No. 11 Iowa State pulls away in 4th to beat West Virginia

Field Level Media|published: Sat 12th October, 23:47 2024

NCAA Football: Iowa State at West Virginia

Oct 12, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Iowa State Cyclones running back Carson Hansen (26) is tackled by West Virginia Mountaineers safety Jaheem Joseph (3) during the second quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Carson Hansen rushed for three touchdowns Saturday night and Rocco Becht threw for 265 yards as No. 11 Iowa State improved to 6-0 with a 28-16 win over West Virginia in Morgantown, W. Va.

Hansen picked up 96 yards on 20 carries for the Cyclones, who improved to 3-0 in the Big 12 Conference. Becht completed 18 of 26 passes with a touchdown on the night the Mountaineers honored his father, Anthony, by inducting him into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Garrett Greene completed 18 of 32 attempts for 206 yards and a 10-yard touchdown strike to Jahiem White with 1:10 left in the game. But Greene threw two damaging interceptions that Iowa State cashed in to break the game open during the fourth quarter.

The Mountaineers (3-3, 2-1) were on the move late in the third quarter at the Cyclones' 29 when Greene forced a pass over the middle that Jamison Patton intercepted. Ten plays later, Hansen powered in from the 3 to give Iowa State a 21-10 advantage with 11:57 left in the game.

Greene then threw his next pass to the Cyclones' Jontez Williams, teeing up the visitors for a short field at the West Virginia 33. Hansen sealed the outcome by bulling in from the 2 with 4:42 remaining.

Coming off consecutive conference wins, including a 38-14 pasting at Oklahoma State last week, the Mountaineers got off to a promising start. They opened the game with a 14-play drive that lasted nearly eight minutes, scoring on White's 8-yard run.

But the Cyclones figured things out in the second quarter. Becht tied the score less than two minutes into the period when he found Jaylin Noel for a 60-yard touchdown pass. Iowa State unfurled a 17-play, 91-yard drive on its next possession that Hansen capped with an 11-yard run at the 2:39 mark.

West Virginia answered right before halftime when Greene hit Kole Taylor for 24 yards and Traylon Ray for 13. That set up Michael Hayes II for a 43-yard field goal with 32 seconds left, cutting the Cyclones' lead to 14-10 at the break.

--Field Level Media

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