Iowa State football: Keys to victory for Cyclones vs. Arizona State

What Iowa State needs to do in order to defeat Arizona State, win Big 12 title

One key for Iowa State football Saturday night vs. Arizona State will be the play of Rocco Becht. / Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The Iowa State football team has a tremendous opportunity this Saturday when they face off against Arizona State for the Big 12 championship.

Following consecutive wins to end the year over Cincinnati, Utah and Kansas State, the Cyclones (10-2) were able to secure a spot in Dallas to face off against the Sun Devils (10-2), who are the hottest team in the league right now.

Arizona State has won five in a row since a 10-point loss to Cincinnati in mid-October. That includes a 49-7 beatdown of rival Arizona last week. 

But there is a blueprint to defeating Kenny Dillingham’s squad, and these are three of the keys that Iowa State needs to do in order to make that happen:

Arizona State will try to feature running back Cam Skattebo early and often vs. Iowa State. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

1. Containing Arizona State star RB Cam Skattebo

Over the last two weeks, Cam Skattebo has taken over, rushing for 147 yards vs. BYU and 177 vs. Arizona. He missed the UCF game with an injury, but ran for 153 yards the week prior to that, and had 73 yards in his return.

As a defense, you are not going to be able to completely take Skattebo away and out of the equation. Instead, you have to limit the damage that he does with each carry.

The senior has 247 carries for 1,398 yards with 17 touchdowns. He has scored in all but two games this year, both of which the Sun Devils still won. 

In the two losses, though, he was held to 3.3 and 4.4 yards per carry, down from his average of nearly six. Kansas State also held him to a season-low 2.9 yards per rush. 

Skattebo had long runs of just nine and 16 yards in the defeats, with his longest rush in close wins over Kansas State and Texas State being 11 and 13 yards. 

There is also the passing game factor he brings, as Skattebo has caught 35 balls for 458 yards with two more TDs. He exploded for 117 vs. Texas Tech, surpassing 100 yards in the win over Oklahoma State, as well. 

The improved play of Sam Leavitt is part of the reason Arizona State is playing for the Big 12 title. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

2. Make Arizona State work on offense

As already noted, the Sun Devils feature a strong ground attack. And while the passing game isn’t horrible, it does lead to some inconsistencies. 

Against Cincinnati, Sam Leavitt was injured and Jeff Sims completed just 12 of 23 for 155 yards, an average of under seven per pass. Arizona State also struggled on third-down, converting just 4 of 12.

In the loss to Texas Tech, those numbers by Leavitt jumped to 22 of 38 for 282, for an average of 7.4. The team, though, was only 5-for-13 on third-down attempts and failed on all three four-down conversion tries. 

Leavitt, a redshirt freshman, has thrown for under 200 yards in four games and missed another. He did go for 304 vs. Oklahoma State and was at 291 in the recent win over Arizona. 

He is not as gifted in the run game as some recent QBs Iowa State has faced, rushing for just two yards combined over the last two games. Leavitt has 29 yards in the last five outside of a 42-yard performance vs. Kansas State that included a 26-yard run.

The Iowa State offense will go as Rocco Becht goes this Saturday vs. Arizona State. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

3. Let Rocco Becht be Rocco Becht

When Iowa State dropped two straight to Kansas and Texas Tech, it seemed like they wanted to rely solely on the arm of Rocco Becht. The redshirt sophomore is a gunslinger at heart, but the Cyclones are so much more difficult to contend when they are mixing in the run with the pass.

Becht had 383 and 299 yards in those two losses, but has surpassed 200 yards in all but two other games. Know what Iowa State’s record is in those games? Try 10-0 on the season. 

With capable outside receivers in Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, along with running backs Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III, Becht doesn’t have to do it all himself. Add in his ability to scramble for yards, and you can see why implementing a heavy mix of run-pass is the key.

Becht comes into this game having completed 59 percent of his passes for 3,021 yards with 20 touchdowns. He finished last year with 3,120 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing almost 63 percent of his throws.

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