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Iowa State football saw their special season fall just short Saturday of an appearance in the College Football Playoff. The Cyclones got blown out by Arizona State 45-19, in the Big 12 Championship game. With the loss, Iowa State was assured of missing the CFP while the Sun Devils were guaranteed a spot.
Arizona State's convincing win got them a bye in the CFP when the final rankings were revealed Sunday. Iowa State, meanwhile, must lick its wounds and regroup. The 10-3 Cyclones are now getting a chance to play Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Iowa State football must quickly forget about its Big 12 championship game performance. The Cyclones could have won the game, but ultimately shot itself in the foot time and again during the contest. Iowa State is most to blame for that loss.
Before the reasons why that is the case are revealed, it is important to note how Iowa State got to the conference championship.
Iowa State football got 10 wins this season behind its defense
The Cyclones had the best scoring defense in the Big 12 for much of this season. Iowa State won 10 games behind that defense, as it put together some solid wins during the regular season. The Cyclones won on the road at West Virginia and Utah, and defeated Kansas State to close out the year.
Iowa State football got the season started on the right foot by defeating Iowa for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. It was the first victory for Iowa State in that series since 2022, and only the second time the squad defeated the Hawkeyes since 2015.
Things certainly looked good for the team heading into the conference championship game. Iowa State got help when BYU lost a few games near the end of the season, and Colorado bowed to Kansas. Due to conference tie-breaker rules, the Cyclones were able to sneak into the championship against a surging Arizona State squad.
Then it all fell apart, and here are the reasons why.
The Cyclones lost the turnover battle
The Cyclones couldn't hold on to the ball well enough against Arizona State. Iowa State football committed three turnovers in the conference title game, and it killed any momentum the squad was able to put together.
Iowa State's turnovers included two lost fumbles. Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht also threw an interception in the game. Two of those turnovers led to third-quarter touchdowns for Arizona State, which put the game completely out of reach.
The mistakes proved incredibly costly. Iowa State football nearly had the ball as long as Arizona State in the game. If the Cyclones could have scored on a few of those drives where they had turnovers, the result may have been different.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell knew his team's chances for a CFP slot were shattered with the loss.
“That's the reality of that situation,” Campbell said after the game about that, per ESPN. “The reality from our end is we had some opportunities late in the season to put ourselves in the best situation. Those are great lessons learned, and we'll grow with it.”
There's one more reason why Iowa State is most to blame for this loss.
Iowa State's rush defense got exploited
All season, Iowa State had struggled to defend the run. In spite of its excellent scoring defense, the Cyclones were 14th in the league at rush defense heading into the title game. That's out of 16 teams, with only Oklahoma State and Arizona doing a poorer job. Iowa State is now 15th in the conference following the loss to the Sun Devils.
Iowa State entered the Arizona State game with the task of having to stop Sun Devils back Cam Skattebo. The Cyclones failed to pass that test. Skattebo broke tackles like it was nothing, and embarrassed the Iowa State defense at times.
In the end, the Cyclones allowed the Sun Devils rusher to gallop for 170 yards on just 16 carries. Skattebo did his best Larry Csonka impression, rushing for two touchdowns. Iowa State football allowed a total of 464 yards, including 245 rushing yards.
The yards per play stats just add more context to that story. While Iowa State managed 4.9 yards a play, Arizona State football gained more than eight yards per play. This turned out to be a really bad matchup for the Cyclones.
Iowa State football next plays Miami on December 28 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Miami finished the year with a 10-2 record in the ACC. This will be Iowa State's seventh bowl game in the last eight seasons, and Cyclones fans hope that it brings out a better performance from their team.
