Utah rallied in the fourth quarter and even held a late lead, but the Cyclones scored a touchdown with 1:31 to play to hand the Utes their seventh straight loss.

The Utes have now lost seven straight as they fall in a close one against the No. 22 ranked Iowa State Cyclones rendering them officially bowl ineligible.

Iowa State Cyclones football held off an unrelenting Utah team for a 31-28 win at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday night.

First, the No. 22 Cyclones will have to win their last two games, starting at Utah and finishing versus Kansas State, and then they’ll need some help. There’s multiple scenarios that would result in an Iowa State berth in the Big 12 title, but the simplest one is if both Colorado and BYU each lose one of their remaining two games.

That, though, will be up to the Cyclones. In the lead-up to the 2020 election, all eyes are on Iowa. Get updates of all things Iowa politics delivered to your inbox. Iowa State can play its way into the Big 12 championship game after an ugly but ultimately effective 31-28 victory Saturday over Utah.

It takes a complete football team to win a championship. Iowa State is finding that out with each passing week. Seemingly left for dead in the heated Big 12 Conference race, the Cyclones now find themselves one win away from competing for the league title following a thrilling 31-28 victory over Utah Saturday night.

Rocco Becht threw for 256 yards and a touchdown, and Jayden Higgins paced the Cyclones with 155 yards and a touchdown on nine catches.