Iowa State Cyclones Star Finally Snaps Out of Extended Struggles Against Jayhawks

The Iowa State Cyclones finally saw their star player snap out of a funk.

Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell celebrates after an interception by defenders against Kansas during the fourth quarter in the senior day on Nov. 22, 2025, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In what was going to be their hardest of the two remaining games on the schedule, the Iowa State Cyclones were able to get a victory against the Kansas Jayhawks in Week 13. 

It was an all-around great effort by the Cyclones in their seventh win of the season, and the team has to be pleased with how they performed. As indicated by a lopsided 38-14 victory, not too much went wrong for Iowa State in this one. 

With the Cyclones getting their seventh win, they are going to have an excellent opportunity in Week 14 to wrap up the campaign on a strong note against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. 

While a lot of things went right for Iowa State in the win, it was really encouraging to see the offense perform as well as they have. This is a unit that has made a lot of errors in recent weeks and that has cost them games. Fortunately, it was a clean game for the most part against the Jayhawks, and the most encouraging thing was the performance of their junior quarterback, Rocco Becht. 

Becht Gets Back on Track

Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It has been a really challenging stretch of late for the Cyclones’ signal caller, and things hit a new low in their win against the TCU Horned Frogs. In that game, he totaled just 119 passing yards and completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes. That game certainly felt like rock bottom for him, but the bye week clearly helped, and he delivered an outstanding performance against Kansas. 

In the win, he totaled 241 passing yards with three passing touchdowns and also completed 18 of his 23 passes. It was an efficient game for the junior and one that the Cyclones were hoping to see. Perhaps his struggles might have been partially injury-related, but he looked sharp in the comfortable win. 

Furthermore, the game plan for Iowa State in this one was clearly to run the football early and often. With a fair amount of success on the ground, that helped open things up for Becht, who delivered. As the campaign enters Week 14 and the Cyclones will be playing their final game of the regular season, they will be hoping to see another big-time performance from Becht. 

Iowa State will have a great chance to get their eighth win of the year if their talented quarterback plays like he did against the Jayhawks. Hopefully, he and the Cyclones’ offense can finish strong.