Iowa State QB Drops Jarring Statement on Cyclones' Bowl Win

The Iowa State Cyclones were able to come away with a bowl victory last season, topping the Miami Hurricanes in the Pop Tarts Bowl. However, it apparently satisfy Iowa State.

Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht revealed a surprising take on his team's most recent bowl win, saying that that wasn't really what Iowa State was ultimately after.

“We had a team meeting (earlier this month) and Coach Campbell was talking to us,” Becht said, via Rob Gray of The Gazette. “(We) kind of felt like last year was kind of like, you know, we ended the season with a bowl win, but did we really end the season on a good note? We all kind of thought about it and, you know, we didn’t. We lost the Big 12 championship and that’s what we wanted.”

The Cyclones were absolutely hammered by the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Big 12 championship game, losing by a score of 45-19. Becht went 21-for-35 with 214 yards, a couple of touchdowns and an interception in the loss, so it wasn't exactly his best effort.

To make matters even more difficult, Iowa State lost several prominent players to the NFL Draft this offseason, including top wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, both of whom racked up over 1,000 yards in 2024.

Can the Cyclones recover from losing two of their best weapons and make it back to the Big 12 championship game for a chance at redemption? We're about to find out when the regular season starts late next month.