Rocco Becht and Abu Sama III lead No. 18 Iowa State past Houston 20-0

HOUSTON (AP) Rocco Becht threw for 153 yards and a touchdown, Abu Sama III ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and No. 18 Iowa State beat Houston 20-0 on Saturday night.

Iowa State (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2000, with coach Matt Campbell leading the school with 57 wins.

“I feel like we’re in a really positive place culturally,” Campbell said. “I think it's been fun to be a part of how we play the game, to be quite honest, and the leadership of this team… has been the ability to come in every day and show real competitive tenacity.” The ability to to keep getting better and growing.”

Houston (1-4, 0-2) fell to 1-4 for the first time since 2004.

“It puts a strain on everyone,” Houston coach Willie Fritz said. “This is a really tough track for me. We'll get it going. We will work on it every week. I'll have to look at the endgame and see that progress takes a bit. I just think we can play better than what we’ve been playing.”

Becht threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Higgins with two minutes left in the third, and Sama ran 77 yards for the score with 5 1/2 minutes left in the fourth.

“It's hard to play away, it's hard to win away,” said Becht. “No matter what their record is or who they have on their team, winning on the road is hard for the Big 12. We achieved that tonight with our strong defense. Thanks to them, they kept us in the game.”

Becht completed 17 of 28 passes, Higgins had eight catches for 79 yards, Jaylon Jackson ran for 96 yards and Kyle Konrardy made field goals of 23 and 34 yards.

Iowa State last had a shutout on November 21, 2020, when it defeated Kansas State 45-0. It was the Cyclones' first shutout in an away conference since a 24-0 win at Kansas State on October 16, 1971.

“They were great,” Campbell said of the defense. “This group continues to grow and we play with a lot of guys. We are broken. We’re pretty banged up, and the most impressive thing about it to me is that the next guys keep getting back on their feet and making really crucial plays.”

Donovan Smith was 8 of 12 for 71 yards and an interception for Houston, and Stacy Sneed rushed for 79 yards. The Cougars, coming off a 34-0 loss in Cincinnati last week, fell for the first time since 17-24. September 1994 in back-to-back games, losing 16-0 at home to Missouri and 52-0 at Ohio State.

IMPLICATIONS ON THE SURVEY

Iowa State should at least maintain its poll numbers after the win.

THE TAKEAWAY

Iowa State: The defense continued to be difficult to score on. Iowa State ranked ninth nationally, scoring 9.7 points per game. … Iowa State was 9 for 17 on third downs.

Houston: The defense continued to perform well, but Houston's offense has struggled this season. … Houston was 1 of 10 on third down and committed seven penalties for 77 yards.

NEXT

Iowa State: Host Baylor on Saturday.

Houston: Friday night at TCU.

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