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Meyer rallies Iowa State past I-AA Northern Iowa

Oct 1, 2006 - 3:55 AM AMES, Iowa (Ticker) -- Bret Meyer saved Iowa State from the embarrassment of losing to a Division I-AA team.

Meyer threw a go-ahead 16-yard touchdown to Jon Davis with just over a minute remaining and the Cyclones survived a last-second missed field goal to edge intrastate foe Northern Iowa, 28-27.

Meyer completed 24-of-29 passes for 323 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the Cyclones (3-2), who rallied from a 21-7 halftime deficit to tie the game on a 65-yard punt return by Ryan Baum with 13:10 remaining.

But the Panthers (2-2) regained the lead on a 43-yard field goal by Brian Wingert with 8:54 to go, and appeared in control when Wingert added an insurance 32-yard kick with 2:20 left.

However, the Panthers were unable to stop Meyer on the final drive, even though the Cyclones had no timeouts remaining. On the first play, the quarterback threw a 25-yard pass to Davis to the Northern Iowa 49, and defensive holding on the next play gave the hosts the ball at the 39.

After a 12-yard completion to Marquis Hamilton and an incompletion, Meyer ran for eight yards and then gained three on 3rd-and-2 before tossing the go-ahead score with 1:05 to play.

Eric Sanders moved Northern Iowa down the field but Wingert was wide right on a 51-yard attempt on the final play.

Iowa State improved to 18-3-3 all-time in the series.