Rosenfels on the Mark for Cyclones

It was a sweet night for Sage in the desert.

Sage Rosenfels, in his final game for Iowa State, completed 23 of 34 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns, both to Chris Anthony, as the Cyclones defeated Pittsburgh, 37-29, in the Insight.com Bowl on Thursday night.

“I’ll treasure this season and this game for the rest of my life,” said Coach Dan McCarney, who was 13-42 in five seasons at Iowa State before this breakthrough season.

Rowdy, red-clad Iowa State fans made up most of the near-capacity crowd of 41,813, cheering on the Cyclones in their first bowl appearance in 22 years.

In improving to 9-3, Iowa State--previously 0-4 in bowl games--had its first nine-win season since 1906.

“It was a great feeling to be part of such a special team,” said Rosenfels, the offensive player of the game. “We didn’t do anything pretty this year but we found a way to win.”

Pittsburgh’s Antonio Bryant, winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the top receiver in the country, caught five passes for 155 yards, including touchdowns of 72 and 44 yards.

John Turman was 20 for 36 for 347 yards for the Panthers (7-5).

He threw for the two touchdowns to Bryantand was intercepted once. Kevan Barlow had 114 yards in 22 carries.

The bowl game was moved from Tucson and was the first football game played in Bank One Ballpark, also the scene of the first outdoor college basketball game--between the Tennessee and Arizona State women--on Wednesday night.

After Rosenfels ran out the gameclock, he threw the ball into the crowd of Iowa State fans.

Rosenfels completed 11 in a row, including the last nine of the first half. He directed touchdowns on four consecutive first-half drives as Iowa State built a 20-point lead.