AMES, Iowa — The No. 9 Iowa State Cyclones put together an incredible come-from-behind win over the UCF Knights, 38-35, on Saturday night at Jack Trice Stadium.
Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht led them on an 80-yard scoring drive with less than two minutes, which he finished off with a 2-yard quarterback sneak with 30 seconds left, followed by his two-point conversion.
No. 9 Iowa State (7-0, 4-0 in Big 12) was trying to win its second game all-time as an AP Top 10 team as it was off to 6-0 start for the first time since 1938.
Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht threw for 274 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Carson Hansen rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Jaylin Noel caught eight passes for 153 yards.
UCF (3-3, 1-2) went with a new quarterback and stayed run-heavy the entire contest out of necessity. Still, big plays were the order of the day when it came to scoring points.
Quarterback Jacurri Brown made his first start and threw for 62 yards and rushed for another 151 yards and two touchdowns, along with an interception. He also threw one interception. Running back RJ Harvey rushed for a season-high 196 yards and two touchdowns.
Comeback Cyclones Again
Iowa State was down 14 points at the break. It was their biggest deficit of the season. But Iowa State has been down at halftime three times this season, including a 12-point deficit against Iowa. When you’ve been there and done that, and you know who you are, you figure out how to get it done.
The Cyclones used their identity to slowly, but surely, to try and subdue the Knights.
The first scoring drive was a 12-play, 75-yard masterpiece that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Becht. At times, the young quarterback played the role of Houdini, evading blitzes and navigating an increasingly collapsing pocket.
After the ISU defense forced a three-and-out, the Cyclones put together a 14-play, 76-yard drive in which the passing game finally got going and Becht tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Higgins.
Even after falling behind by eight points after a blocked extra point and a Becht interception that UCF turned into a touchdown, the Cyclones were undeterred. But, this time, Iowa State finally got deep as Becht hit Jaylin Noel for a 51-yard catch that led to a Kyle Konrardy field goal.
Then came Becht’s heroics in the final two minutes in what was an incredible finish.
Big-Play Knights
There was a near-full moon hovering over Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday night. Maybe the Knights — who have struggled for points the last three games — needed a little help from the lunar calendar.
Or, maybe UCF just needed some big plays.
Down 14-7 entering the second quarter, the Knights scored 21 straight points and they did it all on huge plays.
First, it was RJ Harvey, who bounced an off-tackle run on the right side down the sideline for an 8-yard touchdown run. The burst that guy has in the open field is special.
Next, it was the defense. Knights defensive Brandon Adams picked off Becht on the sideline and sprinted 63 yards for a go-ahead touchdown late in the second quarter. The Knights’ first possession of the third quarter didn’t last long. Brown gashed the middle of the Cyclones’ run defense and sprinted 67 yards for a touchdown and a 28-14 Knights lead.
Even the big play that nearly backfired on them turned into points. Braeden Marshall returned what looked like a pick-six but dropped the ball outside the goal line. Because no one recovered it, the Knights still got the ball at the Cyclone one-yard line and turned it into a touchdown run by Harvey.
The Knights lived and died by them all night because methodical drives were not in their wheelhouse.
Run the Damn Ball
You love to see a game where both coaches value the run game and have a set of backs that can get after it. Iowa State coach Matt Campbell sees his running game as a way to shorten games against opponents. UCF coach Gus Malzahn sees it as a valuable counter-point to what he wants to do in the passing game.
The great thing was that as the game evolved, neither abandoned their identity.
Brown and Harvey each rushed for more than 100 yards. Both had big touchdown runs and Harvey had some chunk runs to keep drives alive.
Hansen kept rolling after last week’s masterful outing against West Virginia. He had ISU’s first two touchdowns, both short runs, but he also had some big chunk plays to move the chains. Becht got in on the act, as did Abu Sama and Jaylon Jackson on a limited basis.
By game’s end the two teams had more than 500 combined rushing yards. I know high school football coaches in East Texas that would have treated the rushing in this game like a Renoir painting.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
