LAWRENCE, Kan. (Cyclones.com) — Breece Hall matched a career high with 185 yards rushing and two touchdowns, Brock Purdy threw two TD passes and had another score on the ground and No. 23 Iowa State coasted to a 52-22 victory over winless Kansas on Saturday.
Purdy finished with 239 yards passing and Kene Nwangwu also hit the end zone for the Cyclones (4-2, 4-1 Big 12), who bounced back from a tough loss to No. 6 Oklahoma State by beating the Jayhawks for the sixth straight time.
The only bright spot for Kansas (0-6, 0-5) came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Kenny Logan in the second half. Otherwise, quarterback Jalon Daniels and the rest of the offense was woefully inept, the defense gave up gobs of yards on the ground and the special teams missed a short field goal and nearly surrendered a kick-return touchdown.
Daniels was just 16 of 29 for 165 yards with an interception and a touchdown run.
The first three TDs of the game were scored into a brisk wind out of the south, but the Cyclones finally took control going the other way at the end of the first half. They converted four consecutive third downs, three of them through the air, and the last a short touchdown toss from Purdy to Charlie Kolar that made it 20-7 at the break.
Hall already had 89 yards rushing by that point. Kansas had just 15 yards rushing as a team.
It didn’t take Hall long to top 100 yards for the sixth time in six games. Nor did it take long for Iowa State to build the kind of cushion that could absorb Logan’s kick-return touchdown that briefly gave the Jayhawks some life.
After taking over at their own 38-yard line, the Cyclones converted another third down with a pass to Landen Akers, then briskly moved into Kansas territory. And when the Jayhawks forced fourth-and-1 at their 36-yard line, Purdy answered by finding Hutchinson with a pass that allowed him to slip away from the defender for the touchdown.
Later in the half, the Cyclones pieced together a 77-yard touchdown drive that Hall capped from seven yards out, and the sophomore from Wichita, Kansas, punctuated his big day with a 58-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter.
Iowa State didn’t need a 20-point fourth quarter to beat the Jayhawks like it did last season. Instead, the Cyclones were far enough ahead that they could enjoy watching backup QB Hunter Dekkers make a beautiful 30-yard touchdown pass to Joe Scates with a couple of minutes left for the final margin. It was the first action of his collegiate career for the freshman from West Sioux High School.
Kansas had chances to make it a game, but special teams were dismal — outside of Logan’s return TD — for the second consecutive week. The Jayhawks, who have lost 10 straight dating to last season, were lousy in the punting and kicking game and had poor field position all afternoon.
Iowa State returns home next Saturday to face Baylor. Kansas heads to Oklahoma.
