Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On December 28, 2000, Dan McCarney’s Iowa State Cyclones won the Insight.com Bowl. After finishing the season 8-2 with quarterback Sage Rosenfels at the helm, Iowa State beat Pittsburgh 37-29 to capture the school’s first-ever bowl game win.
Entering McCarney’s sixth season at Iowa State, fans had reason to find excitement in a roster that featured Rosenfels at quarterback, Ennis Haywood at running back, and JJ Moses at receiver. On the defensive side of the ball, stand outs Reggie Hawward, James Reed, and Jamarcus Powers helped bolster a stingy Cyclone defense. The team started out hot, racing out to a 4-0 stat, which included a 24-14 road win over Iowa. After falling to first-ranked Nebraska, the Cyclones battled through the middle part of the Big 12 schedule before closing out with wins over Colorado and Kansas to capture the program’s first winning Big 12 Conference record.
The selection to the Insight.com Bowl represented the first bowl game appearance for Iowa State since playing in the 1978 Peach Bowl. Headed to Phoenix’s Bank One Ballpark, intent on capturing a nine-win season. An estimated 29,000 Cyclone faithful made the trip to see Iowa State complete the team’s first nine-win season since 1906. After a 7-7 first quarter, Iowa State took a commanding lead 27-7 going into halftime by riding Rosenfels 15-19 passing performance for 197 yards.
Pittsburgh stormed back to threaten, cutting the Cyclone lead to 7 before freshman running back JaMaine Billups etched his name in Cyclone lore with a 72-yard touchdown on a punt return. After Marc Timmons intercepted a pass to slam the door on any Panther comeback, the Cyclones claimed the school’s first bowl victory. “We’ve waited 100 years for this bowl victory,” McCarney said. “I guarantee you it won’t be that long before we get another.” #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
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