Iowa State Cyclones Star Will Have Opportunity to Turn It Around Against TCU

Can a star player for the Iowa State Cyclones turn things around against the TCU Horned Frogs?

Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell reacts during the fourth quarter against BYU at Jack Trice Stadium on Oct. 25, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones are hoping that Week 11 will finally be their chance to snap their losing streak and get back in the win column.

For the last month or so, the Cyclones have been playing very poorly. This was a team that, not too long ago, was 5-0 and 2-0 in the conference. The strong first five games of the year resulted in them being ranked 14th in the country, but that feels like a long time ago now. 

Recent struggles for the program can be traced back to the team losing a couple of key players defensively, but they have also made mistakes at inopportune times that have contributed to the losses. 

Coming into Week 11, they will be facing one of their most challenging games of the season, and it is going to be hard for them to pull off the upset. While there aren’t many reasons to believe that this will be the week they can snap their losing streak, they do still have a lot of talent on the team, and the hope is that their star quarterback can snap out of the funk that he has been in. 

Can Becht Turn It Around?

Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

After a strong start to the campaign for the junior signal caller of Iowa State, Rocco Becht has struggled in recent weeks. Since taking some big hits against the Cincinnati Bearcats, he hasn’t been the same. Overall, he has totaled 2,119 passing yards, 11 touchdown passes, and seven interceptions. However, the numbers of late aren't great.

The mistakes of late have been what’s really been holding the team back. Becht has been good at protecting the football throughout his career, but that hasn’t been the case in the last three games. During that span, he has thrown five interceptions. 

Furthermore, while the mistakes and the turnovers have been far from ideal, Becht has seen his QBR under 40 in the last three games as well. It is undoubtedly a concern for the program that he has performed so poorly, and they need to get him back on track. 

Even though they are a significant underdog on the road, the passing defense of the Horned Frogs hasn’t been great. The Cyclones should be able to have some success through the air, and this could be a good matchup to get their star quarterback going again. Overall, it is going to be challenging for the team to be able to pull off the upset, but a great game by Becht would undoubtedly help.