Alexander Robinson rushes for 127 yards, scores 3 TDs and Iowa State beats Army 31-10

Iowa State beats Army 31-10 to move to 3-1

AMES, Iowa — Alexander Robinson rushed for 127 yards and scored three touchdowns to help Iowa State beat Army 31-10 for its second straight win.

Austen Arnaud added 175 yards passing and two touchdowns for the Cyclones (3-1), who have surpassed their two-wins total from 2008.

Robinson, who has rushed for 100 yards in three straight games, caught a 2-yard TD pass and ran for a 68-yard touchdown to help put Iowa State up 17-3 late in the first half.

The Cyclones scored again on the opening series of the third quarter on a 14-yard TD run by Arnaud. Robinson added a 32-yard TD reception with 5:44 left.

Ali Villanueva had six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown to lead Army (2-2), which was held scoreless in the second half.

After the teams traded missed field goals, Iowa State’s Leonard Johnson picked off Army’s Chip Bowden in the end zone late in the third quarter.

The Black Knights held the ball for nearly 35 minutes but went just 3 of 16 on third down.

Iowa State pushed its lead to 24-10 early in the third quarter behind a pair of great plays from Arnaud. He found Marquis Hamilton for a 35-yard reception on the sidelines, then broke a tackle in the backfield, dashed up the middle and pushed his way into the end zone.

Iowa State jumped ahead 10-3 midway through the second quarter as Robinson took a shovel pass two yards for a touchdown. He pushed the Cyclones’ lead to 17-3 the next time he touched the ball.

Robinson found a seam on the weak side and broke free, hopping over Army defensive back Mario Hill’s outstretched hands and high-stepping into the end zone for a 68-yard score, the longest of his career.

Robinson became the first Iowa State player with a rushing and a receiving touchdown in the same game since Lane Danielsen pulled it off against Texas in 2003, and he’s the first Cyclones player with three consecutive 100-yard rushing games since 2000.

Army answered with just 13 seconds left in the first half. The Black Knights tried the same thing on three straight plays — a pass in the corner of the end zone to the 6-foot-10 Villanueva, who was matched up against 5-foot-9 Iowa State corner Kennard Banks. Villanueva’s 5-yard TD grab brought the Black Knights within 17-10 at the half.

Iowa State’s Grant Mahoney tied the game at 3-all with a 50-yard field goal in the first quarter, becoming the first Cyclones kicker in 16 years with at least two 50-yarders in one season.

Cyclones defensive end Rashawn Parker injured his left leg in the first quarter. He was carted off the field and did not return.

This was Army’s first trip to Ames, and the Cyclones welcomed the Black Knights with open arms. Two members of the SOF Warriors, a special operations parachute team, jumped out of a helicopter and landed near the 50-yard line about 75 minutes before kickoff, and four Black Hawk choppers performed a fly-by before the game.

Iowa State’s resurgent defense didn’t extend the hospitality. The Cyclones have held three of their four opponents to 17 points or less — after allowing 35.8 points per game in 2008.

The Cyclones also held onto the ball for the first time this season. Iowa State entered play with 12 turnovers, the highest total in the nation, but it was turnover-free against the Black Knights.