Utah-Iowa State is must-win for Cyclones. Can Utes play the spoiler?

Saturday’s Utah-Iowa State game could play a key role in the Big 12 championship race.
While the Utes (4-6, 1-6 Big 12) have long been eliminated from the Big 12 championship race in their first season in the conference, Iowa State (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) still has a chance to win its first Big 12 title.
First, the No. 22 Cyclones will have to win their last two games, starting at Utah and finishing versus Kansas State, and then they’ll need some help. There’s multiple scenarios that would result in an Iowa State berth in the Big 12 title, but the simplest one is if both Colorado and BYU each lose one of their remaining two games.
“They’re battling for a spot in the conference championship game, so we’re going to get everything they have,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.
Meanwhile, BYU fans will be in the odd position of hoping the Utes pull off the upset this weekend, since a Cougar win over Arizona State and a Utah win over Iowa State clinches a berth in the Big 12 championship game for BYU.
For the Utes, the stakes are a lot lower than conference title contention, but there’s still something to play for as Utah prepares for its final game in Rice-Eccles Stadium this year.
The first order of business is breaking a six-game losing streak, the longest of the Kyle Whittingham era and the longest streak since 2002, Ron McBride’s last season before being fired.
Then there’s the matter of qualifying for a bowl game, something Utah has done every year since 2014, aside from the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Whatever low-tier bowl Utah qualifies for, should it win the next two, isn’t going to drum up a ton of excitement in the fanbase, but it would at least end the season on somewhat of a positive note, give the team extra practices that are valuable for underclassmen, and provide Utah an opportunity to break a five-game bowl losing streak.
Saturday is Senior Day, with at least 25 seniors (and juniors) being honored ahead of their final game at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Due to pandemic-era eligibility rules and injuries, this is one of the largest senior classes ever, and one that propelled Utah to one of the high-water points as a program — winning back-to-back Pac-12 championships.
Utah still hasn’t won a Big 12 game at home (its win over Baylor was a nonconference affair), so an opportunity for a win over a ranked Iowa State team to send its seniors out with one final Rice-Eccles Stadium victory is top of mind for the Utes this week.
“To be able to honor our teammates who are going to not be with us next year. I mean, they’ve gone through the world with us and you guys know what we’ve gone through,” defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa said. “It hasn’t been the easiest, but we’ve battled through it together. And so to honor those guys and to give them one last win in Rice-Eccles means the world.”
It’s going to be a formidable task for Utah to beat Iowa State, but the Cyclones have been defeated twice before — a 23-22 loss at home to Texas Tech and a 45-36 loss to Kansas.
Iowa State is a well-rounded team, ranking No. 40 in the nation in total offense and No. 18 in scoring defense (18.6 points per game).
Quarterback Rocco Becht has thrown for 2,628 yards and 17 touchdowns with seven interceptions and has been one of the more efficient quarterbacks in the Big 12. He also utilizes his running ability, tucking the ball 70 times for 210 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Two receivers have made up the vast majority of production through the air — Jaylin Noel (56 receptions for 935 yards and five touchdowns) and Jayden Higgins (68 receptions 860 yards and seven touchdowns). When Becht throws, it’s usually to those two players.
Tight end-heavy formations are also utilized, with Gabe Burkle and Benjamin Brahmer combining for 331 yards on 24 catches this season.
“A lot of 12 personnel, in fact, that’s their lead group, two tight ends. Some 11 and even some 13, which we do as well, 13 personnel,” Whittingham said. “So carry over in that respect that our defense is used to seeing those personnel groupings and hopefully it’s a little better matchup for us than the spread attack that we saw last week.”
The Cyclones are very balanced offensively, but skew a bit more toward the run, led by a running-back-by-committee approach with Carson Hansen (503 yards, nine TDs on 98 carries), Abu Sama III (449 yards, two TDs on 90 carries) and Jaylon Jackson (341 yards, two TDs on 77 carries). It’s powered by an offensive line that’s been effective and hasn’t given up a ton of sacks this season.
Defensively, Iowa State runs a 3-3-5 defense with three safeties and two cornerbacks, and it’s worked wonders for them in defending the pass. The Cyclones’ pass defense is the best in the Big 12 and No. 3 in the nation in yards allowed per game (153.4) and will present a big challenge for quarterback Isaac Wilson, who is healthy again after battling the flu during last week’s game, according to his mom, Lisa.
The two starting cornerbacks, Darien Porter and Jontez Williams, have been some of the best in the country and Iowa State’s secondary has picked off opposing quarterbacks 14 times.
The one area where the Cyclones have been weak, especially recently, is defending the run. Opponents have run for an average of 184.5 yards per game against Iowa State, and in the Cyclones’ loss to Kansas, the Jayhawks ran for 237 yards.
Micah Bernard and the Utes have an opportunity, but will have to play much better than they did against Colorado, where they generated only 31 total rushing yards (50 when you take out sacks of Wilson).
For one last time this season, the Utes will take the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium, hoping deliver the first home win since Sept. 7 and inch closer to a bowl appearance.
“We got our hands full and it’ll be a challenge for us, but our guys have had, even with all the adversity and all the disappointment we faced this year, our guys still have a really good attitude and a lot of fight in them and we still are trying to play for a bowl game these last two weeks and that’s still in play for us,” Whittingham said.