Iowa State’s Rocco Becht Speaks Out About Kansas State Matchup in Ireland

With the 2025 College Football season right around the corner, the hype continues to grow toward the Iowa State Cyclones' week one matchup in Dublin, Ireland.

After throwing out the first pitch in the Iowa Cubs' contest against the Louisville Bats on Friday, Cyclones' quarterback discussed his thoughts on the program's week one contest against the Kansas State Wildcats in Ireland.

"Not a lot of teams get this opportunity, and we were chosen to do it," Becht told Des Moines Register. "And I think it's going to be huge for us to go out there and compete against a good team in Kansas State and I think it's something for us to prove."

Last month, it was announced that Iowa State's battle against Big 12 Conference member Kansas State will take place at 11:00 AM CST on Aug. 23. The primetime matchup is part of The Aer Lingus College Football Classic, which hosted Georgia Tech's incredible upset over the Florida State Seminoles in 2024.

As the anticipation for the matchup continues to grow, Becht also claimed that the Cyclones have done a good job so far in preparing for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"Week one is usually and game where you get the rust off and there's a lot of mistakes, but this game is different," Becht said. "Week one, two best teams and you can't have a lot of rust. You gotta be able to go play-by-play and be consistent, and we will have to be ready. I think we've done a good job of preparing so far and we are going to have to do that for the next couple of weeks or so."

The last time these two Big 12 heavyweights squared off against each other, Iowa State was able to sneak out a 29-21 victory in the final regular season game in 2024. Becht played a huge part in the win, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another to help send the program to the Big 12 Conference Championship Game.

This year, however, the Wildcats will have more experience at the quarterback position, as junior Avery Johnson has a full year of playing time under his belt. The Kansas native threw for over 2,700 yards and 25 touchdowns last year, while showing glimpses of becoming a terrific collegiate quarterback.

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