Iowa State Cyclones Winning Despite Star Struggling is Shocking

The Iowa State Cyclones winning with their star struggling was shocking in Week 11

Nov 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Iowa State Cyclones helmets on the bench during the first quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones were finally able to snap their four-game losing streak with a win against the TCU Horned Frogs on the road. 

This upset win came as a massive surprise, with the team being a significant underdog and really not playing well leading up to this matchup. The Cyclones were a team coming into Week 11 that was making a plethora of mistakes, and it certainly cost them a couple of wins. 

It wasn’t long ago that Iowa State was 5-0 and ranked in the Top 25. Unfortunately, all of the losses resulted in the team falling out of the Top 25 and ended their chances of playing for a Big 12 title this year. 

While the campaign might have been a failure based on expectations, the team will now be focused on playing well down the stretch and perhaps be a little bit of a spoiler. That is precisely what they were able to do against the Horned Frogs, but it once again wasn’t the best performance by some of their key players. 

Rocco Becht’s Struggles Continue

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

If Iowa State were to win and pull off the upset, it figured to have been because their star quarterback would have been able to outduel the talented Josh Hoover of TCU. That wasn’t the case in this one, with Hoover being the far better performer. 

Going up against a banged-up secondary for Iowa State, the Horned Frogs’ signal caller was able to total over 300 passing yards. Fortunately, the Cyclones were able to force a couple of interceptions, which helped quite a bit. 

While it might not have been the best game for Hoover, he certainly did enough to get his team the win. However, mistakes really cost TCU in this one. On the other side, Becht had one of his worst games of the campaign.  

It is worth noting that he was let down by his receivers a few times in this game with a couple of dropped passes, but Becht didn’t perform well either. Overall, he totaled just 111 passing yards on nine-for-24 passing with one passing touchdown and two interceptions. 

The mistakes continue to plague Becht, with it now being seven interceptions in four games. Furthermore, the inability to complete passes and make plays should be a significant concern for the program. It’s shocking that they were able to win this one, but a win is a win, and it’s good that the losing streak is snapped.