Rocco Becht completed 19 of 20 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 22 Iowa State cruised to a 55-7 win over South Dakota on Saturday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.
Becht set a school record by completing 95 percent of his passes and established another school mark with a TD pass in 20 consecutive games. Benjamin Brahmer caught seven passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns for Iowa State (2-0), which won its home opener one week after starting the season in Ireland. Gabe Burkle had four catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Abu Sama III, Xavier Townsend, Alex Manske and Dylan Lee added one rushing touchdown apiece for the Cyclones, who outgained FCS South Dakota 529-209 in total offense.
Aidan Bouman completed 15 of 29 passes for 126 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for South Dakota (0-1). Bouman was making his return to Ames, where he was a reserve signal-caller for the Cyclones before transferring in 2022 to the Coyotes to become a starter.
The score was even at 7-7 before the Cyclones closed the game with 48 unanswered points.
Iowa State started the scoring on its opening drive. Becht connected with Brahmer to cap a four-play, 75-yard drive that took only 1:50 off the clock.
South Dakota responded with a touchdown drive to quiet the Cyclones crowd. Bouman hit Larenzo Fenner for a 6-yard score with 5:44 remaining in the first quarter.
Iowa State took control for the rest of the game. Sama broke the tie when he sprinted down the left sideline for a 15-yard score to make it 14-7 with 1:12 to go in the first quarter.
Brahmer caught his second touchdown, this time on a 3-yard pass from Becht, to put the Cyclones on top 21-7 with 9:27 left in the first half. Kyle Konrardy added two field goals, including a 63-yarder that set a school record, to make it 27-7 at the half.
The Cyclones piled on two more touchdowns in the third quarter to grab a 41-7 lead. Burkle scored first on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Becht, and Townsend followed with an 11-yard touchdown run.
Another pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter gave Iowa a 55-7 advantage. Manske scored on a 4-yard run with 10:57 to go, and Lee punched in an 8-yard run with 4:22 left.
–Field Level Media
