Rocco Becht led No. 9 Iowa State, which trailed by 14 points in the third quarter, on a game-winning drive in the final two minutes of Saturday’s Big 12 home game against UCF, a thrilling 38-35 Cyclones win.
The sophomore quarterback led the Cyclones (7-0, 4-0) on an 11-play, 80-yard drive where Becht either threw or ran it himself on every play. It ended with Becht going straight at the goal line for a 1-yard rushing touchdown and a follow-up two-point quarterback draw to grab the lead with 30 seconds left.
UCF (3-4, 1-3) had one final possession to try and either tie or go ahead, but the drive ended prematurely with Jacurri Brown throwing an interception to Jontez Williams.
Becht ended the night with 371 total yards, (274 passing, 97 rushing) and three total touchdowns. Carson Hansen added 91 rushing yards with two touchdowns.
Becht kept his composure late after throwing two interceptions that led to UCF touchdowns in the second and fourth quarters. In the second, it was Brandon Adams returning an interception 63 yards to the end zone.
In the fourth, Braeden Marshall returned a deflected pass off the hands of Jaylin Noel 70 yards for what was initially ruled a touchdown. After review, Marshall dropped the ball at the 1-yard line, but UCF retained possession and ran in a touchdown on the next play.
The Knights challenged the Cyclones most of the night with an overpowering rushing attack. RJ Harvey had 196 rushing yards in the loss, and two touchdowns which included an 80-yard touchdown run that put Harvey over 3,000 yards in his NCAA career. Brown, starting in his first game at quarterback for UCF, added 154 rushing yards with two rushing touchdowns.
Iowa State’s win ties the program record for best start at 7-0, and the 4-0 start to the conference schedule is the best start to a conference slate in the Cyclones’ history.
–Field Level Media
