AMES, Iowa (Via Cyclones.Com) – Give Cyclone football a 10 for the 2024 season. Rocco Becht accounted for three touchdowns and the defense came up with one key stop after another to lift Iowa State past Kansas State 29-21 on a chilly Saturday night at MidAmerica Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium, securing the program’s first 10-victory season.

The 17^th-ranked Cyclones (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) did all they could to secure a berth in the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game against Arizona State next Saturday. A BYU victory over Houston a few hours after the Cyclone clocks hit zero sealed the second trip to the title game in program history for the Cyclones.

Becht threw touchdown passes of 15 yards to Jayden Higgins and 9 yards to Jaylin Noel and scored on a 5-yard run to propel Iowa State tto a 24-14 halftime lead.

Kansas State (8-4, 5-4) cut the lead to 24-21 on Avery Johnson’s 7-yard TD pass to Garrett Oakley late in the third quarter. But the Cyclones blanked the Wildcats the rest of the way and secured the record-breaking victory with a safety and Kyle Konrardy’s 20-yard field goal.

On the safety, linebacker Jacob Ellis forced Johnson into an intentional grounding call in the end zone, putting ISU up 26-21. It was the first safety by an Iowa State defense since the 2018 season.

After fielding the free kick, the Cyclones went on a 7-minute drive that included nine straight running plays. The drive stalled at the Kansas State 2-yard line with an incomplete pass and Konrardy, who had kicked a 41-yard field goal in the first half, delivered the final points with 6:16 left.

The defense then stopped the Wildcats on fourth down at the KSU 35 and the offense took it to the 19. Konrardy missed from 37 yards with 1:11 remaining, but the defense came through again and forced four straight incompletions, the last with 34 seconds left.

Another big play came early in the second half when the defense forced the Wildcats to try for a field goal after they drove to a first down at the ISU 5. But Darien Porter, playing his last home game, broke through to block the kick, the fifth kick block of his career. Some complementary football produced Iowa State’s first half lead.

Myles Purchase recovered Johnson’s errant pitchout on the first play of the game at the K-State 27 and Becht hit Higgins on a slant six plays later for a 7-0 lead. It was Higgins’ ninth TD reception this year, one short of Allen Lazard’s school record.

With the score tied a 7, Noel’s 26-yard punt return set the Cyclones up for Konrardy’s first field goal. Two plays later, Joey Petersen hopped on another K-State fumble, giving the Cyclones the ball at the KSU 30.

A little more than 2 minutes later, Becht scrambled right and found Noel in the back of the end zone for a 17-7 lead. Becht extended his school record to 16 straight games with a touchdown pass and now has 43 in his career, moving into fourth place on the school’s all-time chart. His 20 TD passes this year ties him with Todd Bandhauer for the No. 3 spot in a season.

With six catches for 37 yards, Noel joined Higgins with more than 1,000 receiving yards this season, the first pair to accomplish that in ISU history. Higgins finished with three catches for 53 yards.

A key for the Cyclones late was their ability to run the ball. They finished with 187 yards on the ground after rushing for only 62 in the first half. Sama ran 15 times for 81 yards, his best game since running for 101 at Houston on Sept. 28. Carson Hansen added 58 yards in 13 carries and Becht tacked on 35 yards in eight attempts. Becht also threw for 137 yards and was not intercepted.

The defense held Kansas State to 144 yards rushing – 66 below its season average. DJ Giddens, who came in averaging 115.6 yards a game, managed 72 in 14 carries.

The game featured a pair of teams ranked in the College Football Playoff Top 25, with the Cyclones at No. 18 and K-State at No. 24.

What’s next?

No. 17 Iowa State will face No. 14 Arizona State Saturday, Dec. 7 in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Football Championship Game in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on ABC.