Three Key Takeaways From Iowa State Cyclones' Crucial Loss in Week 6

Here are three key takeaways from a crucial loss for the Iowa State Cyclones in Week 6

Oct 4, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell reacts from the sideline against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Nippert Stadium. | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones suffered their first loss of the season to the Cincinnati Bearcats by a score of 38-30 on the road. As expected, coming in, it was a tough game for the Cyclones. The Bearcats’ offense lived up to the hype, with the unit gashing the defense of Iowa State. 

Following the loss, the Cyclones saw their ranking take a significant hit, and the team is just barely in the Top 25 now. Fortunately, there is still a lot of the year to play, and there will be opportunities to get some signature wins. However, this game wasn’t encouraging for the program. 

As the team looks to prepare for Week 7 against the Colorado Buffaloes, there will be plenty of areas to look at to try to improve. Here are three key takeaways from the Cyclones’ loss to Cincinnati. 

Defense Struggled

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Coming into the game, all eyes were on the secondary for Iowa State. With two starters being out against one of the best quarterbacks in the country, the Cyclones figured to be at a massive disadvantage in that area. However, the unit was able to do well enough, but it was instead the rushing defense that let them down. 

In the loss, Iowa State allowed 264 rushing yards to the Bearcats and gave up eight yards a carry. It is hard to win games giving up those types of numbers on the ground and the Cyclones seemingly didn’t have the physical edge in this one. 

Becht Shined 

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In a matchup between two of the best quarterbacks in the conference, Rocco Becht was able to hold his own. Early in the game, the junior took a nasty helmet-to-helmet hit that forced him to miss a couple of plays. However, despite it looking grim that he would return, he came back out there and gave his team a fighting chance in this one. 

Overall, Becht totaled 314 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and 33 rushing yards. It was one of his best performances of the year, but despite him and the offense looking great, it wasn’t enough against the Bearcats. 

Big 12 Chances Take Major Hit 

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Even though the team came in undefeated and this was only their first loss of the season, the program has taken a major hit. Conference games are crucial to win, and the Cyclones have seen a number of teams now hop ahead of them in the Big 12 standings. 

With it being very possible that the only way for a Big 12 team to make the College Football Playoff, those chances have also decreased for Iowa State. While there are still a fair number of games to play in the conference, the Cyclones might now need some help along the way.