Cyclones Bowl Eligible, Defeat Missouri 39-20

AMES, Iowa - Ennis Haywood ran for 214 yards and two touchdowns and Marc Timmons returned an interception 78 yards for a score as Iowa State beat Missouri 39-20 on Saturday night to clinch its first winning regular season in 11 years.

Quarterback Sage Rosenfels also scored twice for Iowa State (6-2 overall, 3-2 Big 12), and J.J. Moses added a dazzling 34-yard touchdown run on a reverse.

Iowa State's last winning season was a 6-5 record in 1989. The Cyclones are now eligible for their first bowl trip since 1978.

Missouri (2-6, 1-4), losing its eighth straight road game, gave Iowa State some problems with its spread offense and the scrambling of freshman quarterback Darius Outlaw, who ran for one touchdown and passed for another.

The Tigers had 427 yards of offense but broke down at key times. Justin Scott missed one field-goal attempt and had another blocked, and Timmons' interception of Outlaw's pass turned the momentum when Missouri was threatening.

Trailing 26-14 midway through the third quarter, Missouri drove to the Iowa State 26 and was facing third-and-5 when Outlaw rolled to his right. He was in Ryan Harklau's grasp when he passed and the ball went right to Timmons, who caught the ball at the 22 and had a clear field ahead of him.

Timmons, a redshirt freshman making his first start in place of injured safety Dustin Avey, sped untouched to the end zone, giving Iowa State a 33-14 lead. He also set up a first-half touchdown with an interception and became the first Iowa State player since 1992 to pick off two passes in a game.

Haywood, who carried 23 times, scored on first-half runs of 14 and 4 yards as Iowa State opened a 26-7 lead and had a 60-yard run on the final play of the opening half, with safety Clarence Jones saving the touchdown with a tackle at the 9.

Rosenfels scored on a 2-yard sneak in the first half and his 5-yard scoring run on a draw made it 39-14 with 11:26 left.

Missouri took an early 7-0 as Outlaw scrambled 10 yards for a touchdown two plays after overthrowing a wide open Eric Spencer in the end zone. Iowa State answered with Rosenfels' first touchdown, which capped a seven-play, 69-yard drive, then scored on three straight possessions to break it open.

The Cyclones hit Missouri with some big plays in that stretch, none more sensational than Moses' touchdown run.

Iowa State was one the Missouri 34 when the 5-foot-6, 170-pounder took a pitchout on a reverse to his left. He spun away from a defender at the line of scrimmage, broke another tackle and then ran over defensive back Julian Jones at the 5 before diving into the end zone.

Carl Gomez's kick made it 13-7 with 14:30 left in the half and Iowa State led the rest of the way.

Outlaw, who ran 18 times for 107 yards, threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Spencer late in the game.

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Players Mentioned

Dustin Avey

Carl Gomez

Ryan Harklau

Ennis Haywood

J.J. Moses

Sage Rosenfels

Marc Timmons

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Iowa State University Athletics