Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht scored the go-ahead touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game, and Jontez Williams intercepted Jacurri Brown’s last pass to secure No. 9 Iowa State’s 38-35 comeback victory over UCF.
The win not only allowed the Cyclones to avoid a major upset Saturday night, but it kept Iowa Stay perfect on the season and in a tie with unbeaten BYU in the Big 12 standings.
The Cyclones (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) have matched the 1938 ISU team for best start in program history, and they have won four straight conference games for the first time.
UCF (3-4, 1-3) lost its fourth straight after leading by two touchdowns early in the third quarter and rushing for 354 yards — a season-high 196 by RJ Harvey and 154 by Brown.
“They’ve got great players with two phenomenal athletes,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said. “This was the most athletically talented team we’ve played this year.”
Becht completed a season-low 43% of his passes (20 of 46) and threw two interceptions, the first one returned for a touchdown and the second nearly a pick-six, but he ran a career-high 20 times for 97 yards.
Harvey’s 1-yard run put UCF up 35-27 with 11 minutes left after Braeden Marshall picked off Becht’s pass and ran it back 70 yards before dropping the ball just short of the goal line.
Kyle Konrardy’s 30-yard field goal got the Cyclones within five points, and after Iowa State forced two punts, Becht got the ball back with 1:48 left.
He teamed up with Jaylin Noel for two key passes and scrambled for a first down before a pass interference penalty set up the Cyclones at the UCF 4. Becht ran for 3 yards before bulling his way into the end zone for the winning touchdown.
“The precision and detail was there on that drive and we executed it well,” Becht said.
Follow Justin Giles on Twitter and Fan Insider on Facebook.
No. 13 BYU Defeats Oklahoma State In A Thriller — Here’s All The Reactions
