Iowa State’s offense never found a rhythm Friday night, and that proved to be the difference in a road loss to No. 8 BYU.
The Cyclones arrived in Provo coming off a big Week 5 win and looking for an upset in a rare Friday night matchup. Instead, BYU set the tone immediately. On the opening possession, Bear Bachmeier used his legs to help power a 75-yard touchdown drive, finished off by a Journee Tonga score.
Iowa State did answer with some points early. After a couple of punts, Kyle Konrardy drilled a field goal to trim the margin to 7-3. But the Cyclones could not build on that momentum, and the BYU defense kept forcing Iowa State into empty trips.
The Cougars also had chances to extend the lead with field goals, but they chose to keep pushing on fourth down. That aggression backfired twice in the first half, with BYU failing to convert on a fourth-and-four and then getting stopped again later in the second quarter.
Even so, BYU’s big-play ability eventually broke through. Bachmeier connected with Roger Saleapaga on a 63-yard gain, and the Cougars later cashed in with a touchdown pass to Kyler Kasper.
Iowa State’s offense stayed stuck in neutral after halftime. The Cyclones could not generate much of anything, which gave BYU more opportunities to take control. The Cougars kept going for touchdowns rather than settling for field goals, and again came up short on a third-quarter fourth-down attempt.
That only delayed the inevitable. With Iowa State still unable to move the ball, BYU hit another explosive play when Legend Glasker hauled in a 75-yard touchdown catch to put the game out of reach.
The Cyclones, who had scored 45 points the week before, finally showed a little life in the fourth quarter when Christian Greenlaw found the end zone. But by then, the damage was already done.
The final stretch offered Iowa State a reminder that it could hang around with a highly ranked opponent, but the offensive performance was not nearly enough to turn that into a win. The Cyclones now head into a Week 7 bye.
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