Offensive Line Has Excelled in This Key Area for Iowa State Cyclones This Season

The Iowa State Cyclones offensive line has dominated this key metric thus far this season.

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The Iowa State Cyclones have hit the midway point of the college football season with a 5-1 record. They suffered their first loss of the campaign last week when facing off against the Cincinnati Bearcats on the road.

That loss was a costly run, resulting in the Cyclones dropping in all sorts of polls and power rankings. They will have their work cut out for them to climb back up the ranks, especially with some of the injuries the team has to overcome.

Defensively, they are going to be without their starting cornerback tandem, Jeremiah Cooper and Jontez Williams. Both suffered season-ending knee injuries, thrusting Tre Bell and Quentin Taylor Jr. into larger roles.

With the secondary’s depth being tested and the defensive line already an issue, the pressure is on the offense to be able to keep up with opponents. Normally, when that group scores 30 points, it results in an Iowa State victory.

Iowa State's offensive line has dominated in the trenches in pass protection

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The Cyclones aren’t built to play shootouts, but if they are going to bet on one aspect of their team to carry the load, the passing offense is as good a unit as any to rely on.

That is because the offensive line is dominating in the trenches. Creating lanes in the running game hasn’t always been easy for the group, but they are excelling when it comes to pass protection, as shared by Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic (subsription required).

That unit has protected for 197 dropbacks thus far this season. Only 40 pressures have been allowed, coming out to 20.3%. Only the Miami (FL) Hurricanes and Ohio State Buckeyes have been better, allowing 16.6% and 18.9%, respectively.

It is certainly a bit of a surprise to see the Iowa State offensive line excelling in this area. According to PFF, their team pass blocking grade of 66.2 is tied with the Washington Huskies and Connecticut Huskies for No. 64 in the country.

Alas, that hasn’t stopped the passing offense from humming, led by star quarterback Rocco Becht. He isn’t getting the recognition he deserves, but he has been producing at an incredible rate. 

Offensive line success has Rocco Becht producing big numbers

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The redshirt junior has already thrown for 1,417 yards and nine touchdowns, completing 64.9% of his passes. He has only two interceptions on the season and is doing a great job of getting the ball out of his hands and making big plays downfield.

Becht is on pace to put up career-high numbers across the board. A truly impressive feat when taking into consideration how much talent the passing offense lost from last year’s team.

Star wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel were both selected in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans in the second and third rounds, respectively. Replacing that kind of talent and production isn’t easy, but Chase Sowell has emerged in recent weeks, and Brett Eskildsen has been a go-to big-play target.

Rocco Becht is BALLING!!!

Becht through 3 Games:
🌪️161.0 Passer Rating
🌪️639 Total Yards
🌪️ 7 Total TDs
🌪️ 0 Interceptions
🌪️ 3-0 Record pic.twitter.com/P6xoaJ3CBa

— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) September 9, 2025

With so much of the passing game being funneled through the tight ends, this is a methodical offense. But Becht has shown an ability to dial up big plays when needed, consistently putting the ball right where it needs to be for his pass catchers to make plays.

That is made possible, having time in the pocket, because the offensive line has excelled at keeping pressure away from him.