Cole Netten hit the winning field goal to beat Iowa, but the rivalry game victory came days earlier.
The seed was planted when the Iowa State coaching staff spoke about doubt. The Cyclones couldn’t have any if they were going to win.
Netten had no doubt his game winning field was good from 42-yards out to give ISU a 20-17 win on Saturday that brought back the big-game mojo to the program.
“It was won in between the ears,” coach Paul Rhoads said. “They believed that they could win the game, and they followed up.”
It sounds simple. It wasn’t.
An ISU team that built its reputation under Rhoads on upsets couldn’t win a close game. The last big Cyclone win came at No. 15 TCU on Oct. 6, 2012. There were only five wins since then and none on par with the Oklahoma State win in 2011, the Texas win in 2012 or even the Iowa win in 2012.
ISU came close, but couldn’t win the close game.
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