Iowa State blows 14-point lead, bows to No. 11 BYU, 41-27, on Homecoming

AMES — Former Iowa State great A.J. Klein cranked the siren as the Homecoming crowd erupted.

Former Cyclone star David Montgomery returned to cheer on his alma mater.

And ISU’s current players built a two-touchdown lead on No. 11 BYU before a mountain of massive mistakes undid everything in Saturday's 41-27 loss that played out painfully before 61,500 flummoxed fans at Jack Trice Stadium.

The Cougars (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) trailed the Cyclones (5-3, 2-3), 24-10, with 1:52 left in the first half, but scored 31 of the game’s next 34 points to remain unbeaten. ISU, meanwhile, has now lost three games in a row for the first time since dropping five straight in the 2022 season.

“You could say it’s details, but, you know, what does that mean?” Said Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht, who passed for 311 yards and a touchdown but also threw a career-high three interceptions. “And it’s not really that. We understand what’s going on. We know the play, the concept — we know the details, we’re just not executing at a high level.”

Becht’s first interception ended a promising drive inside the Cougars’ 25-yard line, and his second became a pick-six that put his team behind, 41-27, early in the fourth quarter. His third came in desperation mode in the final minutes.

“The first one, that’s on me,” said Becht, who is now 23-12 as ISU’s starting quarterback since 2022. “I tried to get it over the (defender) to (receiver) Chase (Sowell) on that whole shot. I got hit from the back but I’ve just got to put a better ball on him. The second one, that’s me — I’ve got to put that more in front of (tight end) Gabe (Burkle) so he doesn’t have to (try) to rip it out of (the defender’s) hands. I put him a bad spot.”

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The Cyclones put themselves in several “bad spots” in the final 31 minutes of the football game — and critical miscues came in all three phases.

For instance, after the ISU defense forced a punt with the game tied at 27-27 toward the end of the third quarter, backup cornerback Beni Ngoyi kelp blocking and touched the football, which BYU recovered at the Cyclones’ 33-yard line. The Cougars went ahead, 34-27, three plays later — and never trailed again as ISU saw other mistakes such as dropped passes and blown coverages doom them to their first home loss of the season.

“It’s a goofy, flukey situation that is what it is,” ISU head coach Matt Campbell said. “That’s part of it right now. We’ve gotta be better. We’ve gotta demand better. Again, it starts with the head football coach. I’ll find a way to be better and we’ll find a way to be better.”

Even the Cyclones’ ill-fated last-gasp comeback attempt featured a major miscue, as an apparent eight-yard touchdown run from backup tailback Aiden Flora was called back because of a holding infraction on tight end Ben Brahmer. Becht was sacked for a 14-yard loss on the next play and what remained of the once buoyant Homecoming crowd shuffled for the exits.

“We’re just killing ourself with little mistakes, over and over, these last (three) weeks, at every single position,” linebacker Caleb Bacon said.

But rewind to the first play of the game. ISU was rightly riding high as Becht found big-play receiver Brett Eskildsen on a 75-yard scoring strike to put his team up 7-0 just one seconds in.

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The Cyclones owned the line of scrimmage for most of the first half, but only led 24-17 at the break because BYU true freshman quarterback Bachmeier converted a key fourth-and-2 and pulled within seven 25 seconds before halftime.

I think it was huge,” Campbell said of that last-minute BYU touchdown. “You talk about the end of the half and you talk about the start of the fourth quarter, right? I mean, you’re right there. You’ve got the momentum. You’re rolling …”

Until you’re not.

The Cougars methodically took control from there — and ISU’s numerous self-inflicted wounds aided the hostile takeover as a couple thousand of blue and white-clad fans reveled in the road win.

“You’ve gotta flush it because it just spirals if you don’t,” said Cyclone tailback Carson Hansen, who rushed for a career-high 152 yards and two touchdowns. “You’ve gotta have that mentality, or else it just piles up.”

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