Peterson: Thoughts on Iowa State's Liberty Bowl loss despite Becht, Higgins monster games

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Iowa State’s offense was tentative for about 2 1/2 quarters. The defense was mostly overmatched. And the Cyclones’ still-good season ended with a 36-26 loss against hometown Memphis during a chilly Liberty Bowl in which Iowa State battled to the end.

Stuck with a 19-0 deficit right from the start, record-setting Rocco Becht and Jayden Higgins rallied the Cyclones from a three-score deficit to within the final score on Jaylin Noel's 23-yard touchdown reception with 9:55 to play.

Becht finished with 446 yards, breaking the previous school single-game record of 440 yards by Austen Arnaud against Kansas State in 2008. That's not just for a bowl game. It's for all Iowa State games. Impressive? You bet. Becht had to throw a lot because the Cyclones' run game was non-existent. Iowa State finished with zero rushing yards on 20 attempts. Let me repeat: no yards on 20 carries.

Aside from receiver Higgins (214 receiving yards) and Becht, the offense was out of kilter when it tried to run the ball. How else can you explain a third-and-5 draw play, 6 yards from the end zone?

A draw play on a day when running into the middle of the line was impossible, two plays after Iowa State had the ball on Memphis’ 4-yard line?

"Let's put it on the head coach," coach Matt Campbell said after the game. "Hindsight is 20-20. I think I kind of aided to that one. They did some things (defensively) that certainly stressed us."

More: Peterson: Even after a 10-point Liberty Bowl loss, Iowa State's football future is bright

That’s the kind of head-scratching game this was Friday. Memphis’ high-scoring offense got the best of what’s been a high-level defense. Iowa State’s offense couldn’t run a lick. The Cyclones’ secondary was torched multiple times.

All that resulted in Iowa State closing the season with a 7-6 record – with one of the youngest groups of starters in Cyclones football history. Memphis finished 10-3.

"Some of the short-comings we had (Friday) will be a great spark going into the off-season," Campbell said. "We’ve handled adversity really well. You saw some spots that we were able to handle it (Friday). We just didn’t finish."

Tough to waste big games from Becht and Higgins. Becht’s 328 passing yards through just three quarters was already an Iowa State bowl record, and he did it with a quarter to go. Brock Purdy held the old record, set during the 2018 Alamo Bowl.

Also through three quarters, Higgins had six receptions for 180 yards. He finished with 214 yards on nine catches.

"Wherever he is, I'm always looking at his side of the field," Becht said. "That’s just the trust I have in him. That’s going to continue to get better. We’re going to get better from this."

We knew Memphis’ offense would be good, especially playing at home. We figured, however, that the Cyclones at least would have put up some defense.

Players were out of position, especially when Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan was passing. Through just three quarters, the junior had four touchdown passes and was 20 for 25 for 323 yards. For the game, he was 24 of 34 for 364 yards and four touchdowns.

Iowa State, with a secondary down two starters, had no answer.

The Cyclones didn’t quit. Higgins caught a 40-yard pass to the Memphis 15-yard line. Easton Dean caught a 15-yard touchdown pass, and with 4:21 left in the third quarter. Iowa State trailed 36-20. Then Becht hit Noel for another TD and it was 36-26 after a two-point conversion failed.

The problem was that the Cyclones couldn’t stop the Tigers.

Iowa State’s not-playing player report

As expected, safety Malik Verdon didn’t play. He has been sidelined with a broken bone in his wrist that resulted in head coach Matt Campbell saying he was “50-50.” That’s often coach speak for long shot, which was the case Friday. For the second game in a row, true freshman Drew Surges replaced him.

Iowa State’s other significant player just watching from the sidelines Friday was All-American cornerback T.J. Tampa. He opted out to focus on the 2024 NFL Draft, where some experts predict him to be no worse than a second-round pick.

“It’s a whole person and a whole entity decision,” Campbell said recently. “We’ve got great kids that really want to play, and sometimes you’ve got to be the one that says, ‘Hey listen, this probably isn’t in your best interest.’”

Rocky time for the defense? Absolutely, and even a familiar player got into the Memphis fun.

The Tigers knew Iowa State had two starters missing, and Henigan didn’t waste time taking advantage.

On the game’s first possession, the high-level passer threw long to DeMeer Blankensee, who got behind a pair of defenders, including veteran Jeremiah Cooper.

The result? A perfectly thrown 70-yard touchdown pass just 90 seconds into the game.

By the end of the opening quarter, the Tigers had hung 19 points on what has been a good defense, six of those coming on a 51-yard pass to Joe Scates. Yes, the same Joe Scates who transferred from Iowa State.

Iowa State’s defense late in the first half wasn’t exactly of the lockdown variety

The Cyclones cut Memphis’ lead to 19-13 on Chase Contreraz’s second field goal with 35 seconds until halftime. Iowa State was on a roll after scoring 13 consecutive points – including a 29-yard scoring pass to Jayden Higgins. And speaking of: Higgins had himself quite a first half, with five catches for 140 yards.

Would the Tigers just take a knee and go into the break happy with a six-point lead?

Well, it looked like that until a fake kneel-down resulted in a 21-yard gain.

One nice play led to another against a defense that wasn’t playing the greatest, and finally a 49-yard field goal on the half’s final play resulted in a 22-13 Memphis lead.

Iowa State’s defense looked slower than Memphis’ high-powered offense that came into the game with a scoring average of 39.7 points a game.

"We put ourselves behind the 8-ball early on," Campbell said. "Maybe there’s some areas I could have been better as a football coach to help ourselves out."

What about the crowd, you wonder?

The official attendance was called 48,789, compared to the 57,226 that attended this game in 2017.

Why the decline, you ask?

Iowa State sold just 4,000 of its 8,000-ticket allotment, although there were considerably more Cyclones fans at the game than that. They either purchased tickets from the bowl or through secondary markets.

Also, the kickoff temperature was 38 degrees. Rain occasionally fell before the game.

Memphis owned the trenches

At least early, that was the situation. Iowa State’s offensive line didn’t block well on rushing plays. Even when Abu Sama rushed for 5 yards, three Memphis linemen were in the Cyclones’ backfield.

This was a step back for a position that had improved significantly since Week 1. It also was a position that had played relatively injury-free throughout the season – at least from the standpoint of not having to switch up starting lineups.

Why this regression happened in the bowl game – after a month off?

Great question.

Maybe Memphis had something to do with that. The Tigers successfully blitzed. They forced Becht out of his comfort zone throughout the game.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 51st year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, on X @RandyPete, and at DesMoinesRegister.com/CyclonesTexts

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football falls in Liberty Bowl; Becht, Higgins big games