AMES, Iowa –

Rocco Becht threw two touchdowns and ran for another, and No. 17 Iowa State’s defense made big stops in the second half to help the Cyclones beat Kansas State 29-21 on a cold Saturday night for the first 10-win season in program history.

About three hours after the game ended, their ticket to the Big 12 Championship Game was revoked as BYU’s win over Houston gave them the help they needed to advance to a meeting with Arizona State next Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Cyclones (10-2, 7-2 Big 12, No. 18 CFP) will make their second appearance in the conference championship game. They lost to Oklahoma in 2020.

“It will have been deserved. Our kids really never wavered,” said Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, whose team rebounded from two straight losses after a 7-0 start to win for the third straight year. “It will be a great opportunity for our program and of course for our fan base to be a part of it with us.”

Becht’s first touchdown pass, a 15-yarder to Jayden Higgins, came after Myles Purchase recovered Avery Johnson’s errant pitch on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Becht’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Jaylin Noel came after Joey Petersen recovered Keagan Johnson’s fumble. With the catch, Noel gained more than 1,000 yards this season.

Becht’s 5-yard run gave the Cyclones a 24-14 halftime lead.

“Our kids’ ability to make critical plays in critical moments was certainly the difference in the game,” Campbell said. “We knew it was going to be a hard-fought football game because of the weather and the field. We had to make those plays. Probably fitting for this team to win like that and end the regular season. I’m really happy about them and what they’ve achieved, and certainly for what the future holds for them.

A safety and Kyle Konrardy’s 20-yard field goal gave Iowa State an eight-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats (8-4, 5-4, No. 24 CFP) turned the ball over on downs at the Cyclones’ 35 when a pass fell out of Garrett Oakley’s hands with 4:59 left. They got the ball back on the final possession with no timeouts and 1:11 left when Kyle Konrardy missed the game-winning 37-yard field goal. K-State went nowhere as Avery Johnson was thrown out of the game on third down and Ta’Quan Roberson threw incomplete on fourth-and-15.

Becht took a knee and fans streamed from the stands to celebrate with the Cyclones on the field.

“You can’t play against a team like that and make the mistakes we made,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said. “We made some mistakes in the first half that led to points and you can’t do that against good football teams. That’s obvious.”

“Congratulations to Matt and his team. They will represent the Big 12 well. They don’t make mistakes and we made them today and that put us in a corner at halftime.”

Avery Johnson threw touchdown passes of 28 and 65 yards to Jayce Brown in the first half, and his 7-yarder to Oakley brought K-State to within 24-21 late in the third quarter. He threw for 220 yards and ran for 64 on 13 carries, and Brown caught three balls for 106 yards.

The Cyclones made a huge stop early in the third after DJ Giddens’ 36-yard run put K-State inside the 5-yard line. They kept the Wildcats out of the end zone, and then Darien Porter darted through the right side of the line to block Chris Tennant’s 21-yard field goal attempt.

The defense recorded a safety when Jacob Ellis chased Avery Johnson into his own end zone. Johnson desperately unloaded the ball and was called for intentional grounding.

The snack bar

Kansas State: The Wildcats failed to play spoilsport after finding out earlier in the day that their hopes of making it to the Big 12 championship game were dashed. Two turnovers, blocking a field goal, giving up a safety and failing to convert two fourth-and-2s hurt.

Iowa State: The Cyclones’ seven conference wins are the second-most in program history – they had eight in 2020 – and their 17 wins since 2023 mark their best two-year record. They also finished in the top four of the Big 12 for the seventh time in eight seasons.

Impact on the survey

Iowa State could move up a bit with No. 12 Clemson losing this week.

Next

Kansas State: Will play in a bowl game.

Iowa State: Will play in a bowl game and possibly the Big 12 Championship Game.