Iowa State football focused on next game, not unbeaten start

AMES — Iowa State Rocco Becht acknowledged the bait, then calmly ignored it.

“So, what does it mean to be 5-0 for the first time since 1980?” he was asked after the No. 16 Cyclones’ dicey-early but decisive-late, 43-21, win Saturday night over Baylor at a sold-out Jack Trice Stadium.

“It just means that we’ve gotta win this next one,” said Becht, who threw for 277 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. “Five-0 is awesome and I’m gonna keep saying it, but we’re 0-0 right now and we just need to go game by game.”

Next up: A Big 12 test under the lights against West Virginia (3-2, 2-0) on the road — and Becht’s unwilling to provide any bulletin board material. He’s too smart for that.

“Going to Morgantown, it’s a hornet’s nest, so we’ve gotta continue with our process and our precision and just have a good week of practice,” Becht said.

That hype-free approach has propelled the Cyclones (5-0, 2-0) to the top of the league standings. It’s also spurred hope this ISU football team can stitch together a “special” season that requires a singular focus on what lies immediately ahead, not potential future outcomes.

“We talked about last year how that team was a true team,” said Becht, who’s thrown multiple touchdown passes in eight of the past nine games. “I didn’t think it could get any better, but I think it has. We’ve got a lot of young guys stepping up (who have) been playing really big for us, so continuing to improve those guys — it’s gonna be huge.”

Also big for ISU: Developing consistency in the running game. The Cyclones surpassed 200 rushing yards for their third straight game for the first time since the 2021 season and speedy, but slight 5-foot-7, 180-pound senior transfer tailback Jaylon Jackson is a big reason why. Jackson juked and jetted 51 yards on one rush on Saturday and topped the 100-yard mark for the first time as a Cyclone. He also notched his first two rushing touchdowns in his ISU career while fellow back Carson Hansen also nearly breached the 100-yard plateau.

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“I don’t think (anything’s) really just changing,” Jackson said. “I just think that we’re getting comfortable with the speed of the game each and every week and just being able to adjust, that’s what you’re seeing.”

The Cyclones’ ninth-year head coach Matt Campbell is seeing his team “buy in” from the stars who headline the roster to the walk-ons who undergird it.

Case in point: Late in the first half on Saturday. ISU trailed Baylor 14-12 and backup defensive end Myles Mendeszoon surged through the Bear’s punt protection to block a kick. Walk-on defensive back Caden Matson scooped it up and ran 25 yards for his first career touchdown, setting a game-altering tone after a slow start for the Cyclones, who trailed 14-3 early.

Special teams have become a strength for ISU and Campbell said it embodies his team’s character. Matson, unsurprisingly, agrees.

“It’s the dirty work that nobody wants to do,” the former Humboldt star said. “And that’s why I think a lot of the time the walk-ons get their shot on special teams, because they do the dirty things that a lot of guys don’t. There’s no glitz and glamour there. It’s literally just about attitude and effort.

“There’s precision, obviously, too, and Campbell’s 100 percent right that that’s truly a true (indicator) of the character of your team. If you really get your guys to buy in on special teams and care about it, then, I mean, you’ve got a special team. And we have that.”

Just how special that team — and teams — will be as October eventually fades into November and bigger tests lurk ahead is uncertain. That’s why being 5-0 doesn’t define the Cyclones.

Being “all in” does.

“I think our kids, at least right now, have bought into that process,” Campbell said. “So when you’ve watched them have the resiliency in the moment through our football games — and don’t let negatives turn to, all of a sudden, you can’t get out of it, those things are really rewarding to watch.”

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