ISU dominates in Sin City, improves to 2-1

A trifecta of seniors on the offensive side of the ball helped spark Iowa State to a dominating victory on the road in Sin City. The defense was just as sinful towards a UNLV team starting a true freshman third-string quarterback and helped the visitors roll to a 48-3 win over UNLV.

The Cyclones had been a mixed bag through two games, but Brock Purdy, Xavier Hutchinson and Breece Hall all played pivotal roles in a decisive win.

Purdy completed 21-of-24 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns just one week after being intercepted as many times by Iowa. After not developing much chemistry with Xavier Hutchinson last week, the two connected 10 times for 133 yards and a pair of scores against the Rebels.

Purdy’s third touchdown pass of the game came early in the third quarter when he found tight end Charlie Kolar, another senior, for a 33-yard connection up the left seam.

Breece Hall helped the offense get into a rhythm early and would finish with his first 100-yard game of the season to go along with two touchdowns.

Andrew Mevis continued to show off a strong leg and was kicking in favorable conditions inside a dome. He booted a 54-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter that ranked as the seventh-longest in school history.

With more than 20,000 ISU fans making the trek to Las Vegas, Matt Campbell’s squad put on quite the late-night show. The Cyclones improved to 2-1 heading into next Saturday’s Big 12 opener at Baylor.

Just how dominating was I-State on the offensive side? It didn’t punt until early in the fourth quarter after much of the first-team offense had made way for the backups.

The score could have been even more lopsided after one half, as the Cyclones gained a decisive 303-18 edge in total yards but was only able to score 24 points. However, Purdy lost a fumble in Rebel territory and Hall was stopped short of the goal-line to end another offensive possession.

ISU racked up 18 first downs in the opening 30 minutes and ran 25 more plays. Hall scored a pair of touchdowns from the one-yard line, while Purdy connected with Xavier Hutchinson in the right corner of the end zone to cap off another scoring drive.

Mike Rose and Eyioma Uwazurike each recorded one sack and tackle-for-loss, with the outside linebacker leading with four first-half tackles. Isheem Young intercepted a second quarter pass from Rebel starting quarterback Cameron Friel.