AMES — No. 13 Iowa State football sure looked recharged after a bye week, returning to Big 12 Conference play with a resounding 39-14 win over visiting Arizona on Sept. 27.
The Cyclones improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play. They built a 22-7 halftime lead, and while Arizona was able to move the ball in the second half, the Wildcats never came close to threatening the Cyclones.
Rocco Becht ran for three rushing touchdowns. He completed 14-of-20 passes for 243 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Chase Sowell caught four passes for 146 yards. Brett Eskildsen added three receptions for 54 yards.
Carson Hansen had 19 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 31 yards.
Defensively, Jontez Williams and Jamison Patton each had an interception. Caleb Bacon had a team-high eight tackles. Patton and Kooper Ebel had seven tackles apiece.
Let’s take a look at how the Cyclones graded out in Saturday’s victory.
Offense
Grade: A-
Creative formations, a tight end trick play pass, swinging gate formation for a two-point conversion, and a mixed attack — offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser reached deep into his bag of tricks and Iowa State’s players executed almost flawlessly throughout the night. The Cyclones let up a bit toward the end, but they were in control the entire way. They finished with 399 total yards of offense.
Chase Sowell had his best game as a Cyclone. He had three big receptions that led to touchdowns. Sowell showcased his big-play ability with every catch going for 19 or more yards. Two catches were on deep balls and then another where he caught a pass on a slant route and broke away from the Arizona defense for a 52-yard gain.
Becht had three touchdowns on quarterback sneaks after Iowa State had a few plays downed at the 1-yard line. He threw a late interception, but the Cyclones had already dealt their damage. Carson Hansen was the primary running back in Saturday’s game and got a bulk of the carries. Abu Sama III got more involved late in the game after Iowa State had built the big lead.
Tight end Ben Brahmer even got to show off his arm by launching a deep pass to Brett Eskildsen for a 45-yard gain to the one-yard line, which resulted in another Cyclone touchdown.
Defense
Grade: A-
Outside of Arizona’s touchdown-scoring drive on the Wildcats’ final possession of the first half and a late third-quarter touchdown with the Cyclones holding a comfortable lead, Iowa State’s defense was dominant throughout.
The Cyclones made the Wildcats look underwhelming offensively and Arizona got nothing on each of its first five possessions of the game. During the stretch, Iowa State forced Arizona to go three-and-out twice and Jontez Williams picked off a pass by Fifita and returned it deep into Wildcat territory. The forced turnover resulted in a touchdown.
After struggling to tackle against Arkansas State, the Cyclones cleaned things up against Arizona. Iowa State didn’t make life easy for Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita.
Fifita completed 32-of-48 passes for 253 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Wildcats amassed 111 points through their first three games of the season, but Iowa State kept them at bay. There were moments late when they gave up some plays to Arizona, who finished with 360 total yards, and perhaps some of Arizona’s offensive traction came as the Cyclone defense sustained injuries.
Special teams
Grade: B-
Does the swinging gate formation two-point conversion count toward offense or special teams? Either way, it was a fairly polished game for Iowa State. No miscues after a sloppy showing at Arkansas State.
Chase Smith handled his duties as kicker and converted on all point-after attempts. He also converted on his first career field-goal attempt late in the game, connecting from 36 yards out. There weren’t any standout moments or big returns, but there also weren’t any lowlights or mistakes. Iowa State did its job in this phase of the game.
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football report card vs Arizona, Cyclones dominate to stay undefeated
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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