Iowa State football’s unbeaten streak is over.
The Cyclones suffered their first loss of the 2025 season at the hands of the Cincinnati Bearcats, dropping to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play.
Iowa State had a nightmarish start to the game and fought back to make it competitive, but the Bearcats never trailed and claimed a 38-30 victory over the Cyclones at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Cincinnati opened with a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Rocco Becht completed 30-of-48 passes (62.5%) for 314 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had two rushing touchdowns. Abu Sama III finished with 96 yards on 18 carries. Brett Eskildsen had a career-high eight receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. Chase Sowell added five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Xavier Townsend had 50 yards on six receptions.
Defensively, Ta’Shawn James logged a team-high nine tackles.
Here is the report card from the Cyclones’ loss.
Offense
Grade: C
After a slow start, Iowa State recorded 470 yards of total offense, its highest total against an FBS opponent this season. The Cyclones moved the ball, but didn’t finish as many drives as they would have liked.
Iowa State was scoreless in the first quarter but managed to get on the board in the second quarter and trimmed the deficit to 31-15 at halftime. Becht and the Cyclones scored a touchdown in each of the last two quarters.
They weren’t efficient on third down, going 4-of-16, posting the lowest conversion rate since the Kansas State game in Week 0.
Sama had his most productive game of the year, rushing for a season-high 96 yards, while Carson Hansen did not record any second-half touches and was not spotted on the sideline after halftime.
Becht didn’t have his sharpest game and missed some open throws, but his toughness was on display. At one point, he was examined for a potential head injury following a targeting penalty on a play on which Becht was sacked. But he returned to the game and finished with 314 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.
Eskildsen had his first 100-yard game, leading the Cyclones with eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Sowell recorded his first touchdown as a Cyclone.
For Cincinnati, Brendan Sorsby completed 13-of-25 passes (52%) for 214 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball nine times for 64 yards and a touchdown. Evan Pryor had 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, while Tawee Walker had 14 carries for 89 yards. Joe Royer and Caleb Goodie each had touchdown receptions.
Defense
Grade: D+
Iowa State was down two key cornerbacks, Jontez Williams and Jeremiah Cooper, so perhaps some hitches in coverage were to be expected. But that doesn’t excuse the arm tackles, missed tackles and overall struggle to contain the Bearcats’ offense. The Cyclones gave up a season-high 38 points and 474 yards in the loss.
Cincinnati put points on the board in each of its first five possessions of the game, including four drives that ended with touchdowns. The Bearcats mixed it up well, using a balanced attack. Cincinnati’s offensive line was physical upfront and its running backs matched that intensity with their ability to break tackles. Sorsby had plenty of time and space in the pocket during pass plays, and he improved as a passer as the game progressed. After completing just 4-of-12 pass attempts to start the game, he finished by going 9-of-13 the rest of the way.
In the first half, the Bearcats averaged 10.8 yards per carry and amassed 216 rushing yards as a team.
Iowa State’s defense showed some life in the second half, catching a break when Walker dropped a pitch on an option play early in the second half and the Cyclones recovered. They also forced a three-and-out and a turnover on downs in consecutive drives. The Cyclones also forced a Bearcat punt in the fourth quarter, after Cincinnati pushed itself back with numerous offensive penalties.
Cincinnati didn’t stay quiet for long in the second half, with Sorsby connecting with Goodie for an 82-yard insurance touchdown with 5:57 remaining in the game.
Special teams
Grade: D
Kyle Konrardy’s presence was sorely missed by the Cyclones on Saturday. Iowa State went 0-for-2 on fourth down inside Bearcat territory instead of kicking field goals. Both instances were in Konrardy’s range, but outside of Chase Smith’s, prompting the Cyclones to keep the offense out on fourth down.
There was another instance where Iowa State went for it on fourth down deep in Cincinnati territory just before halftime, but that resulted in a defensive pass interference penalty and the drive continued. At that point, Iowa State was down 31-7, so perhaps it wanted to keep the offense on the field with the hope of getting a touchdown and that gamble paid off.
Smith made both of his extra-point attempts, but he missed a 35-yard field goal.
Outside of that, the Iowa State kickoff units gave up a couple of lengthy returns to Cincinnati’s Logan Wilson. He posted a 36-yard kick return to Cincinnati’s 45-yard line and he had another return that crossed midfield into Cyclone territory.
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 vs Cincinnati report card, Cyclones lose first game of 2025 season
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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