Brendan Sorsby passed for 214 yards and two touchdowns, Evan Pryor ran for 111 yards and two TDs and Cincinnati used a 17-point first quarter to beat No. 14 Iowa State 38-30 on Saturday.
The Bearcats (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) beat a ranked opponent at home for the first time since beating No. 16 Houston 35-20 on Dec. 4, 2021.
The Cyclones (5-1, 2-1) trailed 31-7 with 1:08 left in the second quarter before rallying to get within eight with 1:56 left in the game. Cincinnati recovered an onside kick to end the threat.
Rocco Becht passed for 314 yards and two touchdowns and ran another two in for the Cyclones.
Sorsby’s 82-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Goodie in the fourth quarter was the Bearcats’ longest pass play since 2015.
Iowa State, one of the least penalized teams in the country, had five penalties for 35 yards in the first half. The Cyclones jumped offside on third down to extend the Bearcats’ opening drive, which led to a 30-yard TD run from Pryor for the game’s first score.
The Cyclones went on to take a 17-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Becht got the Cyclones on the board early in the second on a 14-yard run.
Becht scored on a 4-yard run on the final play of the half and then threw an 11-yard TD pass to Brett Eskildsen on the opening drive in the third quarter.
The takeaway
Iowa State: The Cyclones had 16 players out injured, including all-Big 12 defensive backs Jeremiah Cooper and Jontez Williams. They also were without their top two kickers. The Cyclones went 4 of 7 on fourth downs.
Up next
Iowa State: Visits Colorado next Saturday.
Cincinnati: Hosts UCF next Saturday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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