No. 12 Iowa State beats No. 25 Oregon 34-17 in Fiesta Bowl
By admin - January 3, 2021
Iowa State finished a dismal year with a dominating performance under one of college football’s brightest spotlights. Here are the highlights:
- Breece Hall ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns, Brock Purdy accounted for two scores and No. 12 Iowa State grinded out a 34-17 victory over No. 25 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday.
- “Life has been really hard for our society, really since March,” coach Matt Campbell said. “Through dark and trying times, this team has been a beacon of hope for a lot. This team has grown and gotten better when things maybe say the other way.”
- The Cyclones (9-3, CFP 10) used ball-control offense to dominate the time of possession, keeping Oregon’s offense off the field for long stretches
- This is Iowa State’s first New Year’s Six bowl.
- Iowa State had a time of possession advantage of more than 25 minutes to cap the best season in school history.
- “We’re a tough team,” Purdy said. “We’ve faced so much the past couple of years. We have a lot of great leaders and experienced guys who have been there and understand this is what we’ve got to do to take it to the next level. I feel like that’s what we’ve done this year.”
- The Ducks lost two fumbles, an interception and a pooch kick. They also turned it over when a punt hit a blocker’s helmet and had a touchdown wiped out by a penalty.
- “Obviously, we didn’t play up to our standards,” Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said. “It’s a game of execution and in critical situations, we didn’t coach well enough or play well enough.”