SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 8, 2014
Kansas 34, Iowa State 14: Michael Cummings passed for a touchdown and recorded one of his team's three rushing scores as the host Jayhawks posted their first Big 12 victory in nearly a year.
In a matchup of teams that entered winless in Big 12 play, Kansas (3-6, 1-5) bounced back from last week's 60-14 trouncing at the hands of Baylor to post its first victory under interim coach Clint Bowen. Cummings was 24-of-40 for 278 yards without a turnover, while Corey Avery (103 yards) and Tony Pierson (101) fueled a dominant rushing performance by the Jayhawks.
Iowa State's Grant Rohach went 25-of-50 for 275 yards with two touchdowns, one of which went to D'Vario Montgomery (eight catches, career-high 130 yards). Nigel King led Kansas with a career-high 101 receiving yards on five catches while Jayhawks tight end Jimmay Mundine totaled six catches for 75 yards and a score.
Kansas scored on each of its first three possessions and led 24-0 until Iowa State (2-7, 0-6) scored a touchdown with under two minutes left in the half. The Jayhawks' first-half TDs came courtesy of a 14-yard run by Avery, a 20-yard pass from Cummings to Mundine and a 6-yard run by Pierson.
Rohach's 35-yard TD strike to Montgomery drew Iowa State within 24-14 early in the third quarter, but Cummings restored order with a 1-yard scoring burst late in the period. Matthew Wyman's 37-yard field goal with 13:13 remaining in the contest completed the scoring as the Jayhawks avenged last season's 34-0 blanking against the Cyclones.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kansas had a 20-4 advantage in first downs in the first half and finished with a 29-22 edge. ... The Jayhawks had not won a conference game since defeating West Virginia on Nov. 16 of last season and had not defeated Iowa State since 2009. ... Cyclones K Cole Netten, who entered 8-for-8 on field goals this season, missed a 37-yarder in the third quarter that would have brought Iowa State within a touchdown.