Arizona smothered by Iowa State in Big 12 opener as Cyclones rush for 5 scores
The Arizona Wildcats had trouble getting offensive drives churning in their Big 12 opener as Iowa State rushed for five touchdowns to win.
Iowa State running back Carson Hansen (26) runs the ball against Arizona during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Matthew Putney)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Matthew Putney)
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Rocco Becht rushed for three touchdowns and threw for 243 yards, Carson Hansen ran for two scores and No. 14 Iowa State beat Arizona 39-14 Saturday night.
Chase Sowell caught four passes for a career-high 146 yards, including receptions of 43, 32 and 52 yards.
Arizona had difficulty getting started. On the Wildcats’ first five possessions, they had a missed field goal, three punts and Fifita threw an interception.
Noah Fifita was 32 of 48 for 253 yards and two touchdowns for Arizona.
Becht completed 14 of 20 passes for the Cyclones (5-0, 2-0 Big 12), who led 36-7 midway through the third quarter. His nation-leading streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass ended at 22.
The teams were meeting for the first time since 1968, with Iowa State beating the Wildcats (4-1, 0-1) for the first time since 1968.
Tight end Ben Brahmer had one of the game’s highlights when he took an inside handoff and passed 45 yards to Brett Eskildsen to set up Becht’s third 1-yard touchdown run.
Becht and his backup, Connor Moberly, and Brahmer combined to complete 15 of 22 passes for 288 yards against an opponent that entered the game first in the country in pass efficiency defense.
Arizona hosts Oklahoma State, which lost to Baylor after firing longtime coach Mike Gundy, on Saturday.
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Comments
4 Comments
Big wake up call for the School Down South. They’ve still got work to do if they wanna hang with the Big Boys in the Big 12
They started off well on that first drive, and then the wheels came off. The d-line is WAY too small, and the DB's seem always to be just a couple steps too late. They were three and out too much, and the picks didn't help . . . Can they learn from it-?-beat OK St., and MAYBE get to a six win season . . . Probably. They should have let the back-up QB try and do "something" in the 4th quarter, and the Cyclones shouldn't have kicked that final FG; take the knee, give the ball back, and let them run out the clock. Lick the wounds, watch the tape, and get better is all they can do.
This is not a good sign for the folks from Tucson. From other games I've watched, Iowa State is just not that good. Arizona moved the ball in their first possession, made it look like it would be a contest, but when Iowa State got the ball back, they left no doubt. Worst part for Arizona fans, is that there appeared to be a serious lack of effort from a lot of their guys.