Iowa State football vs. West Virginia recap: ISU snaps losing streak, 31-14

AMES — Iowa State football entered its second-to-last home game with a streak the Cyclones would rather be without.

ISU had lost five straight games, all against conference opponents. After winning the first three games this year, it seemed like Iowa State doesn’t have any answers for how to turn things around.

But against West Virginia – which does have the worst defense in the conference – the Cyclones looked different. Iowa State pulled out its first win since September, beating the Mountaineers, 31-14.

More: ISU offensive line on turn aroundMORE: How Iowa State's offensive line hopes to turn things around in November

Iowa State improved to 4-5 on the year and 1-5 in the Big 12. True freshman running back Cartevious Norton scored his first and second career touchdowns, and the Cyclones picked up more points than they have against any other conference opponent.

Weren’t able to catch all the action live?

Here’s a recap of all the action from Iowa State’s win against West Virginia.

1:04/Q4: WVU adds a late touchdown

The Mountaineers changed out JT Daniels for Garrett Greene at quarterback on the final drive and he threw a touchdown pass to Sam James, although it was too little too late for West Virginia.

3:52/Q4: Another one for Cartevious Norton

Norton, a true freshman running back, scored his first career touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter. And with less than four minutes left in the game, he picked up another. Drake Nettles' kick was good and Iowa State extended its lead to 31-7. That's the most points the Cyclones have scored against a Big 12 opponent this season.

6:40/Q4: Iowa State gets the ball back

Two sacks — one from O'Rien Vance and one from MJ Anderson and Will McDonald — plus a terrible punt from within the end zone gives the Cyclones the ball back on the 34-yard line with under seven minutes to go.

8:31/Q4: Cartevious Norton extends the Cyclones lead

The true freshman running back scored his first career touchdown against West Virginia. Norton rushed five yards for his first score and gave Iowa State a 24-7 lead late in the second half.

14:43/Q4: Iowa State gets lucky break with West Virginia penalty

The Cyclones offense was held off by the Mountaineers' defense and decided to punt. But West Virginia was called for roughing the kicker. Iowa State got the ball back thanks to the 15-yard penalty.

After a 38-yard run up the middle from Deon Silas, Hunter Dekkers found Xavier Hutchinson, who gave fans in attendance the first score since the first half. Cyclones go up 17-7 with 13:24 left to play.

End of third quarter: Iowa State 10, West Virginia 7

Jace Gilbert's field goal attempt, although he missed, was the closest either team came to scoring. That leaves the score the same since halftime, with one quarter remaining.

9:08/Q3: First drive falls short

Iowa State traveled 51 yards and took 5:52 off the clock to start the third quarter, but it looked like the Cyclones would have to settle for a field goal. But Jace Gilbert's 41-yard attempt missed and the score remains 10-7 in Iowa State's favor.

HALFTIME: Iowa State 10, West Virginia 7

The Mountaineers marched down the field on their last drive, going 68 yards in just under three minutes. Bryce Ford-Wheaton pulled in a pass from JT Daniels and stayed in bounds to pick up West Virginia's first touchdown of the game.

4:53/Q2: Iowa State interception

Anthony Johnson Jr. had a huge pick late in the third, which gave Iowa State possession on the 30-yard line with time to add a few more points.

7:10/Q2: Jirehl Brock back on the field after injury

It's been a weird several minutes for Iowa State's star running back. Brock needed to be helped off the field, was carted to the locker room...and now he's back going through some warm up drills on the sideline. He isn't in for the current play, but could make it back out, which is shocking after how he went down.

7:51/Q2: DeShawn Hanika scores Iowa State's first touchdown

The Cyclones picked up their first touchdown of the day when Hanika pulled in a 16-yard pass in the end zone, despite a ton of coverage. West Virginia was flagged for pass interference, but Iowa State declined. Cyclones hold a 10-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

14:41/Q2: Jirehl Brock helped off after first run of the second quarter

Iowa State running back Jirehl Brock took the handoff and ran the ball. A West Virginia player had his leg, trying to make the tackle, and Brock tried to continue running. He went down awkward and needed to be helped off the field.

End of first quarter: Iowa State 3, West Virginia 0

Not much to report other than the Cyclones field goal.

1:47/Q1: Cyclones settle for a field goal

Another game, another dropped pass. Hunter Dekkers went to Jaylin Noel in the end zone on third down, but the pass was tipped slightly and Noel dropped what would've been a touchdown. Jace Gilbert scored the first points of the game for Iowa State by hitting a field goal instead.

6:50/Q1: Iowa State eats timeout in first quarter

The Cyclones offense looked confused on a 4th and 1 attempt, so the coaching staff called a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty. After using up a timeout with just under seven minutes on the clock in the first, Iowa State elected to punt anyway. West Virginia takes over from the 19-yard line.

9:25/Q1: Cyclones lean on defense after muffed punt

West Virginia was called for a running the kicker penalty, but Iowa State opted to decline. That gave the Mountaineers the ball on the 38-yard line. The Cyclones defense stepped up and forced West Virginia to go three and out and give the ball back to the home team.

Iowa State takes over from the four-yard line with under 10 minutes to play in the first quarter.

12:11/Q1: Iowa State starts first drive

The Cyclones defense didn't allow West Virginia past the 50-yard line and Iowa State takes over on offense for the first time with over twelve minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Could Iowa State still make a bowl game?

With each loss that the Cyclones add to the losing streak, Iowa State’s bowl game chances seem to lessen. But there are 41 bowl-game options and five-win teams may be needed to fill all of those slots.

So, Iowa State still has a chance to make it into a bowl game. Teams can opt out – like Texas A&M did last year, leaving room for Rutgers to take the spot. Two 5-7 teams made it in 2016, three in 2015, but there are a lot of “ifs” about whether Iowa State could still make one.

For starters, the Cyclones have a 3-5 record. It’s not guaranteed that Iowa State will get to five wins this year. But a lot of other things would have to happen, and Randy Peterson breaks those down.

More: Meaningful November games for ISUMeaningful November games take a different definition for Iowa State football this year

Cyclones seeing the fruits of the transfer portal

Ah, the transfer portal.

It’s been a hot topic of discussion in recruiting and college athletics circles. On one hand, programs can lose their best players to other schools when an athlete feels like he isn’t being used correctly.

But on the other hand, it can give teams a second chance at once-missed recruits. Just look at Dimitri Stanley and MJ Anderson, who were Iowa State targets in high school and ended up with the Cyclones through the transfer portal.

Travis Hines digs into how the transfer portal can be beneficial for college programs that may have missed out on an athlete the first time around.

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football beats West Virginia 31-14, ends losing streak