Cyclone Fans Rally at Team's Return

AMES, Iowa – For the 2,000 Iowa State fans who raced to the Bergstrom Indoor Training Facility to meet the Cyclone football team after its 28-21 win at No. 22 Texas Saturday, it doesn’t get much better than this. The spirited crowd greeted the team when it reached the Bergstrom facility just before 9 p.m.  The players walked a gauntlet of joyous Cyclone backers into the building as the Iowa State band played the school fight song.
 
Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads returned the affection of the crowd.
 
“If you saw the look on our players faces when they walked among you here tonight, you would have a full appreciation for how much they appreciate your support,” Rhoads said. “We have a team, there is not a bit of selfishness in the whole bunch and we won it as a team today.”
 
The 28-21 win over Texas was Iowa State’s first ever in the series between the two teams and came in the eighth-ever meeting between the schools.
 
“I want to recognize our coaching staff that worked so hard getting ready for this game,” Rhoads told the crowd. “But it was the resilience of our players who bounced back from two tough losses and played so well today. Now we want to get ready to host Kansas in front of a partisan crowd next Saturday.”
 
Each of the captains, quarterback Austen Arnaud, running back Alexander Robinson, safety Michael O’Connell and defensive end Rashawn Parker spoke to the assembled fans.  Saturday’s win over the No. 22 Longhorns was the first Cyclone victory over a ranked opponent on the road since beating No. 16 Oklahoma in 1990.
 
Iowa State plays host to Kansas Saturday at 1 p.m. in Jack Trice Stadium.