AMES — Rocco Becht threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another touchdown in Iowa State’s 21-3 victory over North Dakota on Saturday.
Becht had no trouble getting the ball to his receivers, completing passes to six of his receivers. His top target was Jaylin Noel, who finished with 135 yards and a touchdown.
The two also played in tandem on Iowa State’s first drive of the game, completing a 54-yard pass together and then a 21-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jayden Higgins.
“It reminded me of when we scored in three plays against Baylor last year,” Becht said, “but nothing beats that at home.”
Becht also threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Noel and scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.
“[Becht]is a leader and he has a sense of calm,” Noel said. “He calmed the whole offense and made sure our guys were ready to go on offense even when our drives didn’t finish the way we wanted them to.”
The touchdown on the opening drive signaled the Cyclones’ offense is willing to attack, something new offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser praised.
“I thought he did a great job,” coach Matt Campbell said, “and I thought he had the balance right with what we wanted to do.”
North Dakota’s Simon Lomfo, making his first career start after serving as a backup to current Michigan State quarterback Tommy Schuster, completed 17 of 30 attempts for 121 yards.
“I thought he fought really hard today,” coach Baba Schweigert said, “he played with his feet and he threw the ball well.”
Lomfo led North Dakota’s offense, rushing for 174 yards and leading the time of possession by about 16 minutes.
The Fighting Hawks’ longest drive came late in the first quarter, a 23-play, 88-yard drive that resulted in a C.J. Elrichs field goal. The drive lasted 12 minutes, 24 seconds, and the 23 plays were the longest in a Bowl Subdivision game since at least 2014, according to SportRadar.
“I thought it was a game that showed a lot of enthusiasm and passion,” Coach Schweigert said. “I feel like our running backs are running really hard and we know we want to run the ball to be a good football team.”
summary
North Dakota: The Fighting Hawks can slowly work their way down the field, but they showed they need to finish their drives with points.
Iowa State: The Cyclones will look to clean up their rushing defense before traveling to Iowa City next Saturday to take on No. 25 Iowa State.
Next
North Dakota: Hosts Montana next Saturday.
Iowa State: Visits No. 25, the University of Iowa, next Saturday.
Iowa State University 21, University of North Dakota 3
First Quarter
ISU-Higgins, 21 pass from Becht (Conradi kick), 14:22.
Second Quarter
UND-FG Elrichs 26, 3:00.
ISU – Pass from Noel 14 Becht (Conrardi kick), :48.
Fourth Quarter
ISU vs. Becht 2-run (Conradi kick), 12:33.
A–56,148.
Personal Statistics
Rushing – North Dakota, Smith 12-50, S. Lomfo 11-44, Siebers 12-39, Seidl 5-36, Vaughn 2-5. Iowa State, Sama 5-36, Hansen 6-20, J. Jackson 4-13, Lee 3-9, Becht 4-8.
Passed – North Dakota, S. Romfo 17-30-1-121. Iowa, Becht 20-26-0-267.
RECEIVING – North Dakota, Bergquist 6-43, Kupfer 2-19, Dennis 2-12, Seidl 2-10, Smith 1-34, DeMontagnac 1-5, Norby 1-2, Vaughn 1-1, Siebers 1-(minus-5). Iowa State, Noel 8-135, Higgins 5-75, Green 4-44, Ngoy 1-10, J.Jackson 1-3, Sama 1-0.
Missed Field Goal – North Dakota, Elrichs 33.
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