Rapid Reaction: Iowa State does just enough to claim the Cy-Hawk Trophy over Iowa

For the second straight season, the Cy-Hawk Trophy is staying in Ames. Iowa State, thanks to a strong start and an excellent final drive, outlasted Iowa by a score of 16-13.

And it was all Iowa State to start out in this one. The Cyclones went up 13-3 before the most important Hawkeyes drive of the day: A 16-play, 85-yard mammoth that ended with a Mark Gronowski rushing touchdown.

But while he was able to drive the field at the end of the 2nd quarter, he was not able to lead the Hawkeyes to a game-winning drive late in the 4th. Gronowski was sacked twice and heaved up a prayer that fell incomplete on 4th and 11.

Gronowski once again did not have the best day for the Hawkeyes passing game. After throwing for just 44 yards last week, he totaled just 83 yards in Week 2 against the rival Cyclones, having completed 13 of his 24 passing attempts on the afternoon. Once again, the passing woes continue to plague Iowa when it counts – even while the Hawkeyes rushed for 131 yards and a pair of toucbdowns.

The Hawkeyes are now 1-1 on the season after their season-opening win over Albany. Iowa will be back in action next week in Iowa City as the Hawkeyes take on UMass. The game is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.

Iowa 13, Iowa State 16

Here’s the Iowa-Iowa State box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:

Mark Gronowski vs. Rocco Becht

Here’s a statistical breakdown showing how Rocco Becht outperformed Mark Gronowski:

Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.