Insight.com Bowl: Iowa St. 37, Pittsburgh 29

PHOENIX (AP) _ After 109 years of playing college football, Iowa State finally has a bowl victory. <br><br>No wonder the 20,000 or more Iowa State fans rushed the field and tore down the goal posts after

Friday, December 29th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHOENIX (AP) _ After 109 years of playing college football, Iowa State finally has a bowl victory.

No wonder the 20,000 or more Iowa State fans rushed the field and tore down the goal posts after the Cyclones beat Pittsburgh 37-29 Thursday night in the Insight.com Bowl.

``To be able to give this university I love so much such a good feeling is unbelievable,'' Iowa State center Ben Bruns said. ``The fans were unbelievable.''

It was patience rewarded for coach Dan McCarney, whose 13-42 record going into this season was the worst of any coach who had been at the same NCAA Division I school for five years.

``I will treasure this season and treasure this night for the rest of my life,'' McCarney said.

Sage Rosenfels, in his final game for Iowa State, completed 23 of 34 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns, both to Chris Anthony. He was named the game's outstanding offensive player.

``It's a great feeling to be part of a special team,'' Rosenfels said. ``We didn't do anything pretty this year, but we found a way to win. That means you are a good football team.''

At 9-3, Iowa State had its first nine-win season since 1906. The Cyclones were 0-4 in bowl games until Thursday night.

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.

``It's hard to put into words, but it makes you feel so good to see our fans' emotion for this football team,'' McCarney said. ``They mean the world to us. To see a sea of red out there was a magnificent feeling.''

Defensive end Reggie Hayward of Iowa State was selected the top defensive player. He had six tackles and a sack. Doug Densmore also had a big night. He made a one-handed grab to down the ball at the 1 on a crucial punt in the fourth quarter and threw the key block in freshman JaMaine Billups' 72-yard punt return early in the fourth.

Billups, the high school player of the year in Nebraska, hadn't returned a punt all season. He was pressed into action when J.J. Moses went out with a concussion.

Rosenfels was on the sidelines as a backup when Iowa State went 1-10 and 3-8 in 1997 and 1998. Last year, he became the starter on a team that went 4-7 but played better. Then came this breakthrough season that could send him to the NFL, his coach said.

``He's gone from a two-year backup to a guy who's put himself in a position to play a whole lot of football with the way he's played,'' McCarney said.

Pittsburgh's Antonio Bryant, the 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.

Bryant said the Panthers had the talent, but not the cohesiveness, necessary to win.

``Sometimes when we get on the field, I feel like we can't be stopped,'' he said. ``I feel there's no way we can be in a hole with all the players we have, with all the different sets and formations we have, that no one should be able to stop us.

``But then we get in the game where it's a team concept and we need 11 on the field doing that all the time.''

John Turman was 20-for-36 for 347 yards for the Panthers (7-5). He threw for two touchdowns and was intercepted once. Kevan Barlow rushed for 114 yards on 22 carries.

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

Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris called the loss a learning experience.

``We're still not where we need to be as a football program,'' said Harris, who had the Panthers in a bowl game for the first time since 1997, ``but we have a lot in front of us as we continue to grow and understand what it takes to win big games.''