Iowa expects to meet an experienced quarterback come Saturday in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
In his Tuesday press conference to preview the rivalry matchup, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz shared his initial thoughts on the Iowa State Cyclones.
“Talking about Iowa State. They are a good football program and a good football team. I have a lot of admiration for their staff. They have a really good coaching staff. They’ve done a great job since Coach Campbell arrived. They have a veteran football team. They’ve recruited well, they coach their guys well, and each and every year there’s a good program and a good team.
“Look at the last six years, I think it’s a five-point whatever differential between the two teams, so I would expect the same thing Saturday. Another tough competitive hard-fought game. That’s what we’re looking at there,” Ferentz said.
That admiration from Ferentz extends to the Cyclones’ most important player, redshirt sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht.
“When I talked about them being a veteran team, veteran in the key parts, and that’s one of the positions I was referencing. He’s not an old guy, but he’s played enough now where I think he’s a very confident guy, very poised, and does a good job running their offense, and they’ve got a really talented group of receivers. Tight end Brahmer is a good receiver, so they have guys they can get the ball to, and I’m sure they will. He’s done a nice job leading their football team, and I’m guessing his best football is still ahead of him,” Ferentz said.
The 6-foot-1, 210 pound quarterback played and started all 13 games for the Cyclones in 2023. A product of Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, Fla., Becht completed 63.5% of his passes, passed for 2,674 yards and 20 touchdowns a season ago.
In Iowa State’s 21-3 season-opening win against North Dakota, Becht finished 20-of-26 passing for 267 yards with two touchdown passes.
Iowa graduate CASH Sebastian Castro had one of the game’s biggest plays in the Cy-Hawk Series off Becht last year, though. Castro intercepted Becht’s second-quarter pass and raced 30 yards for a pick-six to put Iowa in front 17-0.
The Hawkeyes would go on to win 20-13. Iowa limited Becht to a 23-of-44 passing day with one touchdown against Castro’s interception. The Cyclones’ offense finished with 290 yards.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.
Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
Local Iowa State
Most Popular
Comments / 0