Hunter Dekkers completed 24 of 36 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns and Xavier Hutchinson caught 10 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown to help host Iowa State beat West Virginia 31-14 in Big 12 play on Saturday in Ames, Iowa.
The Cyclones (4-5, 1-5 Big 12) snapped a five-game losing streak, which followed a 3-0 start to this season.
West Virginia (3-6, 1-5) dropped its third consecutive game and fell into a last-place tie in the conference with Iowa State.
After an early defensive struggle on both sides, it was Iowa State’s defense that sustained its efforts throughout the game, holding the Mountaineers to 200 total yards.
West Virginia did not advance into the red zone until its final drive when backup quarterback Garrett Greene led a touchdown drive capped by an 8-yard scoring toss to Sam James. The Mountaineers’ other score came on a 25-yard touchdown pass from JT Daniels to Bryce Ford-Wheaton with 34 seconds left in the first half.
West Virginia played without injured running back Tony Mathis for the second consecutive game as well as offensive lineman James Gmiter. Daniels completed 8 of 22 passes for 81 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Will McDonald had one of two sacks of Daniels, and nearly had a second turn into a defensive score early in the fourth quarter when he appeared to strip Daniels of the ball and Anthony Johnson, who had an interception, returned it for a 34-yard touchdown. But upon review, it was ruled an incomplete pass.
Cartevious Norton put the game out of reach with two fourth-quarter touchdown runs and ran for 69 yards on 18 carries.
West Virginia committed a costly penalty, which allowed the Cyclones to begin to separate.
Iowa State had gone three and out from its own 21-yard line, but got a second chance when West Virginia’s Reese Smith was called for roughing punter Tyler Perkins. Four plays later, the Cyclones capitalized when Dekkers found Hutchinson open down the sideline for a 24-yard touchdown with 13:24 left in the fourth quarter to give Iowa State a 17-7 lead.
–Field Level Media
