JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) -- Rocco Becht threw for 265 yards and had passing and rushing touchdowns as No. 14 Iowa State escaped with a 24-16 win over Arkansas State on Saturday.
Abu Sama ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 8:34 left to give the Cyclones (4-0) some breathing room after the Red Wolves closed to 17-16. Carson Hansen rushed for 116 yards on 18 carries for Iowa State, and Sama had 69 yards on nine attempts.
Jaylen Raynor threw for 222 yards and rushed for 83 for Arkansas State (1-2), which had consecutive touchdowns nullified by penalties early in the fourth quarter and had to settle for a 40-yard field goal from Clune Van Andel -- his third of the game -- that got the Red Wolves within one.
Arkansas State coach Butch Jones was livid about the second of the two penalties.
"The holding call was absolutely inexcusable," Jones said. "It took points off the board, and it had an outcome in the game. It didn't lose us the game, but it made a major impact in the game. It was a blown call.
"That can't happen. It's as outrageous as anything I've seen."
Becht, who struggled in the third quarter, completed four passes for 57 yards in a drive capped by Sama's touchdown run.
"In the moment, you trust that guy with everything you have because of who he is," coach Matt Campbell said of his quarterback. "He just keeps proving it time after time after time."
The Cyclones were coming off an emotional 16-13 win over rival Iowa.
Jones, meanwhile, said he thought there was a real chance his team could win, except for a few plays.
"Winning is fragile," he said. "A game can come down to three to four plays. You never know what three to four plays they were."
Cyclone takeaways
Turn the heat on Becht and see what happens.
As soon as the Cyclones felt a little heat, the junior quarterback matched the temperature.
Becht likes getting in the game and pushing the ball downfield, so the first offensive play was another deep shot to receiver Brett Eskildsen. With 39 seconds remaining in the half and kicker Kyle Konrardy unavailable with an injury, Campbell wanted to push the ball.
A 14-yard swing pass to Hansen started ISU's drive. After a 1-yard loss on a run, Becht hit a 35-yard pass to receiver Xavier Townsend and a 27-yard pass to Dominic Overby to reclaim the lead.
In the fourth quarter, after Arkansas cut the ISU lead to 17-16, Becht led the Cyclone offense on a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The highlight of the drive was a perfect high pass down the sideline to Townsend for a gain of 44.
But ISU missed Gabe Burkle.
The tight end didn't play Saturday because of an injury. The junior has 10 receptions for 149 yards this season, second on the team.
Without Burkle, ISU's passing game was missing something.
Benjamin Brahmer, a Pierce graduate, had a ball go off his hands for an interception on a curl route.
Cooper Alexander misread a zone defense and was tackled short on a third down on ISU's second possession, which forced a field goal.
Still, there were bright spots.
That includes Tyler Moore. He caught two passes for 58 yards and demonstrated his playmaking ability with a team-high 49 yards after the catch.
ISU finished with 187 rushing yards. That number probably should have been higher.
Arkansas State allowed an average of 206.5 rushing yards in its first two games, No. 123 among 134 FBS teams. Last week, Arkansas broke the Red Wolves for 321 rushing yards.
ISU's problem wasn't creating holes or running through them. It was the number of opportunities.
The Red Wolves won time of possession 34:41-25:19. Entering halftime and coming out of the break, Arkansas State went on two drives that combined for 14:01 of game time.
There's also a potential injury to kicker Konrardy.
Having a weapon like the sophomore made ISU's kicking situation about as stable as any team in the country. Now, there's a question mark.
Konrardy entered Saturday 6 for 7 on field goals (2 for 2 from 50-plus) with a CyHawk-winning field goal and program-record 63-yarder on his résumé. Saturday, Konrardy's day ended in injury.
Konrardy missed an extra point wide right in the first quarter. A 48-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter came up short and left. Konrardy entered the medical tent after his attempt and did not re-enter the game.
But there's time to regroup. ISU has a bye next week before opening Big 12 play against Arizona on Sept. 27.
Compiled by Ben Hutchens, Quad-City Times