CINCINNATI — Despite struggling early offensively against Cincinnati, the Iowa State football team got a rhythm going thanks to some big plays and won their first road game of the season 30-10.
During the first half, Becht and the offense had a handful of miscommunications which is not new for the Cyclones on the road. Whether it was receivers running the wrong route or Becht being a touch late on throws, the Iowa State offense looked out of sync.
Whether he had time or was forced to scramble outside, Becht had a few turnover-worthy throws in the early first half. He finished the first quarter completing three of his seven attempts for 34 yards and had some throws that were either a touch late to his receivers or bad decisions in general.
“Those throws were on me,” Becht said. “I got to get the ball in a better position for them to make a play. I’m always going to come back to them and I got dudes on the outside and in the tight end room so I’m always going to come back to them no matter what.”
One of Becht’s incompletions came on an out-of-range throw into the middle of the endzone to Benjamin Brahmer who could not haul it after snagging it with one hand but dropped it before he could establish possession.
When it came down to making adjustments in the middle of the game, head coach Matt Campbell kept it simple.
“Figure out what the defense is doing, and do the opposite,” Campbell said.
It looked like Iowa State was imitating Cincinnati with how many play calls had Becht scrambling up the middle. In the first half, Becht rushed eight times and gained 19 hard-fought yards while dodging Bearcat defenders.
The Cyclones’ willingness to keep the ball in Becht’s hands on the ground paid off with a 2-yard dash from the redshirt freshman into the endzone to put the Cyclones up 10-7.
“I felt like when they would take stuff away I felt like I haven’t been doing a good job of using my legs on third down,” Becht said. “I worked on that during this past week and on third down if something wasn’t there I found a lane to take off. I felt like I did that today, just keep the drives alive that’s all we’re thinking.”
Brahmer made up for the dropped one-handed touchdown in the first quarter with a full extension two-handed catch late in the second quarter to put the Cyclones up by 10. The true freshman tight end snagged his second score of the season, and first since his collegiate debut against Northern Iowa.
“Ben [Brahmer] is a talented player and he makes those one-handed catches nine out of 10 times,” Becht said. “I’m coming back to him on any play. I’m proud of him and I could’ve waited longer on that one ball so that’s on me.”
That touchdown drive was jumpstarted by a 75-yard connection between Becht and wide receiver Jayden Higgins, who beat his man right off the snap on a go-route to get the Cyclones inside the Cincinnati 10-yard line. Higgins fought down the field after hauling in Becht’s pass, with many of those yards coming from the receiver fighting off defenders as he battled down the sideline.
“I was playing high five with him for about twenty yards but I’ll take it,” Higgins said. “Whatever it takes to get some more yards.”
After the Cyclones’ first touchdown drive of the game, it looked like Becht had settled into the game, and while he wasn’t perfect, he connected with his targets enough to put together another three scoring drives.
The first of those scoring drives in the second half came on the Cyclones’ opening drive of the half which was a much-needed fresh start.
Following a morning of grey clouds, the inevitable rain started right as Cincinnati was setting up to send it to the Cyclones. One man who was unfazed by the new slippery conditions was wide receiver Jaylin Noel, who followed up his 38-yard return in the first quarter, which set up the touchdown run by Becht in the second quarter, with an elusive 72-yard return on the opening kickoff of the second half.
Rain or shine, Noel deciphered the Bearcats’ special teams unit and reminded everyone why he was trusted as the main returner heading into the season.
“We knew where we needed to attack and Jaylin [Noel] with the ball in his hands can do anything you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Becht said.
After a pair of 30-plus-yard field goals from kicker Chase Contreraz in the third quarter, Becht connected with tight end Stevo Klotz, the junior’s first of his career, at the 10-minute mark in the fourth quarter for the final score of the game.
Throughout the entire second half, Higgins continued to put the Cyclones in scoring position with a pair of catches for over thirty yards.
After a quiet game against TCU where Higgins had a lone catch for 22 yards, he had a career game against the Bearcats secondary to the tune of six catches for 172 yards.
“It was definitely great to make those plays that came to me and get a big win on the road in conference,” Higgins said.
The win over Cincinnati is the first conference road win for the Cyclones since October of 2021 2021 against Kansas State. Outside of that, it was a continuation of the Cyclones proving they can play complementary football and more importantly when it matters most in the second half.
Becht stressed the importance of this win and how they will use it down the stretch of the second half of the season.
“This game means a lot to us,” Becht said. “We’re just gonna let this fuel us going into the bye week and stop on the gas even more.”
