Iowa State Cyclones Star Rocco Becht Wrongfully Plummets in QB Rankings

Rocco Becht experienced a bizarrely steep drop in this week's quarterback rankings.

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Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht has been playing at a very high level out of the gate in the 2025 college football season.

He is a major reason why the team has found so much success thus far. They are entering their idle Week 4 with a 4-0 record. Some massive obstacles have already been overcome. For example, traveling to Ireland for their first Big 12 matchup of the season against the Kansas State Cyclones and winning the Cy-Hawk Trophy in their rivalry game against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Through all of that, it has been Becht who constantly rises to the occasion to help keep the offense humming. A lot of pressure has been riding on him because of the supporting cast that the team currently has. The running game didn’t get off to a quick start, and he lost his top two receivers from last year, Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, to the NFL Draft.

Rocco Becht Drops in QB Power Rankings

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Because of that, it is an impressive feat that Becht is still ranked amongst the best quarterbacks in the nation with Week 3 in the books. However, his spot has changed, suffering a steep drop. As shared by David Cobb of CBS Sports, the Cyclones star is now well outside the top 20, where he previously resided.

Heading into Week 3, Becht was ranked No. 17. Now, he has plummeted to No. 26. It is a bizarre drop for him, especially since he didn’t have an awful game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves in a 24-16 victory.

It was Iowa State’s first true road game of the campaign, and they handled the conditions well. Not only was the heat a factor, but this was the first Big 12 school to head to Centennial Bank Stadium ever. It was also the Red Wolves’ highest-ranked opponent ever welcomed to Jonesboro, entering hostile territory.

Rocco Becht Leads Offense Against Arkansas State

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Becht responded as anyone would expect a veteran to. He scored the team’s first touchdown of the afternoon on a 10-yard rush. Ahead of halftime, receiving the ball with only 39 seconds remaining, he led the offense right down the field for a touchdown to get back a lead they wouldn’t surrender again.

The Cyclones went 75 yards, capped off by a 27-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Overby. It would be the last points the team scored until there were 8:34 remaining in the game when Abu Sama III plowed into the end zone on a four-yard plunge. That gave the team a 24-16 lead, which was the final score.

Overall, Becht finished the game completing 14-of-25 passes for 265 yards. He had two total touchdowns and threw his first interception of the campaign. It was far from his best performance, but certainly not one that warranted dropping nine spots in the rankings.

ROCCO. BECHT. ON. THE. MONEY.@CycloneFB takes back the lead with a DIME to Dominic Overby 🪙#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/SVFsFNgt7U

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 13, 2025

Heading into a bye, he could continue his slide down the rankings. But he will have a golden opportunity on Sept. 27 to start moving back up. That is when Iowa State will be back on the field, hosting the Arizona Wildcats in a whiteout at Jack Trice Stadium.