Nov 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) passes during the third quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images
AMES — Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht turned 21 on Tuesday.
So on Monday night, he “celebrated” by poring over game videos, examining every angle of the Cyclones’ recent struggles and successes, determined to unlock the door to consistency.
But Becht’s assiduous efforts didn’t allow him to escape a little good-natured ribbing.
“We just sang ‘Happy Birthday,’ and tried to find different ways to make fun of him,” ISU offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said.
All kidding aside, the Cyclones (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) are dead serious about ending a two-game slide on Saturday at 7 p.m. (FOX) against Cincinnati (5-4, 3-3) at Jack Trice Stadium.
And accomplishing that aim doesn’t fall exclusively on one side of the ball. All three phases must improve if ISU is to retain any hope of remaining a darkhorse in the league championship chase.
“I think it takes everybody,” Cyclone head coach Matt Campbell said. “It’s not just offense, it’s not just defense, it’s not just special teams. We’ve got to play together — and I think the great thing is when we play great team football, man, we’re really special. We haven’t been able to do that with (good) consistency the last two weeks, and probably the last three weeks to be the team we need to be, and play the way we want to play.”
The injury-ravaged defense has allowed opponents to average 35.3 in the past three games — its worst three-game stretch since the opening three games of the Campbell era in 2016. Becht’s seen two interceptions returned for touchdowns in that span — and another returned to the one-yard line. And a combination of ill-timed penalties, dropped passes and spotty pass-blocking has led to ISU’s offense sputtering often on the cusp of field goal range, or in the red zone.
So no one’s pointing fingers. The Cyclones are simply working to find solutions to their recent travails. It’s all they can do with three regular-season games remaining and all of their preseason goals mathematically within reach.
“Now it’s just focusing on game eight,” said Becht, who’s thrown 16 touchdown passes to seven interceptions this season. “Focusing on that now, and focusing on the rest in the future. I do feel like we were focusing on the future a little bit, so (we’re) just trying to get back to our fundamentals and focusing on one game at a time.”
From Becht’s perspective, that translates to dissecting every play — good and bad — from recent games and identifying the root cause for each of them. He’ll then apply that to game week preparations and in-game decision-making. With regard to his pick-sixes, Becht’s been a victim of circumstance at times. One of those balls bounced of the midsection of the receiver and into the defender’s arms. Another came with the Cyclones locked in full-bore comeback mode when pushing the envelope — and the football — into tight and perilous places becomes a necessary risk.
“I would say I’ve gotten unlucky on when the pick has happened and there’s just nobody around,” Becht said. “And honestly, it’s just finding a window and me just going out there and playing ball. … It sucks to give free points to the other team because (that) doesn’t help our defense at all.”
Mouser blamed himself for Becht’s interception that turned into a Jayhawks’ touchdown in last week’s loss.
“I put Rocco in a bad situation with what we called on first down,” Mouser said. “We lost yards on first down, so it’s second and long, which the defense is gonna expect you to pass. We pass it, it gets intercepted and it goes the other way. So I put that more on myself than I do on Rocco, and obviously there’s an execution piece of it — and he would probably tell you the other way on it.”
Yes, he would. Becht had no time to celebrate his 21st birthday because he’s wholly consumed by the desire to start winning football games again. So the work continues — and a night on the town can wait.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to stay consistent and finish drives,” he reiterated.
