Today was our third trip to see Iowa State football play at the Kansas City Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium in KC. The first round was a super exciting game against Bobby Bowden's well-respected Florida State program back in 2002. That day we had a weapon in quarterback Seneca Wallace, who could throw but also had amazing speed, and he nearly tied the game in the last seconds with an amazing scramble. It was an exciting game to be at, but a loss in the end.
Fast forward to last year's game against Kansas City, and again today, and the result was basically the same. In a match that was dubbed "Farmageddon" by some due to the agricultural base of both states, both rounds in the two-year series were very exciting, but resulted in Iowa State losses.
Last year was a heart-breaker. Down by seven points, Austen Arnaud put the team on his shoulders for one last drive in the 4th quarter, came all the way down the field and scored six points on a passing touchdown to a receiver in the end zone. We were within one point of Kansas State, and we assumed the follow-on routine PAT would tie the game up and send it to overtime. Unfortunately, the PAT was not routine and was blocked by a Kansas State defender's outstretched hand. That was as much of a roller-coaster emotional experience as I have had in any sporting event.
This year was another good game, and the emotional roller-coaster was smoothed out a little compared to last year, but it did not disappear. In the end, Iowa State had a few "what-if" moments in the fourth quarter that could have led to a tied or even a win. Iowa State was leading until Kansas State connected on a long pass that was run in for a touchdown; the Cyclone Fanatics over at CycloneFanatic.com's message boards mentioned that it looked like the receiver illegally pushed off on his defender who nearly made a play to bat the ball down anyway. Austen Arnaud nearly connected with Alexander Robinson for a long touchdown pass of his own on the ensuing series, but the ball came off the receiver's hands and hit the ground.
Finally, with one final drive to at least tie the game (wow, apparently every Iowa State game at Arrowhead ends this way!) Austen Arnaud moves the ball downfield, and Iowa State picks up a few must-have first downs on fourth-and-short possessions, only in the end to have a fourth-down pass for a first down in the red zone sail yards over the outstretched hands of the intended receiver. Game Over.
This may have been the last game at Arrowhead for a while, as Kansas State intends to move the game back to their home base of Manhattan, KS in the future. While it's been an exciting trip down to Arrowhead Stadium each time, I can understand why the school would like to have the traveling fans boosting the economy in their hometown.
I liked what I saw from Redshirt freshman Jeff Woody, backup running back to senior Alexandar Robinson. Woody was in for a series of plays with backup QB Jerome Tiller while Austen Arnaud sat out a series due to a bruised left arm, and every time Woody ran he got at least 4 yards, and was good at running straight ahead and fall forward for a little extra. Also neat that he was a walk-on out of Southeast Polk High School in Des Moines who won a scholarship this year.
Finally, much thanks to Amy for her skills in ordering tickets! As you can see in this picture of Cy, we were in the front row on the ground. Awesome seats, near the 20 yard line which meant we got to see some end-zone plays by both teams.
Here's hoping Iowa State can pick up a win next week against Northern Iowa.
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