Iowa State 28-16 West Virginia (Oct. 12, 2024) Game Recap

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — — Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht believes the Cyclones have yet to peak in their best start in 86 years.

Carson Hansen rushed for three points, Becht threw a touchdown pass and No. 11 Iowa State beat West Virginia 28-16 on Saturday night.

The Cyclones (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) opened the season with six wins for the first time since 1938.

“I feel like overall we didn’t even play our best game — special teams, defense and offense,” Becht said. The goal is to “find ways to get better every week and our mindset is just 0-0 and trying to win the next game.”

Iowa State secured first place in the league with BYU and idle Texas Tech.

The Cyclones opened up a close game by scoring two touchdowns after intercepting West Virginia's Garrett Greene in the second half.

Becht found Eli Green on passes of 12 and 34 yards on consecutive plays to set up the Cyclones at the West Virginia 17. A third-down holding call against West Virginia cornerback Ayden Garnes gave Iowa State first-and-goal at the 3, and Hansen scored on the next play for a 21-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Jontez Williams made his third interception of the season on West Virginia's next drive, and Iowa State took over at the Mountaineers' 34th line. Hansen ran 20 yards on the ensuing drive, capping off a 2-yard scoring run for a 28-10 lead with 4:42 left.

Hansen, a sophomore who also scored on an 11-yard run in the second quarter, finished the game with 96 rushing yards, one shy of the career high he set last week against Baylor. During his injury-riddled freshman season, he ran for a total of 67 yards.

“It’s great to see that he’s playing as consistently as he has in the last few weeks,” said Becht.

West Virginia (3-3, 2-1) was limited to 148 rushing yards against the league's top defense after racking up 389 yards on the ground a week ago at Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers were hurt by several high snaps that affected their timing and runs parallel to the line of scrimmage, causing them to lose distance.

“In the second half, when it was time to win, we didn’t win,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said. “We struggled to find a rhythm.”

Becht completed 18 of 26 passes for 265 yards, including a 60-yard scoring throw to Jaylin Noel in failed coverage in the second quarter.

Becht's father, Anthony, was honored on the field after the first quarter for his induction into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He played tight end for the Mountaineers from 1996 to 1999 and in the NFL for 11 seasons.

“You couldn’t ask for a better night for your family,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said.

Rocco Becht said he would have liked to have been there with his father, “but I had bigger things on my mind when I was trying to win that game.”

Jahiem White had an 8-yard scoring run and a 10-yard TD catch for West Virginia. Greene finished 18 of 32 for 206 yards.

The takeaway food

Iowa State: The Cyclones answered the challenge on both sides of the ball, winning their seventh straight road game. Becht played intelligently and efficiently, and the sixth-best defense in the country was once again strong.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers made far too many mistakes in crucial moments and have now lost eight straight games against ranked opponents.

Impact on the survey

Iowa State will have a hard time moving up when the AP poll is released on Sunday. The Cyclones tied for 11th place with Notre Dame, which beat Stanford 49-7.

Next

Iowa State: Hosts UCF on Saturday night.

West Virginia: Hosts No. 18 Kansas State on Saturday night.

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