Gardner Minshew, Washington State Beat Iowa State 28-26 in Alamo Bowl

Quarterback Gardner Minshew II threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns as No. 13 Washington State beat No. 24 Iowa State 28-26 on Friday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Junior wideout Hakeem Butler had nine catches and 192 yards for Iowa State, which fell to 8-5. Junior running back David Montgomery added 179 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown.

Washington State finished 11-2 and set a school record for most wins in a single season.

Washington State led 21-7 late in the second quarter, but Iowa State scored 13 straight points to pull within 21-20 heading into the final frame.

ISU had a few chances to take the lead after forcing a few three-and-outs, but a missed field goal and a fumble prevented that from occurring. Washington State eventually went up 28-20 after a 10-yard touchdown run from freshman running back Max Borghi.

After the two teams traded empty possessions, ISU marched down the field for a five-play, 74-yard touchdown drive capped by a one-yard quarterback sneak from freshman Brock Purdy.

However, the two-point conversion failed, and WSU was able to run out the clock.

The Alamo Bowl was quite eventful this year for numerous reasons.

First, two Iowa State Cyclones were tossed for targeting in the second quarter, with one more controversial than the other.

The first occurred when senior linebacker Willie Harvey put a helmet-to-helmet hit on a sliding Minshew. Washington State then earned a first down and eventually scored a touchdown and extra point to go up 14-0.

The second drew the ire of ISU head coach Matt Campbell, so much so that he earned a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for vociferous arguing with the officials.

With WSU up 14-7 and driving late in the second quarter, freshman defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike technically had a helmet-to-helmet hit on Minshew. The issue was that the hit looked more like an accidental bump than a driving target, which was the case for the Harvey play.

Danny Lawhon of the Des Moines Register chimed in and said by the letter of the law, it was "probably targeting."

Chris Williams of Cyclone Fanatic disagreed, however:

WSU scored a touchdown on the drive and led 21-7 going into the half.

Second, Butler put on an absolute show for the Alamo Bowl fans. Of note, he looked like a cross between New York Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. and ex-Detroit Lions wideout Calvin Johnson on the play of the game:

Ian Wharton of Bleacher Report offered his praise:

As noted by 247Sports, Butler set the Alamo Bowl record for most receiving yards.

Third, fans were privy to some Minshew magic, like on this seven-yard touchdown run:

Minshew also had arguably the second-best play of the game. With his team up 21-20 and facing a third-and-10 on the ISU 30-yard line, the senior evaded a furious pass rush and tossed a shovel pass to freshman wideout Davontavean Martin, who scampered to the 10. Borghi scored on the next play.

Jessamyn Martin of 710 ESPN Seattle reported that Minshew broke ex-Cal (and current Los Angeles Ram) quarterback Jared Goff's record for most passing yards in a year. And FOX Sports reporter Bruce Feldman summed up Minshew's season well:

Although the loss was disappointing for ISU, the Cyclones can take pride in the fact that they held the Cyclones to just seven points in the second half of the game without two key players.

Washington State can also be proud of their 11-win season and perhaps greater things to come under head coach Mike Leach.