No. 18 Iowa State stifles Houston in shutout win

Rocco Becht completed 17 of 28 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown, and No. 18 Iowa State earned a shutout on the road with a 20-0 win over Houston on Saturday night.

Abu Sama III finished with 11 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown for Iowa State (4-0). The Cyclones' defense limited the Cougars to 241 total yards and stopped nine of 10 third-down attempts.

Stacy Sneed had 10 carries for 79 yards to lead Houston (1-4). Cougars quarterback Donovan Smith completed 8 of 12 passes for 71 yards and an interception.

The Cyclones finished with a 34:55 to 25:05 advantage in time of possession. They also had three penalties for 20 yards, compared with seven penalties for 77 yards for Houston.

Iowa State took a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Kyle Konrardy made a 23-yard field goal to finish an 11-play, 65-yard drive.

The next eight possessions of the first half -- four for Houston and four for Iowa State -- each ended with punts. The Cyclones held on to a three-point lead at the break.

Iowa State finally scored the first touchdown of the game with 2:12 left in the third quarter. Becht connected with Jayden Higgins on a back-shoulder throw for a 12-yard touchdown.

The play marked Higgins' fourth touchdown in as many games this season. He has 10 receiving touchdowns in one-plus seasons with Iowa State after notching 13 touchdown receptions in his first two seasons with Eastern Kentucky.

Konrardy struck again, this time from 34 yards, to increase the Cyclones' lead to 13-0 with 11:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Sama finished the scoring with a 77-yard rushing touchdown with 5:39 to go.

The sophomore running back from Des Moines, Iowa, took a handoff and sprinted up the middle into heavy traffic, and it appeared that he might be stuffed for a short gain. But none of the Houston defenders brought him down, and Sama III broke loose for a sprint into the open field for his first touchdown of the season.

--Field Level Media