Rocco Becht saves No. 9 Iowa State with late TD drive in win over UCF

AMES, Iowa – Rocco Becht scored on a 1-yard sneak for the go-ahead touchdown with 30 seconds left, and Jontez Williams intercepted Jacurri Brown's final pass to give No. 1 Iowa State a 38-35 comeback win. 9 over UCF and allow the Cyclones to avoid a big upset on Saturday night.

The Cyclones (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) tied the 1938 ISU team for the best start in program history and won four straight conference games for the first time.

UCF (3-4, 1-3) lost its fourth straight after leading by two touchdowns early in the third quarter and rushing for 354 yards – a season-high 196 from RJ Harvey and 154 from Brown.

Becht finished the season completing 43% of his passes (20 of 46) and threw two interceptions, the first of which was returned for a touchdown and the second of which was almost a pick-six.

Harvey's 1-yard run gave UCF a 35-27 lead with 11 minutes left after Braeden Marshall intercepted Becht's pass and ran it back 70 yards before dropping the ball just shy of the goal line.

Kyle Konrardy's 30-yard field goal brought the Cyclones within five points, and after Iowa State forced two punts, Becht got the ball back with 1:48 left.

He teamed with Jaylin Noel for two crucial passes and scrambled for a first down before a pass interference penalty gave the Cyclones the lead at the UCF 4. Becht ran 3 yards before powering his way into the end zone for the winning touchdown.

The snack bar

UCF: The Knights ran for the most yards against the Cyclones since Matt Campbell's first team gave up 469 yards to Baylor.

Iowa State: The Cyclones had the Big 12's best defense but struggled to stop the run.

Impact on the survey

Iowa State should stay in the top 25, if not move up a bit.

By PAVLE MARKOVIC Associated Press

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