Rocco Becht and Iowa State went ‘back to school’ in advance of BYU matchup

AMES — Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht not only went back to basics during his team’s second bye week of the season.

He also went back to school — carving out extra time with his receivers and tight ends for enhanced study.

What’s gone right? What’s gone awry? What needs to be fixed immediately?

These questions loomed large for the Cyclones (5-2, 2-2 Big 12) in advance of Saturday’s crucial 2:30 p.m. (Fox) matchup with 11th-ranked BYU (7-0, 4-0) at Jack Trice Stadium.

“I think their routes, the way they go about their plays and concepts, is great,” said Becht, who’s thrown for nine touchdowns and rushed for seven more this season while tossing three interceptions. “It’s full speed and all that kind of stuff, but it’s kind of like the little things (such as) where I want you to turn, if I want you to turn earlier, come out of it quicker — that comes in the classroom when we’re watching film together.”

Becht completed less than 60 percent of his passes for the third time this season in ISU’s most recent loss at Colorado. Miscommunication appeared to be an issue, so he gathered his group of pass catchers together to get to the root of the offense’s latest problems.

“I think that was beneficial for us,” said Becht, who will face a BYU defense that is tied for 12th nationally in interceptions with nine. “The receivers stepped up big last week just having good reps in practice and making sure we’re on the same page, and that’s gonna translate over to this week. I know it.”

Penalties and miscues on third downs have doomed several of the Cyclones’ drives during their current two-game losing streak. ISU’s also failed to score points on five trips inside their opponent’s 35-yard line in those recent losses, while converting just six of 28 third-down opportunities in that span.

But there are a lot of reasons behind those problems — including being without strong-legged kicker Kyle Konrardy, who could return this week after missing three games with a hip injury.

“We’ve had to be in some tougher situations just because we’ve been trying to be a little different on the plus side of the 50, because we had to play a game that’s probably a little bit different than what we (want) to play,” Cyclone head coach Matt Campbell said. “So all those are things we’ve gotta clean up. We’ve got to be a little bit better, for sure, but I think, globally, our discipline and detail has probably got us more than anything.”

Those are areas the Cougars excel in. They also rank 15th nationally in opponent’s third-down conversion rate at 30.1 percent, which could make it more difficult for ISU to solve its latest issues in that area.

“They’re big, they’re physical and they’ve done a great job in all their games of winning the line of scrimmage,” Campbell said of BYU in general. “We’re gonna have to be ready to compete in those areas, for sure.”

That’s always true, of course, but it’s heightened against a Cougars team that does just about everything at a high level. That’s also why Becht and his cohorts’ added video study focused on internal improvement, not necessarily pinpointing areas to exploit in BYU’s defense.

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In short, if ISU’s offense is able to clean up its recent issues, it should be able to successfully attack any defense — including one that’s ranked top-four in the Big 12 in every major statistical category.

“I’ve got trust in our guys,” Becht said. “They have a great process and preparation that they do throughout the week, and I trust those guys to go out there and make plays whenever we make changes.”

That trust is reciprocated — and for good reason. Becht’s 23 wins as a starting quarterback, along with 15 conference triumphs, rank second all-time in program history to Brock Purdy. So when he speaks, teammates listen, especially during extended film study session like they undertook during the latest bye week.

“The biggest thing is just going out there and playing loose and free, and playing football, and having fun,” said junior tight end Ben Brahmer, who has six touchdown receptions. “And the only way to do that is to prepare well.”

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