Cyclone football heads to Baylor

By DANA BECKER

dbecker@messengernews.net

WACO, Tex. — Following a win and a bye week, the Iowa State football team returns to action here Saturday vs. Baylor.

Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. with the game streaming live on Big 12 Now on ESPN Plus.

The Cyclones (4-3 overall, 3-1 in Big 12) are currently tied with Oklahoma State, Texas and Kansas State for second in the conference race, one game behind unbeaten Oklahoma.

This weekend, the Sooners face the Jayhawks, the Cowboys host Cincinnati and the Longhorns entertain BYU in league play.

Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell recorded his 50th career win with the program two weeks ago, leading the Cyclones past Cincinnati. His win total is just six behind Dan McCarney for most in school history.

“All those young guys were playing and they got to get better,” Campbell said on the bye week prep. “If we wasted a week to not get better as a football team then I don’t think we were going to be very successful. We have a great enough challenge as it is in terms of who we play.

“I think Baylor is a mirror image of us in a lot of ways. A young team that is starting to find its identity and starting to play really good football right now. From our end of it, it was a completely different bye week, from who we are like I said, we went to work and tried to keep the same rhythm that we’ve had the last couple of weeks.”

Since a 10-7 road loss to Ohio, Iowa State has gone 3-1 in conference play, besting the Bearcats, TCU and Oklahoma State around a loss at Oklahoma.

In his first season as the starting quarterback, Rocco Becht has grown into the role, throwing for almost 1,500 yards while completing 60 percent of his passes. Beck is 31 of 53 for 379 yards with three TDs and no interceptions in October.

“I think the biggest thing for Rocco is his ability to — and I think you saw this a little bit at the end of the season when he went into the TCU game — his ability to take a step back and almost watch,” Campbell said. “It’s no different than what you see in the NFL sometimes. Those guys get to watch for a little bit and then continue to grow. I think Rocco’s ability to diligently prepare, especially by the midpoint of the season where he really became the true two, I thought is preparation and process was really impressive.”

Eli Sanders paces the ground game with 263 yards and two scores while Jayden Higgins has 438 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Jaylin Noel has caught 34 passes for 308 and two scores.

Baylor (3-4, 2-2) scored a three-point victory at Cincinnati last week and is 2-2 over its last four. Blake Shapen has returned under center, throwing for 1,236 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions.

Dominic Richardson and Richard Reese both have over 240 yards rushing with Monaray Baldwin the leading receiver with 24 receptions for 453 yards.

Last year, Baylor posted a 31-24 victory in Ames behind three TD passes by Shapen.