jack Trice Stadium, wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson broke the school’s single-season reception record (held by Tracy Henderson since the 1983 season) with seven for 107 yards.
Charlie Kolar added to his tight end-record breaking season tally with five receptions for 65 yards.
The Cyclones rolled to 541 yards of total offense, getting a pretty even split of 279 on the ground and 262 by way of the pass.
Greg Eisworth, Mike Rose, Anthony Johnson, Gerry Vaughn and Jake Hummel each finished with six tackles to lead the Cyclones. Eisworth recorded his fifth-career interception in the fourth quarter. Will McDonald, Eyioma Uwazurike, Isaiah Lee, Blake Peterson and Tucker Robertson each finished with one sack.
The Cyclones got off to a solid start following a memorable Senior Day festivity that began 30 minutes prior to kickoff. A 27-yard field goal from Andrew Mevis got the Cyclones on the board on the game’s opening possession.
A pair of long runs by both Hall and Jirehl Brock during a 10-minute stretch of the second quarter extended ISU’s lead to 17-0.
The touchdown was a record-breaker for Hall, who scored on the ground for the 24th-straight game to snap a mark that had been held by Arkansas’ Bill Burnett for more than 50 years.
TCU would make things interesting late in the first half, as Iowa native Max Duggan led his team down the field in just two minutes and found Blair Conwright for a 47-yard touchdown completion to cut the Cyclones’ advantage to 10 points going into the half.
McDonald broke his own single-season sack record by taking down Duggan on third down to open the second half, setting the stage for another huge sequence for the Cyclones.
Special teamer Darien Porter blocked Jordy Sandy’s punt attempt and T.J. Tampa recovered at the Horned Frog 38-yard line. Hall rushed 16 yards on the first play of the drive, then caught a 22-yarder from Purdy. The Cyclones extended their lead to 24-7 less than five minutes into the third.
Another Mevis field goal and Hall’s long touchdown run followed later as the Cyclones clinched their seventh victory of the season.
ISU clinched a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 and will now await a bowl berth for the fifth-consecutive season.
