Hines: Iowa State football remains perfect with thrilling victory vs UCF

Posted by author October 20, 2024 Football

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AMES – It sure seems like Iowa State football is up to something special.

How could you draw any other conclusion after yet another gritty and gutsy performance that now has the Cyclones matching the best start in school history?

What looked like it might be the sort of clunker that so often would appear throughout an Iowa State football season turned into a thrilling, 38-35, victory over UCF on Saturday night.

The Cyclones are now 7-0 for the first time since 1938, and, after a bye week, they’ll enter what may be the most consequential month in program history.

More: WATCH: Cyclones RB Carson Hansen runs for 57-yard TD in Iowa State vs UCF football game

Iowa State is undefeated heading into November, and literally every hope that’s ever been whispered for this team and any dream bold enough to be conjured up is still a possibility.

Ten wins? A conference championship? A College Football Playoff spot?

Hell, an undefeated season is still on the table.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this stretch of Iowa State football is how they’ve continued to just be themselves. Resilient. Determined. Unshakable.

The Cyclones looked cooked Saturday. Out of it. Dead, even.

But, these being these Cyclones, they didn’t waver. They just stayed in it. Stayed grinding.

And, when Rocco Becht plunged into the end zone with 30 seconds left, stayed winning.

In a season full of remarkable outcomes, this was perhaps the most remarkable.

More: Iowa State football rallies from 14-point deficit vs UCF to stay undefeated

The Cyclones trailed by two scores for much of the second half. Becht was uncharacteristically sloppy for most of the game. The defense was gouged for over 350 rushing yards. More injuries arrived.

It didn’t matter.

Becht made big plays in big moments. The defense got the critical stops.

Everything that had gone wrong suddenly reversed.

And the Cyclones’ perfect season remains intact.

What, at this point, is too big a dream for the Cyclones?

Campbell so often talks about wanting to get his team in position to play meaningful games in November. That used to mean still having a shot at bowl eligibility. Now it means playing games that will shape the national landscape.

The Cyclones are 7-0, and the nation will now be watching.

They figure to see something special.

Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.