Iowa State 34-17 Cincinnati (Nov 16, 2024) Game Summary

On By Littum

AMES, Iowa — — Rocco Becht threw for a score and ran for a score to lead Iowa State to a 34-17 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday night.

The Cyclones (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) used a second-half push to help overcome the tenacious Bearcats (5-5, 3-4).

Stevo Klotz caught Becht’s only touchdown pass, a 26-yarder that gave Iowa State the lead for good at 17-10 with 10:04 left in the third quarter. Klotz, a senior tight end, has two touchdowns in as many games against Cincinnati.

“He was unbelievable today for us,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said of Klotz.

Becht’s rushing touchdown came off a high snap, where he took it 15 yards to the house to give Iowa State a 27-17 lead with about 4 minutes left. He finished the game as the leading rusher as Becht ran for 48 yards on seven attempts.

“Once the ball is in my hands, I can make plays with it,” Becht said.

Carson Hansen ran in a 2-yard score for the Cyclones’ first touchdown of the game, his team-high ninth touchdown this season, and Abu Sama III capped the scoring with a 27-yard TD run with 1:09 left.

“Watching our guys (fight) and stay in there and do those things really well was great to see,” Campbell said.

Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby had 66 yards on 11-of-19 passing, but led the Bearcats with 141 yards rushing on 14 carries, including a 41-yard score. Evan Pryor opened the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown run.

“Obviously, I think we did some good things tonight, but we also did some bad things,” Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield. “You can’t make mistakes in the last six minutes against good football teams, so we have to do better.”

Takeaway

Cincinnati: The Bearcats committed a season-high 13 penalties on Saturday, with 11 of them coming against the offense.

Iowa State: The Cyclones found a way to score on three of their five possessions in the second half, helping end their two-game skid and keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.

It’s a fake!:

With 5:19 left in the third quarter, the Cyclones prepared to punt the ball back to the Bearcats, but ran a fake with Klotz, who ran it 22 yards to put Iowa State in range for an eventual field goal.

Next

Cincinnati: visiting no. 16 Kansas State next Saturday.

Iowa State: visits Utah next Saturday.

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