After a Comeback, Kansas Comes Back : Big Eight: Iowa State scores 40 points in a row after trailing, 21-7, then loses to the Jayhawks, 50-47.

After watching a big lead get shredded by Iowa State, 25th-ranked Kansas staged the biggest comeback in school history to beat the Cyclones, 50-47, Saturday.

The Jayhawks had led, 21-7, before Iowa State rallied for 40 points to take a 47-21 lead. Kansas then started a comeback during the third quarter, led by quarterback Chip Hilleary, for the Big Eight victory.

Hilleary rallied the Jayhawks with a touchdown run and two fourth-quarter scoring passes. The defense also contributed by forcing two fumbles that led to touchdowns.

Linebacker Larry Thiel returned the second fumble 37 yards for the winning touchdown with 6:07 to play.

“This is the greatest comeback that I’ve ever been associated with,” Kansas Coach Glen Mason said. “I knew we had to make some things happen so that we could get back in it, and we did. But I wasn’t sure if we were going to do it.”

Iowa State, 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the Big Eight, totaled 516 yards against the nation’s second-ranked defense and held its 47-21 lead with five minutes to play in the third quarter.

“These kids didn’t deserve this,” Iowa State Coach Jim Walden said. “It’s a tough thing for them. They must think they are the most unlucky team in the world. But we’re going to live to rise another day.”

The victory gave Kansas (5-1, 2-0) its best start since 1968, when the Jayhawks won their first seven games en route to the Orange Bowl. But until Hilleary breathed some life into the offense, it appeared the Jayhawks were headed for another loss at Ames, where they hadn’t won since 1981.

He started the comeback with a 17-yard touchdown run with 2:04 to play in the third quarter. His two-point conversion run cut the lead to 47-29.

After an Iowa State punt, Kansas needed only four plays to score again, Hilleary hitting tight end Dwayne Chandler on a 30-yard scoring play. Hassan Bailey’s recovery of Sundiata Patterson’s fumble at the Iowa State 40 set up a Hilleary-to-Matt Gay touchdown pass of 12 yards that cut the lead to 47-42 with 6:28 to play.

Two plays later, Kansas had the lead. Cornerback Gerald McBurrows jarred the ball from Iowa State quarterback Bob Utter and Thiel scooped it up at the 37. The Iowa State players seemed stunned as Thiel raced untouched down the right sideline to the end zone.

The 47 points were the most by Iowa State in Walden’s six seasons as coach. “I’ve got some devastated coaches,” Walden said.