Matt Campbell Provides Shocking Evaluation of Cyclones QB Rocco Becht

Head coach Matt Campbell recently shared a surprising take on how his quarterback is playing.

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 heading into Week 11 with an extremely tough matchup coming up. 

After their 5-0 start to the season, the Cyclones have now lost four straight games and will be an underdog in their Week 11 matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs. This is going to be a matchup nightmare for the team, facing one of the best passing offenses in the country. 

Due to the secondary being banged up for Iowa State, this is going to present a massive challenge for the program. While stopping the passing offense of the Horned Frogs is going to be important, getting their own offense back on track will be important, too. Unfortunately, this is a unit that has been underachieving, with a star player not getting it done. 

Head coach Matt Campbell recently spoke to Alec Busse of 247Sports about the performance of his quarterback, Rocco Becht. 

"I think [he's] playing excellent football," he said. "I think our consistency, globally, on the offensive side of the football has to be better. But again, there are a lot of guys working through a lot of things on that side right now.”

Campbell’s Assessment Is Surprising

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While it’s good to see Campbell sticking up for and believing in his quarterback, recent performances for Becht have simply not been up to his standards and have hurt the team. It is no coincidence that during the losing streak, the junior quarterback has had some of his worst games of the season. 

In the last three games, Becht has also started to make some mistakes and get a bit careless with protecting the football. During that span, he has thrown five of his seven interceptions for the year. For a quarterback who has been good in this area throughout his career, the sudden rise in turnovers is concerning. 

Furthermore, while turning the ball over hasn’t been ideal, he is also missing throws that he usually is capable of making. Combining the mistakes with the missed opportunities, it’s easy to understand why this offense is struggling. 

If the Cyclones are going to be turning things around in the final three games of the campaign, they are going to need their quarterback to snap out of the funk that he has been in. Campbell certainly believes that he is capable of that, but his comments about him playing good football right now don’t match up with what has been seen on the field.