Ohio college roundup: Iowa State drops Cincinnati 30-10

CINCINNATI — Rocco Becht threw two touchdowns and ran for another, and the Iowa State defense collected two more interceptions as the Cyclones defeated Cincinnati 30-10 in the teams’ first-ever meeting Saturday afternoon.

Becht has now thrown at least one score in each of his first seven games as a starter for Iowa State (4-3, 3-1 Big 12), which handed the Bearcats (2-4, 0-3) their fourth straight loss and their first defeat on homecoming since 2017.

“Rocco has grown a lot,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “As a redshirt freshman, seeing a lot of things for the first time, he did a good job of finishing drives, throwing the ball into some tight windows.”

The Cyclones entered the day with 10 interceptions, third-most in the FBS. It took the Iowa State defense all of two drives to pick off Cincinnati quarterback Emory Jones.

Jones tossed his sixth interception in the last four games to cornerback T.J. Tampa, giving the Cyclones the ball at the Cincinnati 34-yard line. The turnover set up a 30-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead with 2:12 to play in the first quarter.

Jones responded by throwing a 20-yard score to tight end Chamon Metayer. It was the third touchdown for Metayer in the last two games and the first for Jones and the Bearcats offense in their last 17 drives at home.

Iowa State answered by marching 59 yards in 15 plays and eating up 7:45, taking the lead for good after a little trickery. After Jordan Young dropped a sure interception on third-and-5 at the Cincinnati 15, the Cyclones picked up a first down when kicker Chase Contreraz raced six yards on a fake field goal..

Young dropped another pick on third-and-goal. That play also included a roughing-the-passer penalty on Cincinnati defensive end Eric Phillips.

The errors by the Bearcats led to a 2-yard rush up the middle for a touchdown by Becht. His second rushing score of the season put the Cyclones ahead 10-7 with 7:48 left in the first half.

Young’s struggles continued as the sophomore surrendered a 75-yard gain to wide receiver Jayden Higgins on Iowa State’s next drive. That led to Becht finding tight end Benjamin Brahmer on a 14-yard strike to make it 17-7 Iowa State at halftime.

“The 75-yard completion, we were in cover 2,” first-year Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said. “So the safety should’ve been deep over the top, and we weren’t.”

Young started in place of Cincinnati’s regular starting corner Sammy Anderson Jr., who has been sidelined with an apparent injury. But Anderson said in since delated posts to X/Twitter shortly after the game that he hasn’t “been hurt since Week 1” and asked for the Cincinnati medical staff to “free” him.

Satterfield was asked about Anderson’s posts after the game.

“It’s not in my hands, it’s in our medical staff,” he said. “So I really can’t make any comment on that.”

The first half ended with Jones throwing another interception.

The Cyclones opened the second half with a 65-yard kickoff return by Roy Bell that set up a 34-yard field goal.

Cincinnati made it 20-10 at the 4:03 mark in the third. After Contreraz added another field goal for the Cyclones, Becht linked up with fullback Stevo Klotz for a 13-yard score with 10:00 to play.

“This game was special,” Becht said. “We haven’t won a road game since last year. I’m really proud of this team. We have a lot of Big 12 Conference away games to play. This game means a lot to us.”

Becht finished 15 of 25 for 241 yards. Jones completed 14 of his 26 pass attempts for just 96 yards, far fewer than the nearly 215 per game the Iowa State defense had allowed entering the day.

Toledo 13, Ball State 6

MUNCIE, Ind. — Peny Boone scored on a 3-yard run with 1:31 remaining for Toledo’s only touchdown.

Toledo (6-1, 3-0 Mid-American Conference) became bowl eligible for the 14th consecutive season — the eighth-longest streak in the FBS. It’s the second longest among Group of Five schools behind Boise State’s 25.

Boone carried it 22 times for 148 yards and Dequan Finn was 15 of 27 passing for 166 yards for Toledo, which won its sixth straight game after a 30-28 loss to Illinois in an opener.

Luke Pawlak made a 26-yard field goal to give Toledo a 3-0 lead and he made it 6-3 on a 27-yarder with 10:23 left in the fourth quarter. Jackson Courville’s 26-yard field goal tied it at 6-all with 4:56 left before Boone capped a six-play, 72-yard drive.

Kiael Kelly completed just 4 of 16 passes for 38 yards with an interception for Ball State (1-6, 0-3). The Cardinals were held to just 205 total yards.

Bowling Green 24, Buffalo 14

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Camden Orth threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score, PaSean Wimberly scored off a blocked punt and Bowling Green held off Buffalo.

Wimberly’s 18-yard run to the end zone capped a 24-point run for Bowling Green (3-4, 1-2 Mid-American Conference), which led 24-7 at halftime. Buffalo cut the deficit to 10 with CJ Ogbonna’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Darrell Harding Jr. with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter. But the Bills would then turn the ball over on downs twice, and have an 11-play drive stall with an Ogbonna interception.

Orth threw for just 77 yards on 9-of-16 passing and had a 3-yard TD toss to Ta’Ron Keith with two interceptions. Orth added 72 yards rushing that included a 1-yard touchdown plunge.

Ogbonna and Cole Snyder were a combined 9-of-29 passing for 71 yards and each threw a pair of interceptions for Buffalo (2-5, 0-1).

Miami (Ohio) 34, Western Michigan 21

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Brett Gabbert threw a pair of touchdown passes to Gage Larvadain and ran for two scores for Miami (Ohio).

Gabbert’s touchdown passes to Larvadain both came in the first quarter — covering 9 and 5 yards — as the RedHawks (6-1, 3-0 Mid-American Conference) jumped out to a 14-3 lead and never looked back.

Gabbert added a 4-yard TD run late in the second quarter to put Miami up 21-10 at halftime. His final score came on a 9-yard run 13 seconds into the fourth quarter. Graham Nicholson kicked 39- and 40-yard field goals in the final six minutes.

Gabbert completed 20 of 35 passes for 223 yards with one interception for the RedHawks.

Starter Hayden Wolff and Treyson Bourguet combined for 136 yards on 19-of-30 passing for Western Michigan (2-5, 1-2). Wolff had a 5-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion pass to Leroy Thomas to get the Broncos within 28-21 in the fourth quarter. Zahir Abdus-Salaam scored on a 19-yard run early in the second quarter to get the Broncos within 14-10. Palmer Domschke kicked field goals covering 30 and 49 yards.

Eastern Michigan 28, Kent State 14

YPSILANTI, Mich. — Kendric Nowling turned a game-opening onside kick attempt into a 44-yard touchdown and Eastern Michigan went on to defeat Kent State.

When the Golden Flashes tried to open the Mid-American Conference game with a surprise, the ball and a player from each team collided at the same time and Nowling scooped it up and raced to the end zone.

Eastern Michigan also got two rushing touchdowns from Samson Evans, who gained 47 yards on nine carries to surpass 2,000 for his career.

The win was the 50th for Chris Creighton, tying him for second with Fred Trosko (1952-64) for second all-time at EMU.

Sampson’s 19-yard run in the last minute before halftime capped a 12-play, 85-yard drive that made it 14-0.

Kent State (1-6, 0-3) got 172 of its 343 total yards on two drives. A 19-yard, 85-yard drive ended on the EMU 5 on a failed fourth-down conversion in the first half, but the Golden Flashes ended a seven-play, 87-yard drive with Tanner Knue turning a short pass from Tommy Ulatowski into an 18-yard score that made it 21-7 late in the third.

Samson’s second TD made it 28-7 but the Eagles only finished with 218 yards and punted 10 times. Three Kent State turnovers helped.

Presbyterian 20, Dayton 17 (OT)

DAYTON — Mack Mikko kicked a 34-yard field goal to give Presbyterian a 20-17 overtime win against Dayton on Saturday.

After the Flyers (2-5, 0-4 Pioneer Football League) missed a 38-yard field goal on their overtime possession, the Blue Hose (3-3, 1-2) gained 8 yards on three plays before Mikko came on for the game-winner.

The Flyers forced overtime by ralling from a 17-0 deficit entering the fourth quarter. Cole Dow’s run around the left side from a yard out tied the game with 13 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Blue Hose built their lead on a Mikko 28-yard field goal, Tyler Wesley’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Worth Warner and JB Seay’s 3-yard rushing touchdown.

Wesley had 165 yards passing with the TD and an interception. Wesley returned from an injury after being out in a loss to Stetson last week.

Dayton lost two fumbles and gave up an interception. The Flyers have 18 turnovers in their last four games, all losses.

South Dakota St. 34, Youngstown St. 31

VERMILLION, S.D. — Will Leyland kicked a 41-yard field goal on the final play of the game and South Dakota escaped with a victory.

South Dakota (5-1, 3-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) pulled out the win after seeing all of a 21-point, second-half lead evaporate.

Youngstown State (3-3, 1-2) trailed 31-10 midway through the third quarter when Mitch Davidson passed to Max Tomczak for a 66-yard touchdown. Dra Rushton scored on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter and Davidson capped a 12-play drive with a 6-yard scoring toss to Bryce Oliver with 5:48 left to play.

A pass-interference penalty gave the Coyotes the ball at the Penguins’ 46-yard line with 19 seconds to go. Aidan Bouman hit Makai Lovett for a 22-yard gain to set up Leyland’s game-winning kick.

South Dakota used Keyondray Jones’ 34-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to grab a 10-3 lead. Bouman fired a 36-yard scoring strike to Carter Bell with 94 seconds left to give the Coyotes a 17-3 lead at halftime.

Bouman opened the second half with a 10-yard touchdown toss to JJ Galbreath for a 24-3 advantage.

Davidson and Joey Farthing teamed up for a 65-yard touchdown to get Youngstown State within 14 points, but Bouman connected with Bell for a 56-yard score three plays later to make it 31-10.

Bouman finished with 369 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-29 passing for the Coyotes. Bell had five receptions for 131 yards, while Galbreath had six catches for 101.

Davidson completed 15 of 26 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns for Youngstown State. Rushton carried 16 times for 116 yards.