Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) reacts after made a first down against UCF during the first quarter in the week-8 NCAA football at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © NIrmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
No. 9 Iowa State finished a 14-point comeback, 38-35 win over UCF Saturday to improve to 7-0 on the year and 4-0 in Big 12 play.
The Cyclones needed an 11-play, 80-yard drive with 98 seconds left on the clock to – finally – punch in the go-ahead score. And, as they say…
Let’s get to the takeaways.
Digging the hole
Iowa State didn’t get punched in the mouth against UCF – it dug its own hole, and it was the biggest one its had to dig out of all year.
The Cyclones trailed 28-14 after a three-and-out on offense and a blown play from the defense leading to the Knights’ third touchdown of the game.
Iowa State left no room for error, and a blocked PAT made the win even less likely, but here we are.
Quarterback Rocco Becht started the game 6-18 on completions with a pick-six, before finishing 8-13.
Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel both had drops and the defense gave up three, 50-plus yard rushes that put UCF either in the end zone or right by it.
A poor performance by a banged up Iowa State defense
Iowa State’s lack of healthy players on the defensive side of the ball showed itself Saturday more than it had all season.
UCF’s R.J. Harvey and Jacurri Brown carved up the Cyclones like Halloween had already arrived.
Harvey finished with 196 yards on the ground and Brown added another 154 – the Knights averaged 9.1 yards per rush in the game overall.
The number of injuries at both the linebackers spot and elsewhere on the field.
“We’re hanging on by razor’s edge physically right now,” coach Matt Campbell said. “To watch our kids have the endurance and the physical wherewithal to finish that game and play the way they did – I just told our kids, ‘I couldn’t be prouder of what they did.’ I think there’s been great belief in our locker room since I got here in January.”
Rocco Becht, the rusher
Becht had his worst game of the year throwing the football, but more than made up for it as a rusher.
The sophomore leader at quarterback usually makes plays happen with his arm, but on Saturday, Becht was running for his life to extend drives throughout the night.
“My challenge to him a couple of weeks ago was that I really felt like, if we can get somewhere between 25 and 35 yards in him rushing the football – and with no turnovers – we’re going to win a lot of football games,” Campbell said. “I guess he doubled the yardage or quadrupled it, and turned it over a couple of times, so it kind of even things out.”
More than half of Becht’s rushing attempts ended in either first downs or touchdowns.
Get a load of these rushing attempts and the result of the play each time Becht tucked the ball and ran.
3 yards on 4th and 3 for a first down
23 yards on 1st and 10 for a first down
1 yard on 1st and 10
3 yards on 4th and 1 for a first down
2 yards on 2nd and 6
20 yards on 2nd and 10 for a first down
2 yards on 3rd and 1 for a first down
7 yards on 3rd and 10
1 yard for a touchdown
9 yards on 3rd and 8 for a first down
6 yards on 4th and 3 for a first down
6 yards on 2nd and 10
8 yards on 3rd and 4 for a first down
5 yards on 2nd and 2 for a first down
6 yards on 2nd and 14
8 yards on 2nd and 2 for a first down
3 yards on 2nd and goal
1 yard on 2nd and goal for a touchdown
It was fitting the game-winner came by No. 3 on the ground.
Is the future brightest for Carson Hansen at running back?
That’s how it felt after Hansen’s 57-yard touchdown that put the Cyclones on the board in the first quarter.
After Hansen’s second touchdown of the game, he had totaled 80 yards on five carries, seemingly well on his way to his first 100-yard game.
However, the sophomore tailback only took four more rushes the rest of the night, and was limited in his time on the field through the second half.
“Carson got dinged up,” Campbell said. “He was dinged up coming into the game. We were concerned about his health – he had a couple carries – he just physically couldn’t do it anymore. Like I said, we’re hanging on by a thread right now.”
He finished with nine carries for 91 yards and two scores.
Ben Brahmer injured
Iowa State tight end Ben Brahmer was hurt after taking a hit late in the second quarter.
Brahmer left the game favoring his left leg and did not return to the game. The standout player had a full brace on along with crutches on the sidelines for the rest of the game. Obviously, the hope is he uses the bye week to heel up.
“I don’t think it’s serious, but we’ll see,” Campbell said. “I think I’ll know a lot more next week and obviously, when we see each other again, I’ll have an update. But, I think a lot of it was precautionary – hopefully we dodged a bullet. Obviously, Ben is critical to our football team.”
Getting *that* win right before the second bye week
With the victory, Iowa State keeps its momentum going and record unblemished.
“As much as you just want to steamroll everybody, this was probably the best time for this to happen,” defensive lineman J.R. Singleton said. “So, we can take a deep breath, get our guys healthy and also go to work. Winning six games in a row – or well, now seven – some guys can get complacent, but I feel like with the way we won tonight, there’s no complacency.”
“Since I’ve got here, we’ve lost so many games like that,” Singleton said. “Honestly, I was just tired of losing like that. There was no option of losing that crossed my mind. It’s definitely huge to win like that – to keep the momentum going, but also on the film to be honest with ourselves – and oh, maybe the team we play next is going to take advantage of that. They won’t let you get away with that error.”
Now it heads into its second bye week, with some time to rest before its five games that stand between it and a trip to another Big 12 championship game under Campbell.
“It helps a lot for us to have a bye week at this point,” Noel said. “We’re going to need it. We’re going to have to take advantage of this bye week and take care of our bodies. We’ve got a tough, six-game stretch coming up.”
The next time Iowa State takes the field, it will be ranked in the top 10 with an undefeated record in November.
…
Survive and advance.
