HOUSTON — 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 becoming the school victory leader with 57. Houston (1-4, 0-2) fell to 1-4 for the first time since 2004.
Becht threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Higgins with two minutes left in the third, and Sama ran 77 yards for a score to put it away with 5 1/2 minutes left in the fourth.
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 Nov. 21, 2020, when it beat Kansas State 45-0. It was the Cyclones’ first road conference shutout since a 24-0 victory at Kansas State on Oct. 16, 1971.
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 last week at Cincinnati — were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 17-24, 1994, when they fell 16-0 at home to Missouri and 52-0 at Ohio State.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Iowa State should at least maintain its poll position following the victory.
THE TAKEAWAY
Iowa State: The defense continued to be tough to score on. Iowa State entered ranked ninth nationally allowing 9.7 points per game. … Iowa State was 9 for 17 on third downs.
Houston: The defense continued to perform well, but Houston’s defense has struggled this season. … Houston was 1 of 10 on third downs and committed seven penalties for 77 yards.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: Hosts Baylor on Saturday.
Houston: At TCU on Friday night.
