Iowa
Iowa State football: 5 numbers that stood out in Cyclones’ 45-19 loss to Arizona State
Iowa State football Matt Campbell on missed tackles in Big 12 title game
Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell on missed tackles during Big 12 title game.
The Iowa State football team looked to make a bang in the college football world Saturday, but instead went down with a whimper.
The Cyclones lost to Arizona State, 45-19, in the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas. Matt Campbell’s squad held tough early on, but as the game progressed it was clear the Sun Devils were the much stronger team Saturday.
The loss all but confirms that Iowa State will be on the outside looking in of the 12-team College Football Playoff and will instead go to one of the Big 12’s upper-level bowl games.
Here are five numbers that stood out in the Cyclones’ loss to the Sun Devils.
3 … as in 3 total touchdowns given up to Cam Skattebo
The Cyclones came into Saturday’s game knowing that Skattebo, Arizona State’s superstar running back, was the man they needed to focus on. After all, he averaged 127 yards per game with 19 total TDs on the year.
Iowa State’s defense knew what its biggest task was but failed to accomplish it against the Sun Devils. Skattebo had 140 rushing yards and two total touchdowns before the end of the second quarter. In the third frame, when Arizona State really pulled away, he added a touchdown reception on a swing pass that he took 32 yards to the house.
21 … as in 21 points given up off turnovers
After a back-and-forth first quarter, ASU was able to pull away a bit in the second quarter. The Cyclones went into the halftime break down 24-10. A two-score game is by no means an insurmountable lead, but a disastrous third quarter ballooned the deficit to an impossible margin.
On Iowa State’s first three possessions of the third quarter, the Cyclones gave the ball away with two Abu Sama fumbles and a Rocco Becht interception. The Sun Devils used the short field to their advantage to put up 21 straight points in the third quarter and head into the final frame with a 45-10 lead.
113 … as in Iowa State will have to wait at least 113 years between conference crowns
Coming into Saturday, Iowa State had a chance to claim its first Big 12 football title and the program’s first football title in any conference since 1912 when the Cyclones were in the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
That drought will extend to at least 113 years now following the drubbing the Cyclones took at the hands of Arizona State on Saturday. It was the team’s second appearance in the Big 12 title game, making the game previously in 2020. That game was much closer, a 27-21 loss to Oklahoma.
17 … as in 17 straight games with a TD pass from Rocco Becht
Outside of the aforementioned interception in the third quarter, Becht had a pretty solid day. He completed 21-of-35 attempts for 214 yards and two scores. His second score showed how resilient and gutsy he is, tossing a 25-yard dime to Jaylin Noel shortly after getting pulled from the game after a punishing sack.
But his first score of the game, a 3-yard strike to Carson Hansen in the opening quarter, officially gave Becht his 17th straight game with a passing score. That extends his record for the longest streak in Iowa State history. It’s also the fourth-longest active streak in the nation.
103 … as in 103 total points for Kyle Konrardy in 2024
The freshman kicker has had a strong first season with the Cyclones, going 40-for-42 on PATs and 21-for-28 on field goals. On Saturday, he was 1-for-1 on PATs and hit two of his three field goal attempts. Those seven total points allowed him to eclipse the program’s single-season points record, which was set last year when Chase Contreraz scored 99 points.
His two made FGs also tied the program’s single-season field goal record, tying Contreraz’s mark of 21 last year.
Not long after Matt Campbell settled in as Iowa State’s football coach, the victories began to accumulate.
Campbell’s 2016 ISU team, his first one, won three games.
His next four teams won a total of 32, including the Cyclones’ 9-3 finish in 2020.
Prior to Campbell’s arrival at Iowa State, winning in Ames was difficult.
It was hard not to notice.
Campbell, who became Penn State’s coach after a 10-year run at Iowa State, said recently he almost left Ames twice before finally saying yes to Pat Kraft and the Nittany Lions.
Almost.
“I would say there were probably two really close opportunities that I probably kind of accepted,” Campbell said last Monday.
“And then I said, ‘You know what, I can’t do it’. I slept on it, and I walked away from it, during our 10 years (at Iowa State).”
“In fairness to those organizations, I’m not going to talk about it.”
1/27
New Penn State coach Matt Campbell is introduced
Campbell wasn’t sure then.
But he said it was different when Penn State approached him about becoming the permanent replacement for James Franklin.
Two major reasons why are Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi and Kraft, the Lions’ athletic director.
“From Neeli’s standpoint, she’s a wow, and the wow factor of character, integrity, what she was looking for,” Campbell said.
“After getting off that phone call, I was like, this is the type of people you want to associate with.”
“I would say from Pat’s standpoint, (he is) this uber-competitive, want to be a partner, want to be an asset to you in this changing world of college football,” Campbell continued.
“Like, you can’t do it by yourself anymore. You have to be aligned. … Those two things, they were unwavering for me, and they were things that said, you know what, this is really special.”
A huge factor for Campbell was his family – wife Erica, daughters Katie and Izzy and sons Rudy and Rocco.
“Now, the regionality of bringing my family back home,” said Campbell, who is from Massillon, Ohio.
“I mean, being 12 hours away and for my kids to never see their grandparents and never see their cousins, and to have my father and my mother and Erica’s family be able to come and be a part of this experience with us again.
“I can’t lie and tell you that didn’t have a big impact. I think it certainly did, as well.”
Campbell also knew he reached his ceiling at Iowa State, going 72-55 in 10 seasons. The highlight of his run was the Cyclones’ 11-3 finish in 2024.
“Knowing what we’ve done (at ISU), I mean, the last three years at Iowa State have been the greatest three-year run in the history of the school,” Campbell said.
“I don’t know what else we could have done there, and I’m really proud of what we did there.”
Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa State Patrol said it responded to 206 calls for service after another weekend winter storm Saturday.
From 5:30 am to 5:30 pm, ISP said it covered 88 crashes, with 74 resulting in property damage.
Officials said one person died and 13 others were injured.
The patrol had 118 motorist assists.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
See Iowa DOT snowplow camera capture moment SUV rear ends plow
An Iowa DOT snowplow was hit while clearing snow along Iowa Highway 60 in Sioux County on Nov. 29, 2025. The crash was caught on the plow’s cameras.
A winter storm warning remains in effect until 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, for a large swath of the state, from northwest Iowa to much of central Iowa and southeast Iowa.
Drivers should expect slippery conditions.
Snow fell through the morning with accumulations of 2 to 3 inches across most of Iowa, according to the National Weather Service. The light, fluffy snow will taper off in the afternoon.
The weather service advises that snow-covered roads will make travel slick and more difficult and to use caution.
The counties affected include Pocahontas, Sac, Calhoun, Webster, Hamilton, Crawford, Carroll, Greene, Boone, Story, Marshall, Guthrie, Dallas, Polk, Jasper, Poweshiek, Warren, Marion, Mahaska, Monroe, Wapello and Davis.
Where did snow fall the most in Iowa?
Southern Iowa felt the brunt of the snow Saturday morning, with some areas experiencing nearly five inches of accumulation. Here are the highest totals so far in Iowa:
- Milton: 4.5 inches
- Parnell: 4.5 inches
- Norwalk: 3.8 inches
- Badger: 3.5 inches
- Bloomfield: 3.3 inches
- Carroll: 3.2 inches
- Buffalo: 3.2 inches
- North English: 3 inches
- Winterset: 2.6 inches
How much snow has fallen in Des Moines?
The Des Moines International Airport reported 1.2 inches of snow as of 6 a.m. Saturday. Norwalk, just south of Des Moines, reported 3.8 inches of snow by 10:30 a.m. Clive reported 2.7 inches of snow at 10 a.m.
How much snow did Iowa City get?
North Liberty, just north of Iowa City, reported three inches of snow as of 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Tiffin, which is to the northwest of Iowa City, reported 2.7 inches of snow at 10 a.m.
Roads across the state are covered in snow
The Iowa DOT reported that, as of 11 a.m., many of central Iowa’s highways and interstates were completely covered with snow. The organization said travel on I-80 from central Iowa to the Illinois border is not advised.
“Visibility and road conditions are deteriorating rapidly, causing multiple crashes and closing lanes,” the DOT said in a social media post around 11 a.m.
More snow followed by frigid temps
A cold weather advisory is in effect for much of northern, central and southeastern Iowa into Sunday morning. In the Des Moines area, wind chill values could drop to as low as -15. Wind chills across the state are expected between -20 and -30 starting at 6 p.m. Saturday.
(This article has been updated to include new information.)
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