Iowa State Cyclones

Game recap, analysis: Iowa State football back on track with big home win

The Cyclones use strong second half to put Cincinnati away, 34-17

Dana Becker

Rocco Becht and the Iowa State football team bounced back Saturday night, getting to 8-2 with a 34-17 win over Cincinnati in Ames.
Rocco Becht and the Iowa State football team bounced back Saturday night, getting to 8-2 with a 34-17 win over Cincinnati in Ames. / William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Iowa State football team was in desperate need of a win Saturday night.

Thankfully for the Cyclones, they were in a position to get what they needed, using a strong second half to pull away from Cincinnati at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, 34-17.

Iowa State (8-2, 5-2), who came in having lost two straight, kept hope alive for a run to the Big 12 title game and possibly a spot in the the first-ever 12-team playoff.

Check out our game recap below with in-game analysis and big-play highlights from Iowa State's win:

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Final Stats

Iowa State was led by quarterback Rocco Becht, as the super sophomore made several big plays. Becht, the son of former New York Jets tight end Anthony Becht, showed his burners on a back-breaking TD run. He finished with 234 yards passing and a touchdown to Stevo Klotz, adding 48 yards on the ground.

Klotz was one of the stars of the game, as the unknown senior from Minnesota had the touchdown catch and also converted a fourth-down on a fake punt with a 22-yard run.

Abu Sama got back on track running the football, going for 52 yards with a TD. Gabe Burkle had 73 yards receiving on six receptions, Jayden Higgins had 69 on six catches and Jaylin Noel also caught six passes for 43. 

For Cincinnati, Sorsby threw for 66 yards but did most of his damage with his legs, rushing for 136 with a 41-yard touchdown to pull the Bearcats back into the game. Corey Kiner had 86 yards rushing and Evan Pryor had a touchdown.

Third-down was a troublesome area for Cincinnati, converting just 3 of 11. They were also flagged 13 times for 87 yards on the night. 

Fourth Quarter Live Updates

Touchdown Iowa State! Abu Sama put the nail in the Cincinnati coffin, breaking free on fourth-and-2 for a 27-yard touchdown to make it 34-17 with just over a minute to play. Becht had a key 32-yard run on third-and-6 earlier in the drive, while Sama positioned the Cyclones to go for it with a 6-yard run on third-and-8. 

Drive of the game: The Cyclones chewed up over seven minutes of the fourth and final quarter before Becht punched it in to make it 27-17. The drive covered 68 yards on 15 plays, culminating with the 15-yard TD run by Becht that gave Jack Trice Stadium a reason to jump up and down.

Iowa State defensive stand! With just over three minutes to play, the Iowa State defense forced a three-and-out, taking over with a 27-17 lead on Cincinnati. The front-four put pressure on Brendan Sorsby, and his receivers were unable to help the struggling quarterback out.

Touchdown Iowa State! Rocco magic is back, as the Cyclone quarterback grabbed a high snap that almost went over his head and darted 15 yards for what could be the game-winning score, making it 27-17 with four minutes to go. Iowa State converted three third-down attempts and a fourth-down on the drive, which saw them march down from the ISU 32. Becht had big pass plays to Jaylin Noel, Jayden Higgins and Brett Eskildsen. On third-and-2 from the Cincinnati 15, the snap nearly went over his head, as Becht hauled it in with one hand before running straight up the middle, breaking right towards the corner of the end zone.

Touchdown Cincinnati: The Bearcats take advantage of the Iowa State turnover, as Brendan Sorsby darts 41 yards to make it 20-17. After a huge run by Evan Pryor was called back for a hold, Cincinnati didn’t panic, running the football twice for 48 yards to make it a one possession game with under 12 to go. Sorsby has just 66 yards passing but is up to 136 on the ground.

Fumble Iowa State: Just when things seemed like they were going all in the favor of the Cyclones, a fumble forced by the Bearcats might turn the momentum. Following a big first-down completion by Rocco Becht to Gabe Burkle, Josh Minkins fell on a loose ball put on the ground by Carson Hansen. 

Third Quarter Live Updates

End of third quarter: Iowa State 20, Cincinnati 10

Field goal Iowa State! Kyle Konrardy, a redshirt freshman from Dubuque, Iowa, knocked through a career-long 52-yard field goal, giving the Cyclones a 20-10 lead with under three to play in the third quarter. The drive featured a little bit of everything, including a successful fake punt. Iowa State took over following a fumble recovery deep in its own territory.

More from Stevo! Get to know Stevo Klotz as he puts down a 22-yard run on fourth-and-9 from the ISU 42 for a first down. Klotz caught a touchdown earlier in the quarter to put the Cyclones head 17-10. 

Turnover Cincinnati! The Bearcats were poised to answer the Iowa State touchdown before Brendan Sorsby put the ball on the ground. The fumble was forced by Malik Verdon, who punched it out with his non-cast hand while Tyler Onyedim fell on top of it. Cincinnati had marched from its own 25 down to the ISU 21 before the mistake. The Cyclones were gifted 15 more yards after due to a personal foul.

Touchdown Iowa State! Halftime adjustments showed for the Cyclones, as they marched right down the field with Rocco Becht touchdown to Stevo Klotz to take a 17-10 lead with 10:04 left in the third. Becht completed a pair of critical third-down passes to Brett Eskildsen and Jayden Higgins on the drive, going 5-for-6 overall. 

Halftime Stats

After a pretty exciting first quarter, the offenses have failed to do much since. But credit the defenses, as they have come to play on both sides. Iowa State is just 1 of 6 on third-down attempts while Cincinnati is 2-for-8. The Bearcats have a total of 180 yards of offense and the Cyclones are sitting at 114 with just 24 on 13 rush attempts. 

Penalties have also been an issue, with Cincinnati being flagged eight times and Iowa State five. Brendan Sorsby for the Bearcats has completed 7 of 12 but for just 48 yards, adding 76 yards rushing. Evan Pryor has the lone TD, rushing for 22 yards.

Rocco Becht has been effective, hitting 9 of 13, but they have gone for just 90 yards. Gabe Burkle, not Jayden Higgins or Jaylin Noel, is the leading receiver with 42 yards on two catches. Higgins has 31 on two and Noel just 11 on two. True freshman Aiden Flora leads the ground game with 15 yards, as Carson Hansen, who has the TD, has just five yards on six attempts while Abu Sama III has three on two attempts.

Second Quarter Live Updates

End of second quarter: Iowa State 10, Cincinnati 10

Field goal Iowa State! After the Cyclone defense forced a three-and-out, a bad break on the punt for Cincinnati put Iowa State in great field possession. Becht hit Jayden Higgins on a key 15-yard pass and Kyle Konrardy knocked through a 35-yard field goal to tie it at 10-10. Konrardy had a winning kick vs. Iowa earlier this year. 

Iowa State almost gets first break of game: The Cyclones nearly had the first momentum shift of the contest. A snap was too high for 6-foot-7 punter Mason Fletcher of Cincinnati, but before an ISU player could recover it, Fletcher picked the ball up and got off a 24-yard punt.

Field goal Cincinnati: The Bearcats march down into ISU’s red zone but the Cyclone defense comes up, forcing a successful field goal of 29 yards by Nathan Hawks to make it 10-7 Cincinnati. Sorsby had a big 41-yard run on an option play but penalties - the Bearcats have been flagged six times already - have been an issue. Something to watch as the game moves forward is the playing surface. Both teams have had trouble with slipping, as the field appears to be getting ripped up quite a bit. 

A very fast played first quarter, as Cincinnati had 113 yards of total offense and recorded five first downs to 47 yards and two by the Cyclones. The Bearcats had the ball for almost 10 minutes, as Sorsby was 6-for-7 for 55 yards.

First Quarter Live Updates

End of first quarter: Iowa State 7, Cincinnati 7

Iowa State Touchdown! Carson Hansen took advantage of a Cincinnati flag to get the Cyclones on the board from two yards out, making it 7-7 with 1:53 left in the first. After a 28-yard punt return by Jaylin Noel set Iowa State up in Bearcat territory, Rocco Becht found Gabe Burkle on a 32-yard strike. Cincinnati’s Jordan Young was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, resulting in first-and-goal from the 2. 

Iowa State gives backup QB a run: Connor Moberly, who this time last year was leading Southeast Polk to another Iowa state football championship, got his first action since late in September. Moberly came on to handle a designed quarterback run, picking up five yards. The first Iowa State possession, though, stalled out after a sack by Jared Bartlett.

Touchdown Cincinnati: The Bearcats get on the board first with an old-school option play. Brendan Sorsby, the talented dual-threat QB for Cincinnati, led the Bearcats down the field for a 7-0 lead with 9:56 left. He picked up 14 yards on third-and-14, and the offense stayed on the field to pick up the first-down by Sorsby again. Following a big pass play from Sorsby to Tony Johnson for 23 yards, Evan Pryor would take an option pitch from Sorsby and go in untouched. Sorsby had 62 yards of total offense on the drive.

Iowa State wins the toss and elects to defer to the second half. Cincinatti will start with the ball.

Pregame Updates

The Iowa State vs. Cincinnati game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. CT. The weather in Ames is currently in the 50s with the temperature expected to drop throughout the night. There are steady winds out of the South with high humidity but no expected rainfall. 

Some good news for Cyclone fans, as Tim Brando and Devin Gardner, on the call for FOX, are 2-0 while covering Iowa State this season. Gardner is a former Michigan quarterback.

More Iowa State & Big 12 Analysis

* Scouting the opponent: Get to know QB Brendan Sorsby

* Latest college football playoff rankings

* What Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield had to say about Cyclones

* Updated bowl projections for Iowa State, rest of Big 12

* Pair of ISU verbals compete in state football semifinals in Iowa

Published |Modified
Dana Becker
DANA BECKER

Dana Becker has been a sports writer in Iowa since 2000, writing for The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. Dana resides in north-central Iowa.

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