Hawkeyes plagued with deja vu feeling in another heartbreaking Cy-Hawk loss

AMES — With the air completely sucked out of Jack Trice Stadium, Kyle Konrardy watched as he played hero for the second time in as many tries.

The referee’s arms raise straight up — it’s good. A 54-yard field goal to give No. 16 Iowa State a 16-13 lead, and there’s less than two minutes to play.

In comes that pit-in-your-stomach feeling for those dressed in yellow and black.

Not again.

Iowa’s last chance for offense fell flat just seconds later — back-to-back sacks and an incomplete shot on fourth down destroyed whatever sliver of hope Hawkeye fans had. The Cy-Hawk trophy is staying in Ames.

“It certainly hurts. It always has,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Always will in the locker room and stuff, certainly. And it's not going to go away for a while here.”

There’s no denying the deja vu from last season to now. The Hawkeyes left too many plays on the field, including having to settle for a field goal in the third quarter. It took four drives before Iowa’s offense got a first down.

The Hawkeye defense did its best to hold off the Cyclones’ explosive offense. It succeeded, limiting quarterback Rocco Becht and his receiving arsenal through three-and-a-half frames of football.

Then came the kick.

“All those guys played so hard, our defense played so awesome today, but it was just disappointment in the locker room,” quarterback Mark Gronowski said. “Everyone fights so hard, they work so hard throughout this offseason for games like these, and it was a close game.”

Gronowski has very rarely lost rivalry games in his career. In some cases, he’s helped string together blowout wins. He didn’t want to repeat his words from Week 1, but after a sigh, he said it.

“It was really disappointing.”

For the ones who experienced the heartbreak of last season’s ending, reliving it was just as painful. Iowa’s had immense success at Jack Trice Stadium, taking down the Cyclones in the last six tries.

Yes, some positives existed in the loss. Iowa’s defense did hold the Cyclones to less than 300 yards of offense. The Hawkeyes passing game as a little more improvement from Week 1.

None of that matters, though, when you lose to your rival.

“I mean, the only stat I care about is winning,” safety Koen Entringer said. “But to their credit, they’re a great offense.”

Iowa faces three Big Ten teams later this season who are already ranked inside the top 25: Indiana, Penn State and Oregon. The rankings can fluctuate, rising and falling as the Hawkeyes face UMass next Saturday.

Iowa plays a lot of close games against Iowa State, especially over the last few seasons. Losing the same way, though? That’s a hurt that lingers just a little bit longer than before.

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