Ames, IA (Sports Network) - Alexander Robinson ran for 117 yards and a touchdown, as the Iowa State Cyclones overcame a slow start to pull out a 28-16 win over the Kansas Jayhawks in Big 12 action at Jack Trice Stadium.
Austen Arnaud threw for 168 yards and ran for another 59 for the Cyclones (5-4, 3-2 Big 12), who need only one victory in their final three games to become bowl eligible for the second straight year.
Kansas (2-6, 0-4) has now lost 11 straight league games. Third-string quarterback Quinn Mecham got the starting nod due to injuries and completed 22-of-33 passes for 149 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
KU kicker Jacob Branstetter accounted for the only points of the first quarter with field goals of 34 and 42 yards to stake the Jayhawks a 6-0 lead.
ISU's first real spark came at the 4:24 mark of the second quarter, when Josh Lenz returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown to put the Cyclones on top.
But the Jayhawks put together a late drive at the end of the half, and Branstetter kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to send KU to the locker room with a 9-7 lead.
The Cyclones finally came alive in the third quarter. They drove 74 yards on nine plays during their opening possession of the second half, which was capped by Robinson's two-yard touchdown run.
Later in the third quarter, ISU put together a 16-play, 89-yard drive, which ended with a three-yard touchdown run by Jeff Woody.
The Cyclones pushed their lead to 28-9 on Shontre Johnson's 33-yard touchdown run with 1:18 remaining in the third quarter.
KU's final touchdown came on a five-yard pass from Mecham to James Sims with seven seconds to play in regulation.
Of ISU's 400 total yards, 278 came after halftime.