Cowboys lose 2nd straight game, fall in Big 12 opener to Iowa State

AMES, Iowa – Rocco Becht’s passing revived what had been an inconsistent offense and Iowa State opened Big 12 Conference play with a 34-27 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday at MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium.

Becht and receivers Jaylin Noel and Daniel Jackson all achieved career highs as the Cyclones (2-2 overall, 1-0 in Big 12 play) broke a two-game losing streak with their most productive offensive outing since late last season.

Even at that, Iowa State needed a big stop by the defense to hold on, and all-conference cornerback T.J. Tampa provided it, intercepting Alan Bowman with 1:20 left and enabling the offense to run out the clock. It was the ninth straight game between the two rivals decided by one score and the third time the Cyclones have won it in that span.

Becht completed 27-of-38 passes for a career-high 348 yards without an interception and three touchdowns. It was the most passing yards for an ISU quarterback since Brock Purdy threw for 356 against Texas Tech on Nov. 13, 2021.

Jackson had career bests of six catches and 90 yards and his first two touchdowns as a Cyclone, hauling in throws of 29 and 26 yards from Becht. Noel caught a 38-yard touchdown pass, a play on which he got 10 yards behind the defense, matched his career best with eight receptions and amassed a career-high 146 yards.

Chase Contreraz added field goals of 51 and 46 yards, and Eli Sanders scored on a 7-yard run for the Cyclones, who finished with 422 total yards, the most since ringing up that same number against Texas Tech last Nov. 19.

Leading 20-17 at halftime, the Cyclones opened things up when Brecht found Jackson wide open in the middle of the field and Jackson took it in for a 26-yard scoring play with 5:30 left in the third quarter. The Cyclones made it 34-20 when Sanders bounced off a wall of tacklers, ran to his right and outran the pursuit to the pylon on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Bowman, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, drew the Cowboys (2-2, 0-1) to 34-27 with a 20-yard TD toss to Rashod Owens with 2:46 left. and they forced a threeand- out to get the ball back with 2:23 remaining.

After a first down and three incompletions, Bowman threw the ball to the left side, Tampa was there to pick it off at his own 38, and the Cyclones were assured of their 16th straight victory when leading at halftime. They are 37-5 under coach Matt Campbell when holding the lead at the half.

OSU became the first team in 19 games to compile more than 400 yards against the ISU defense, finishing with 409. The last team to do it had been Texas Tech on Nov. 13, 2021.