PRIMER: No. 22 Iowa State Visits Utah

AMES, Iowa - No. 22 Iowa State plays its final regular season road game Saturday evening at Utah as it looks to win its ninth game for just the fourth time in school history and second under head coach Matt Campbell. ISU has only won nine games in the regular season once (1906) and never in the modern era (1928-present).

Who: No. 22 Iowa State (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) at Utah (4-6, 1-6 Big 12)
Where: Salt Lake City, Utah - Rice-Eccles Stadium (51,444)
When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 – 6:30 p.m. (CT)

The Links
WATCH: FOX
PxP: Chris Myers; Analyst: Robert Smith
LISTEN: Cyclone Radio Network – Varsity App, TuneIn Radio or Radio Affiliates
PxP: John Walters; Analyst: Eric Heft; Sideline: Ryan Harklau
LIVE STATS
IOWA STATE GAME NOTES
2024 FOOTBALL YEARBOOK
GAME PROGRAM
MEDIA CENTER

INSIDE THE SERIES
Sixth Meeting
Overall: 4-1
Home: 2-1
Road: 2-0
Campbell vs. UU: 0-0
Last Meeting: 10/9/10 (ISU 27, UU 68)

DANGEROUS PASSING GAME
Rocco Becht has thrown a TD pass in 14-straight games, breaking Brock Purdy's school record for consecutive games with a passing TD. The Cyclone quarterback is only 187 yards shy of becoming just the fifth QB in school history to pass for 6,000 career yards.

Becht has been blessed with one of the nation's best pass-catching duos this season. Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins are each excellent in their own right. Noel has a reception in 42-straight games, the fourth-longest active streak in the nation. Higgins is a dangerous weapon in the red zone, having scored a touchdown in 13 of his 23 games as a Cyclone.

Iowa State is one of two FBS teams with two players over 850 receiving yards this season (San Jose St.).

TALKING TURNOVERS
Iowa State has lost the turnover battle just once this season season, improving to 37-9 under Campbell when winning the battle.

The Cyclones have 14 interceptions through 10 games this season and had 16 interceptions a year ago.

Most Interceptions Since 2023
33	UNLV
31	BYU, Notre Dame, Texas
30	Iowa State, Fresno State

Iowa State has four players with two or more interceptions this season - Jontez Williams (4), Darien Porter (3), Jeremiah Cooper (2) and Beau Freyler (2).

On the flip side, the Cyclones have one of the best turnover margins in the country (+8). Iowa State has lost only two fumbles in 695 plays this season.

CYCLONES VISIT UTAH
Look no further than November of last year if you are trying to find the last time the Cyclones visited the state of Utah. Iowa State played at BYU and came away with a dominant 45-13 victory over the Cougars.

Rocco Becht threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns while the Cyclone running game punched it into the end zone four times, including two touchdowns from Abu Sama III.

Thankfully for the Cyclone fans at home in Iowa, this Saturday's 6:30 p.m. (CT) kickoff time is much easier to stay up for compared to last year's 9:15 p.m. (CT) start time in Provo.

Iowa State Helmet - BYU (2023)

OTHER KEY STORYLINES

Iowa State faces Utah in Salt Lake City for the first time since 1975 in the initial meeting between the two schools as Big 12 Conference foes.
ISU has reached eight wins for the 12th time in the program's 133-year history and fourth under Campbell's direction. The Cyclones are bowl eligible for the seventh time in nine seasons under Campbell.
Campbell became ISU's winningest football coach earlier this season, surpassing Dan McCarney's previous mark. He is in his ninth season leading the program, the third-longest tenured coach in ISU history and tied for the third-longest active tenure in the Big 12 Conference. In school history, only McCarney (1995-2006) and Clay Stapleton (1958-67) enjoyed longer tenures.
First-year offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser has the offense clicking. ISU is averaging 31.4 points (fourth-most in school history), 434.2 yards (fourth most) and 6.2 yards per play (fourth most) this season. With Becht finding Higgins and Noel at a record clip, ISU is averaging 267.7 passing yards (third most) per game. ISU is better than 90 percent in the red zone, tied for third in Big 12.
ISU's defense, under Jon Heacock's direction, is first in the Big 12 and ranks 17th nationally allowing just 18.6 points per game. Its passing defense has been stout, yielding just 153.4 yards per game (third nationally). ISU has held a nation's best four opponents to under 100 yards passing, including just 66 from Cincinnati last weekend.

CYCAST WITH THE CYCLONE RADIO CREW
John Walters, Eric Heft and Ryan Harklau sit down to preview Iowa State's road trip to Utah. The podcast is presented by Van Wall Equipment.

To listen, CLICK HERE.

WEEKLY MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Matt Campbell, Jon Heacock, Jaylin Noel, Gabe Burkle, Darien Porter and Joey Petersen met with the media on Tuesday. Watch their interviews below.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rocco Becht

Gabe Burkle

Jeremiah Cooper

Beau Freyler

Jayden Higgins

Jaylin Noel

Joey Petersen

Darien Porter

Abu Sama III

Jontez Williams

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics