:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60676105/sportsOKLAHOMA_t640.0.jpg)
The 2002 season started off with a monumental game against Florida State, but we all know how that one ended, as we have already covered it this summer. Let’s not try and rehash that painful memory again.
After the Florida State game, the Cyclones would rattle off six straight wins. Including a ranked matchup against Nebraska in Ames, where Iowa State took down the Cornhuskers 36-14. This crazy stretch was led by Seneca Wallace, giving us plenty of highlights and memorable moments, including this one:
Iowa State would climb to 9th on the national polls, setting up a huge Big 12 matchup against #2 Oklahoma in Norman. This is where the wheels on the bus went flying right off. Oklahoma took Seneca Wallace and the Cyclones to the woodshed, winning 49-3.
The following week Iowa State went to Texas as the nation’s 17th ranked team. They would go on to fall to the Longhorns 21-10. Missouri came to Ames for the next game and Iowa State, still clinging to a 21st overall ranking, was able to take down the Tigers 42-35. Just when you thought the ugliness was over, the Cyclones headed to face Kansas State, and this one was not pretty at all. The Wildcats pounced all over our beloved Cyclones 58-7.
Oh, so you’re new here, huh? Thought it couldn’t get worse? It does. Iowa State would lose to Colorado and then UCONN. What?! Yes, UCONN, at home. Now it has officially hit the bottom.
Wait, it gets better. Iowa State would get selected to the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, ID to play BOISE STATE, which we covered in this segment. Spoiler Alert: It didn’t go well.
The season would start 6-1 and finish 1-6 for a final record of 7-7. A roller coaster season that never saw the roller coaster come back up. This is exactly why we should be forgetting what happened at the end of the 2002 football season.