Cyclones Fall to No. 11 BYU

AMES, Iowa – Carson Hansen's career day running the ball and a touchdown on the game's first play weren't enough to get Iowa State back into the victory column.

No. 11 BYU capitalized on two critical ISU mistakes to score touchdowns 41 seconds apart in the fourth quarter and beat the Cyclones 41-27 on Saturday at MidAmerica Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium.

Rocco Becht thrilled the sellout homecoming crowd with a 75-yard touchdown pass to Brett Eskildsen on the game's first play and Iowa State built a 24-10 lead late in the first half. But the unbeaten Cougars dominated the final two quarters in handing the Cyclones (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) their third straight loss.

Hansen, playing for the first time since an injury sidelined him at Cincinnati two weeks ago, ran 16 times for a career-high 152 yards and scored twice. His big day included a 65-yard burst – the longest run of the junior tailback's career – that took the ball to the BYU 10 late in the third quarter.

But a holding penalty and a fumbled snap set the Cyclones back and they had to settle for Kyle Konrardy's 43-yard field goal, which tied the game at 27.

BYU (8-0, 5-0) then made the plays that turned the game.

The ISU defense forced a punt, but a muff by the Cyclones gave the ball back to the Cougars at the Iowa State 33. Three plays later, from the ISU 27, Bear Bachmeier hit Parker Kingston in the back of the end zone for a 34-27 BYU lead with 14:27 left in the game.

On the second play following the kickoff, BYU's Faletau Sautala jumped a route, intercepted Becht's pass and had nothing but green in front of him as he sped 40 yards for a touchdown that essentially sealed the game with 13:40 to play.

Becht finished 24-of-36 for 311 yards and the touchdown to Eskildsen, the first time the Cyclones scored on the opening play of a game since Abu Sama sprinted 71 yards for a TD at Kansas State in the final regular-season game of 2023. BYU picked off Becht three times in all after he had been intercepted only three times in the first seven games.

Iowa State outgained the Cougars 495-410 and held them to 103 yards rushing. BYU entered the contest second in the Big 12 in rushing with an average 232.9 yards a game. But Bachmeier, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound freshman, kept his team moving with his arm against an ISU secondary missing its two best players, Jontez Williams and Jeremiah Cooper. He ended up 22-of-35 for 307 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Becht had the sixth 300-yard passing game during his time at Iowa State and hiked his career total offense figure to 9,066 yards. Only two ISU players have more – Brock Purdy (13,347) and Bret Meyer (10,422).

Hansen plowed into the end zone from 2 and 3 yards out, his second score stretching the lead to 24-10 with 1:52 left in the first half. But Bachmeier drove the Cougars 60 yards in just 80 seconds to make it a one score game at halftime with a 12-yard TD pass to Kingston and flip the momentum. They scored 31 of the game's final 34 points as the ISU offense stalled after scoring on four of its five first-half drives.

Tight end Ben Brahmer had a good day catching the ball for the Cyclones, hauling in five passes for a career-high 75 yards. Tight end Gabe Burkle caught five passes for 44 yards and Sama tacked on 63 yards rushing in nine carries.

Iowa State will stay at home for a visit from Arizona State next Saturday, a rematch of last year's Big 12 championship game. The kickoff time is yet to be determined.

Players Mentioned

Rocco Becht

Gabe Burkle

Jeremiah Cooper

Brett Eskildsen

Carson Hansen

Kyle Konrardy

Jontez Williams

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics