Caught in the Cyclone: Arizona Wildcats drop Big 12 opener to No. 14 Iowa State

AMES, Iowa — Arizona didn't weather the storm Saturday night. The Wildcats ran directly into the Cyclone at Jack Trice Stadium and never recovered. 

Arizona fell to 14th-ranked Iowa State 39-14 in its Big 12 opener and suffered its first loss of the season. Arizona has lost four straight road games dating back to last season.

After Arizona's best start to a season in a decade, the setback to Iowa State was "a harsh measuring stick," said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. 

"I think there were some moments where we showed toughness and made some plays, but it wasn't nearly enough," Brennan said. "I think that's one of those harsh realities of losing a game like that. When we don't execute on the level that we need to against a Top 12 or 14 opponent in their stadium, you're not going to feel great about the result."  

Iowa State scored 22 unanswered points before the Wildcats stopped the bleeding in the final moments of the first half, when UA quarterback Noah Fifita threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kris Hutson for Hutson's first touchdown as a Wildcat. 

"It's hard," Fifita said. "Losing is always difficult, but there's a lot to learn from it. We gotta start faster, especially offensively. We gotta help our defense out when they get us some big-time stops. I'll eat this one." 

Turning Point

Was it the opening kickoff? Was it a poor snap on a missed field goal? Was it the catch interference? Or how about Iowa State's two-point conversion? Arizona's special teams units have been wobbly all season — and it boiled over in the first quarter on Saturday. 

Arizona running back and kick returner Ismail Mahdi nearly coughed up the Wildcats' first offensive possession after fumbling the opening kickoff on the UA 20-yard line, however, the officials ruled Mahdi's elbow hit the ground first. 

The Wildcats put together a 10-play drive, which had a 23-yard run by Mahdi, to start the game, but stalled just outside of the red zone.

Arizona kicker Michael Salgado-Medina missed a 46-yard field goal, which had a poor snap by long snapper Avery Salerno. Salgado-Medina is 2-for-6 on field goals longer than 40 yards this season. After catching a break on the opening drive, Arizona came up empty. 

Salgado-Medina also started at punter the first three games of the season and was replaced by Australian transfer Isaac Lovison, who had a 35-yard kick his first attempt, but boomed a 55-yarder in the second quarter. Lovison averaged 44.5 yards per punt and had one land inside the 20-yard line. 

Iowa State answered with a nine-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that was set up by quarterback Rocco Becht's 43-yard pass to wide receiver Chase Sowell down at the 1-yard line. Iowa State went up 8-0 early after converting a two-point conversion on a "swinging gate" PAT. Tight end Gabe Burkle took the direct snap and powered his way into the end zone.

Arizona safety Dalton Johnson, who had a team-high 10 tackles, was flagged for catch interference in punt coverage, which set up the Cyclones on the Arizona 38-yard line. The Cyclones had three touchdown drives that took up fewer than 50 yards. Iowa State's drives averaged to start at its own 37-yard line, while the average start for Arizona's drives were at its 22-yard line.

The Cyclones took a 22-7 lead at halftime, then had back-to-back touchdown drives to start the second half and led 36-7.    

Offensive MVP

Becht didn't throw any touchdown passes for the first time since Iowa State's loss to Kansas in November of 2023, but he completed 14 of 20 passes for 243 yards and an interception, along with a career-high three rushing touchdowns — on just minus-10 rushing yards. Becht had passes of 52, 43, 32, 27, 22 and 19 yards. — four of them were to Sowell, who had four receptions for 146 yards on five targets.

"I'm glad for him," Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said of Sowell. "We're going to need him to keep going."

Becht was 3-for-4 on third-down passes and converted those three plays into first downs; he was sacked on the failed one. Iowa State, one of the top third-down teams in the Big 12, went 6-for-13 on third down against Arizona, which held Kansas State to a combined 3-for-17 on third and fourth down. 

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Defensive MVP

Iowa State was without star cornerback Jeremiah Cooper, who was held out due to injury, but the Cyclones secondary was led by multiple players. Iowa State safety Jamison Patton had seven tackles, a pass breakup and was one of two players to intercept Fifita — the first interceptions of the season for Fifita. Cornerback Jontez Williams also picked off Fifita in the second half.

Fifita completed 32 of 48 passes for 253 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Saturday was Fifita's first multi-interception performance since the BYU game last season.

Fifita said Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege shouldered the blame for the loss. 

“Respectfully, I disagree," Fifita said of Doege taking the blame. "I didn’t make him right in any situations. I gotta be a lot better for him and a lot better for the offense.”  

Unsung Hero

Iowa State had fewer than 100 rushing yards, but the Cyclones had five rushing touchdowns. The Cyclones' leading rusher was running back Carson Hansen, who had 19 carries for 63 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Both of Hansen's rushing touchdowns were on the goal line in the first half. 

Injury Report

Arizona's final availability report was released 90 minutes before kickoff on Saturday and several of the most notable players who missed the Wildcats' win over Kansas State two weeks ago were active against Iowa State. 

Arizona running back Kedrick Reescano, linebacker Riley Wilson, wide receiver Kris Hutson and defensive end Tre Smith were all active. Wilson had three tackles, two sacks and a pass breakup. 

Reescano was the only aforementioned Wildcat who didn't play on Saturday. 

What’s Next

The Wildcats (3-1) return to Tucson to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-3) at Arizona Stadium Saturday at noon on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max. 

Arizona's matchup with Oklahoma State will be the 10th all-time matchup between the two schools dating back to 1931. Arizona is 4-5 against the Cowboys, winning its last matchup, 59-38, in former head coach Rich Rodriguez's first season in 2012.

Before 2012, Arizona lost the previous two games to Oklahoma State, a 37-14 setback in Stillwater and a 36-10 beatdown in the Alamo Bowl to cap the 2010 season.

Since the start of last season, Oklahoma State is 4-12. The Cowboys recently lost to the Baylor Bears, the game after firing longtime head coach Mike Gundy. Offensive coordinator Doug Meacham is OSU's interim head coach.