There are quarterbacks who have thrown for more yards than Iowa State’s Rocco Becht, completed a higher percentage of their passes than Becht and tossed more touchdown passes than Becht.
However, Cyclones coach Matt Campbell, whose 11th-ranked team tries to extend its season-opening winning streak to six on Saturday night at West Virginia, is adamant that he would rather have no one running his team than Becht.
“He’s playing as good as anyone right now and I’m really proud of what he’s done,” Campbell said. “It’s not the first read, it’s the second, third or fourth read in the progression. It tells you his moxie and his growth.”
Becht displayed all the qualities Campbell talked about last week during a 43-21 Big 12 Conference win against Baylor, hitting 16 of 25 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. The yardage total was his season high.
Becht is hitting nearly two-thirds of his passes so far for 1,173 yards with nine scores and only three interceptions. But the numbers and individual accolades mean little to him. So, too, does the program’s first 5-0 start since 1980.
“It just means that we’ve gotta win this next one,” Becht said of the unbeaten mark, which includes a 2-0 conference record. “Five and 0 is awesome and I’m gonna keep saying it, but we’re 0-0 right now and we just need to go game-by-game.”
Jayden Higgins has been Becht’s favorite target so far with 33 catches for 403 yards, while Jaylin Noel provides a big-play threat, averaging 18.8 yards on 24 receptions. Three different backs have rushed for at least 200 yards, with Eastern Michigan transfer Jaylon Jackson compiling a team-high 295 yards.
West Virginia (3-2, 2-0) is looking to make a statement that it can contend for the conference title. The Mountaineers certainly looked the part last week against struggling Oklahoma State with a 38-14 rout in Stillwater.
West Virginia outgained the Cowboys 558-227, rushing for a whopping 389 yards on 65 attempts and controlling the ball for nearly 43 minutes. Jahiem White rolled up 158 yards and a touchdown on just 19 carries, while quarterback Garrett Greene added 86 yards on the ground and threw for 159.
Coach Neal Brown said the Mountaineers could get another weapon back in the passing game this week. Justin Robinson, who missed the past two games due to an undisclosed injury, has a chance to return to the lineup.
“He practiced (Monday) and I think he’ll be back,” Brown said. “He was close to playing last week. There’s nobody that’s definitely out as of right now.”
Greene has thrown for 1,061 yards and rushed for 295, spraying completions around to a dozen different receivers. Ultimately, the game could come down to whether the Mountaineers’ defense, which is allowing 25.6 points per game, can find ways to get stops and perhaps give the West Virginia offense good field position against a defense yielding only 10 points per game.
West Virginia owns a 6-5 lead in the series, which started when it joined the Big 12 in 2012. Iowa State won the latest meeting 31-14 in 2022.
