Chapter 37

Game day! Neither Isaac nor Ren could sleep that Sunday night. The game was coming in twelve hours, and their nerves were straining. “I have a great idea,” Isaac mentioned while they lay on their beds. Isaac picked up his phone and started playing the song “You Can’t Stop Me.” This was what they listened to before every game—a few times. Once they were refueled, they got up and got ready for the day. Team meetings and last-minute preparations were scheduled for the players leading up to game time.

As the preparations were completed, it was time to get dressed for the game. Iowa State would be in their white uniforms and Oklahoma in their red uniforms. Well, this was it. Ren led his team to the tunnel and then onto the field. The crowd was insane. Getting to play in the Dallas Cowboys stadium was surreal. As the team ran onto the field, Isaac kept telling himself, Don’t trip. Don’t trip. Don’t trip. Oklahoma won the coin toss and chose to start with the ball. The teams lined up, and with the kickoff, the game began.

Oklahoma started on their own twenty-five. They started with a jet sweep that got them a first down. The next play was a reverse for another first down, and then they settled into a rhythm of running and short-passing plays. Once they went to the eighteen-yard line, the Cyclone defense stiffened, and Oklahoma settled for a field goal.

On Iowa State’s first possession, Ren lined up in the shotgun, took the snap, and was sacked at the seventeen-yard line. Somehow three rushers had beaten their blocks, and all three descended on Ren at the same time. His only choice was the tuck the ball and try not to fumble. They are faster in person than on film, he thought to himself. Once in the huddle, he reminded his linemen that they had to give him time to run the play. On the second play, Ren back peddled and floated the ball over the rushing linemen into the arms of Bryce Cooper for a gain of eight. The third-down pass was incomplete, so the Cyclones had to punt on their first possession. From that point, it was defense against defense until the end of the first half with a score of 3–0. The Cyclones hustled to the locker room to catch their breath and prepare for the second half.

Coach Williams gathered his coaches and Ren to talk strategy. The other coaches were surprised to see a freshman quarterback as part of this discussion, but they were impressed with his knowledge. “Ren, what is happening back there?” Coach Williams asked. “I am getting no time. They are tall and fast, so my vision downfield is limited. I need to roll out so I can see better,” Ren suggested. “Okay, but we can’t do that the entire time. We will need to pick our spots for that,” Coach reminded him.

The Cyclones started the second half with the ball. Ren got more mobile on his roll-outs and was soon moving the team down the field. Their progress slowed when they got to the fourteen-yard line. On the next play, Ren rolled out to the right, but Bryce got tripped up, so he wasn’t there for Ren to get the ball to. Ren strung out the play until he saw two defenders about to meet him at the line of scrimmage. Quickly, Ren turned and threw a forty-yard bullet across the field to the other sideline. The Cyclone coaching staff closed their eyes and held their breath in unison as the ball flew over both teams. As it approached the sideline, a hand reached up to snag it out of the air. It was Isaac, who had come back to help. Isaac landed and immediately spun to his left to avoid a tackler, then sprinted downfield for a touchdown. Finally, on the board, the score was now 7–3. Oklahoma’s next possession got them another field goal to make the game 7–6. The Cyclones battled down the field to get a field goal of their own to make it 10–6. Iowa State’s defense held again to force a punt. The Cyclones took over at midfield. Four plays later, Bryce Cooper broke free for twenty-one yards to score the second touchdown for the Cyclones. The score became 17–6 halfway through the fourth quarter. The Sooners were unable to get a first down and had to punt again. With an eleven-point lead and seven minutes to go, the Cyclones focused on clock management. They took as much time for each play as possible. Soon, they were down to the thirty-five-yard line with less than two minutes to go, and the Sooners had no time-outs left. The Cyclone huddle was feeling really good. On the next play, Ren pitched the ball out to Bryce; as he turned the corner to go upfield, he was creamed with a monstrous hit. The ball popped up into the air and into the hands of a linebacker who raced the Cyclone team to the endzone. The Sooner went for two and got it to make the score 17–14 with a minute to go. The Cyclones expected an on-side kick but were surprised when the Sooners kicked it deep. That left the Iowa State special teams unprepared for a runback. The Sooner gunners were able to get past the Cyclones and knock the ball loose from the returner. It was a Sooner ball on the five-yard line. On the next play, they threw a slant pass to score and take the lead 21–17. It felt like the air had left the Cyclone sideline. They were up eleven just two minutes before and now are down four with thirty-two seconds left. The Cyclone kick returner redeemed himself by returning the kickoff to their forty-yard line. As Ren took the field, he had twenty-six seconds. Ren and Isaac looked at each other and smiled while the rest of the team was freaking out. “Calm down!” Ren yelled in the huddle. “We got this. Everyone, do your jobs, and we will win this game. Got it?” Ren said firmly. On the first play, there was no one open, so Ren threw the ball out of bounds to stop the clock with twenty-one seconds. On the second play, Ren faked to the right and found Isaac along the left sideline for a gain of twenty. Isaac could not get out of bounds; they had to burn a timeout with eleven seconds left. The team gathered around during the timeout. Ren went to Isaac. “We both know what is going to happen. Please get your foot down,” Ren advised Isaac. “I will do my best,” Isaac replied. The two teams lined up. Ren signaled for the snap. The ball came to him. He took three steps back, buying some time. The inside linebacker broke through and was reaching for Ren, who spun to his left to avoid him. Without looking, Ren let the pass go as the outside linebacker came crashing down on him. Ren fell to the ground and immediately rolled over to watch the end of the play. The ball was sailing to the back corner of the end zone. Isaac faked to the inside and spun back toward the left sideline. He jumped like he had never jumped before, stretching out his hand, feeling the ball touch his palm, and then crashing to the ground and rolling out of bounds with the ball still in his hands. The back judge came running in, waving his arms, signaling that Isaac was out of bounds, and calling it incomplete. Isaac looked up in disbelief. After all these years, he was out of bounds? Isaac could see movement on the side of him. He turned to see the head linesman rushing in to point to the ground and signaling it was a catch. The jumbotron was showing a replay at the same time. It showed clearly that Isaac’s left toe had touched down in bounds. It was a touchdown! Isaac lay on the ground weeping. Quickly, Ren was right by his side, hugging him as he was still on the ground. The entire team joined them in celebration. Final score: 23–21!