Iowa State coach Matt Campbell reflects after loss to No. 11 BYU

AMES, Iowa — For nearly all of the first half of Saturday’s game against BYU, Iowa State appeared poised to dominate the Cougars.

But after leading 24-10 with under two minutes remaining before halftime, the Cyclones allowed a 31-3 BYU run to end the contest and ultimately fell 41-27 for their third consecutive loss.

“The reality of it is, there was a lot of really good football, and every moment we had the opportunity to kind of break this thing open, we kept them in the football game,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell told reporters after the contest.

“Unfortunately, you can’t do that against a really good football team. I thought had we had great momentum, I thought we had a great plan, just some lack of execution in critical moments, and again, those things continue to creep up on us right now.”

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier was excellent against an injury-riddled Iowa State secondary, throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 35 passing attempts.

The true freshman also carried the ball 12 times for 49 yards and another score.

“We allowed him to get into a rhythm,” Campbell said of Bachmeier. “... Their guys were able to make some great plays, he was able to extend some plays and certainly make some plays down the field. Again, I think you’re going to see that there were a couple plays where there was broken coverage, where the safeties are playing one thing and the corners are playing another thing.

“A little bit of that communication-wise we’ve just got to keep pounding away with. There’s some youth out there that’s playing and we’ve just got to be better, but you certainly tip your hat to (Bachmeier). He’s an outstanding football player.”

As for Campbell’s own quarterback, veteran starter Rocco Becht was sacked four times and picked off on three occasions by the Cougar defense — including one pick-six — for his first-ever three-interception game.

“I think Rocco is probably very similar to our entire football team right now. He is playing a lot of really good football, and there are some critical moments that, like all of us, we’ve got to be better in the moment. He knows that and we know that,” Campbell said.

“But boy, the fight, his ability to keep playing, his ability to put our football team in a really great position to have success, he’s continued to do that, and it’s not easy. Proud of him. We’ll keep getting better and growing through it.”

With the loss, Iowa State has come up short in three straight outings and suffered only its second home defeat since 2023. The Cyclones are 5-3, and while heading back to the Big 12 championship game appears out of reach, Campbell still believes his team can finish strong.

“I feel like we’re inches away from being the team we want to be,” Campbell said. “(We’re) fighting through a lot of stuff, (we’re) fighting through a lot of different things, and I give our kids a lot of credit. We’ve got to continue to pound away at it.

“... You don’t see a team that’s quitting, you don’t see a team that’s not playing really hard. You see a team where there’s a couple moments where we’re trying to press the envelope, we’re making critical errors and we’ve got to be better.”

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