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.