AUSTIN, Texas — Iowa State’s made its fair share of program history in the five years Matt Campbell has been the team’s head coach. No win was bigger for the program than Friday afternoon’s 23-20 comeback win over No. 20 (No. 17 in College Football Playoff rankings) Texas.

The No.15 (No. 13 in CFP) Cyclones overcame a 20-10 deficit in the third quarter and got their first victory in Austin since 2010, moving their conference play record to 7-1 (7-2 overall) and putting themselves on the doorstep of a first-ever Big 12 Championship Game appearance. The Cyclones’ defense bowed up when it mattered most, Breece Hall scored the game-winning touchdown and a field goal attempt from the Longhorns went agonizingly wide as time expired.

Black Friday was good to the Cyclones — and there’s a lot to unpack.

PURDY SHOWS UP

It’s been a mixed year for Iowa State’s star quarterback. Purdy started the year off struggling mightily and leaving the Cyclones’ offense relying on Breece Hall to bail them out. He’s been playing better recently — and against the Longhorns, the junior put together maybe his best performance of the season.

Throwing for 312 yards and a touchdown on 25 completions, Purdy kept the Iowa State offense moving as the Longhorns keyed in on stopping Hall for much of the contest.

Purdy’s lone touchdown was a 35-yard pass to Sean Shaw in the first half, but he did a great job of finding his tight ends to keep the chains moving. Charlie Kolar had six grabs for a team-high 131 yards, while Dylan Soehner had five for 69.

If Purdy continues to play strong football, then it’s going to be hard to beat the Cyclones. His struggles this year have been consistently meeting his own high expectations.

DEFENSE STANDS OUT

Iowa State’s secondary continued to get picked on in the first half. Texas wideout Brennan Eagles caught five passes for 142 yards. Ehlinger threw for 303 yards and a score. Early on, Texas’ running backs were causing problems for the Cyclone front seven.

But in the fourth quarter, trailing 20-13, the Cyclones stepped up and provided the offense with an opportunity to win the game.

Forcing the Longhorns to punt with less than three minutes left and the score 20-16 in the home team’s favor set up the eventual winning drive.

Campbell gave the defense credit for making big plays in a game where they weren’t always at their best.

“It wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and I wouldn’t say that it was our best football game,” Campbell said. “I thought our detail was just okay. But when we needed to make plays, and I do think that’s what really good teams do, we had the opportunity to make plays, and we made them.”

Late on, the key plays were made by JaQuan Bailey on a fourth-down stop and Latrell Bankston with a late sack of Ehlinger, which forced the 57-yard field goal attempt from Cameron Dicker as time expired. Those plays wouldn’t have been made by Iowa State five years ago, but it wasn’t much of a surprise when they happened Friday.

UP NEXT

Now, history awaits the Cyclones. They play next week against the West Virginia Mountaineers in a regular-season finale that will likely serve as preparation for Iowa State’s long-awaited debut in the Big 12 Championship game on Dec. 19 in Arlington, Texas.

Leading the conference by a full game, it would take a highly unlikely turn of events involving almost half of the league for the Cyclones to miss out on a trip to AT&T Stadium.

Who will they face? Likely No. 14 (No. 11 in CFP rankings) Oklahoma, who hasn’t lost since the defeat to Iowa State in October.

It’s a testament to the progress Iowa State has made — and Campbell reflected on it after the game by referencing the seniors making an impact.

“I think it’s ironic that the senior class is the one we recruited here, when we were 3-9 and we didn’t have a whole lot to sell,” Campbell said. “And these young men believed in us enough to come here and have been an anchor of creating a positive change in our football programs.”