In front of over 40,000 fans at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, the Iowa State Cyclones picked up a massive Big-12 win over the Kansas State Wildcats. The game started slow, but picked up the pace late with the Cyclones leaving with a 24-21 win over the Wildcats.
It was a wet affair, full of early turnovers, with four fumbles in the first half of the game. But, in the end, the defensive affair went to the Cyclones, and they will fly back to Ames with a 1-0 record.
The game went nearly 9:00 without any points, as both teams had chances and could not capitalize. It also started with Kansas State's best offensive weapon, Dylan Edwards, leaving the game after fumbling a punt return. He injured his ankle on that play and did not return.
The first score came at the 3:26 mark as Rocco Becht connected with Dominic Overby for a 23-yard touchdown. It did not take long for Kansas State to come back and tie the game. The first play of the second quarter saw Avery Johnson run up the middle for a 10-yard scamper to tie the game at 7.
MORE: Iowa State Cyclones score first touchdown of the College Football season
After a mostly scoreless third quarter, Becht struck for his second touchdown pass, this time to Brett Eskildsen from 24 yards out to put the Cyclones ahead 14-7. Kansas State came right back in just under 2:00. A 5-play, 75-yard strike finished with a 37-yard dart to Jayce Brown of the Wildcats.
First career TD catch for @EskildsenBrett was a beauty 🤩
— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) August 23, 2025
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/iVEs78gTWA
Following a nice drive by the Cyclones, kicker Kyle Konrardy nailed a 34-yard field goal to put them up 17-14 with just over 10:00 to go in the game. The make made up for a first-half miss from the kicker.
Kansas State got its turn and failed to convert a fourth and short inside its own territory. Rocco Becht got the Cyclones quickly down in the red zone, and Iowa State needed two more plays to get in the end zone and go up two scores. Becht kept this one and put the Cyclones up 24-14 with just 6:38 to go.
Kansas State needed just one play. It was a 65-yard touchdown strike from Johsnon to Jerand Bradley, and the Wildcats got right back in the game at 24-21.
The Cyclones got the ball back, and Matt Campbell's offense had one goal in mind: run the clock out. Becht connected on a huge third-down pass to extend the drive and force the Wildcats to start using their timeouts. Becht was up against another third down, with 2:32 to go.
The Cyclones kept the ball in the quarterback's hand, and he came up short of the first down. Kansas State used its final timeout to set up the most dramatic play of the game. On fourth and three, they went for it and sealed the deal with a play that was called down just shy of the endzone from Carson Hansen. It was the third fourth-down conversion for the Cyclones in the game.
Becht finished with 168 passing yards and two touchdowns. Hansen was the big play threat for the Cyclones, as he finished with 90 total yards. For the Wildcats, Avery Johnson had 273 passing yards, with Jayce Brown leading with 78.
Chris Kleiman and the Kansas State Wildcats will head back to Manhattan and seek their first win on Saturday against North Dakota.
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