Rocco Becht sets school record for accuracy in Iowa State's 55-7 win over South Dakota
Rocco Becht threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns, two to tight end Benjamin Brahmer, and No. 22 Iowa State defeated South Dakota 55-7 on Saturday.
Iowa State (2-0), which beat Kansas State 24-21 in Ireland last week, opened with back-to-back wins for the fourth time under coach Matt Campbell.
Becht completed his first 14 passes and finished 19 for 20, a school-record 95%. He threw a touchdown pass in a program-record 20th straight game.
“He’s a young man for us that just continues to do great things in a powerful way,” Campbell said. “I told him, ‘You just have to go out there and win,’ and he felt really good about it.”
Brahmer caught seven balls for 47 yards and tight end Gabe Burkle had four catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.
“Those guys are big targets,” Campbell said. “When you have big targets, it certainly creates space, especially when the vertical space can be reduced.”
Of 23 completions by Becht and Alex Manske, 13 went to players at that position.
Kyle Konrardy set the school record for longest field goal with a 63-yarder as time expired in the first half. Konrardy's kick was second-longest in Big 12 history behind Martin Gramatica’s 65-yarder for Kansas State in 1998.
“You can tell as a kicker if it's going in," Konrardy said. “I do my best to focus on the fundamentals and prepare myself when the time comes.”
Campbell said he was confident in Konrardy's ability to split the uprights.
“You just trust that guy,” Campbell said. “More importantly, did what we needed to do and executed in that situation.”
Iowa State's Dylan Lee led all rushers with 81 yards and a touchdown, all in the second half.
South Dakota's only touchdown came on a 6-yard pass from Aidan Bouman to Larenzo Fenner in the first quarter. Bouman, who spent his first two years at Iowa State, was 15 of 29 for 126 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
“We didn't play well enough,” South Dakota coach Travis Johansen said. “We know where we're at and how far we have to go. It's a lot of coaching and lots of planning from this.”
The takeaway
South Dakota: The Coyotes reached the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals last season, but were overmatched against a Top 25 opponent.
Iowa State: Iowa State improved to 10-0 against South Dakota, including 8-0 in Ames. The Cyclones have allowed just 19 points all-time against the Coyotes.
Up next
South Dakota: visits Lamar on Saturday.
Iowa State: hosts Iowa on Saturday.