No. 9 Iowa State narrowly remained undefeated at 7-0 with a last-minute 38-35 victory over UCF in Ames on Saturday night.
Quarterback Rocco Becht scored on a one-yard run to give the Cyclones a 36-35 lead with 30 seconds left in the game. Becht then made a two-point conversion attempt for a 38-35 margin.
Iowa State’s game-winning drive began with just 1:47 left on the clock, and they went 80 yards in 11 plays. A pass interference call on UCF defensive back BJ Adams gave the Cyclones a first and goal from the 4-yard line. Three plays later, Becht scored the go-ahead goal.
Becht threw for 274 yards, completing 20 of 46 passes with one touchdown and two interceptions. He added 97 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Carson Hansen also rushed nine times for 91 yards and Jaylin Noel had eight receptions for 153 yards.
The Knights were fueled by big plays throughout the game. The dagger appeared to be an interception returned 70 yards by Braeden Marshall. That would have been UCF’s second pick 6 of the game on Brandon Adams’ 63-yard touchdown just before halftime. Surprisingly, Marshall thought he had scored a touchdown but dropped the ball before crossing the goal line.
Replay reviews voided the score. However, no one from either team recovered the ball after Marshall dropped it, so UCF maintained possession and had first and goal from the 1-yard line. Running back RJ Harvey scored on the next play to give the Knights a 35-27 lead.
UCF scored on its first possession, going 75 yards in just six plays, highlighted by a 46 yard run by Harvey. Quarterback Jacurri Brown finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.
That was just the beginning for the senior running back, who ran for 178 yards and a touchdown in the first half on 16 carries. In the process, he became the fourth UCF running back to accumulate 3,000 career yards.
Harvey added an 80-yard touchdown in the second quarter that tied the score at 14-14. He finished with 196 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Brown added 151 rushing yards and two more touchdowns on 12 carries.
Iowa State remained tied with BYU atop the Big 12 and will put its 7-0 record to rest next week. After that, the Cyclones face Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are in a three-way tie for second place in the Big 12 with a 3-1 conference record (Cincinnati and Colorado are also 3-1).
