Iowa State defense stops TCU cold
AMES, Iowa — TCU is no longer unbeaten.
The Horned Frogs have only themselves — and a resurgent Iowa State defense — to blame.
Kyle Kempt threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and 25th-ranked Iowa State upset fourth-ranked TCU 14-7 on Saturday, leaving the Big 12 without an undefeated team heading into November.
Iowa State’s victory might have seriously hampered the league’s ability to get a team into the playoff after missing out a year ago. But TCU Coach Gary Patterson believes the Horned Frogs still control their own destiny.
TCU (7-1, 4-1 Big 12), Oklahoma State (7-1, 4-1) and Iowa State (6-2, 4-1) are tied atop the league — and the Cowboys play in Ames in two weeks.
“We’ve still got a chance to play for a Big 12 title. Does it hurt our chances for the playoff? Probably. We still played good enough defense to win,” TCU Coach Gary Patterson said.
Marcel Spears intercepted a Kenny Hill pass with 1:16 left to seal it for the Cyclones.
They forced two turnovers in the red zone in the
second half in winning their fourth consecutive game, two of them over teams ranked in the top five on game day.
“We go into games thinking we’re going to try to shut teams out,” Iowa State linebacker Joel Lanning said of a defense that held the Horned Frogs scoreless.
Kempt put Iowa State ahead 14-0 at the break with touchdown passes to Matt Eaton (17 yards) and Hakeem Butler (4 yards).
TCU answered to open the second half on a 94-yard kickoff return by KaVontae Turpin. But Brian Peavy intercepted
Hill in the end zone in the third quarter and brought it back 70 yards, and Willie Harvey caused Hill to fumble a ball recovered by Iowa State at its own 15-yard line with 7:11 to go.
Hill had his worst game of the season, finishing 12-of-25 passing for 135 yards and those two very costly interceptions.
The Horned Frogs also committed 11 penalties for 104 yards.
“The reality of it is, it’s hard to stay the course. But these kids are doing that,” said Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell.
Iowa State won despite gaining just 255 yards and converting on 3 of 13 third downs. Darius Anderson rushed for 95 yards on 12 carries, and Kyle Hicks had 80 yards on 12 attempts.
In other Top 25 games Saturday, Kelly Bryant threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns and No. 7 Clemson (7-1, 5-1 ACC) bounced back from its first loss of the season with a dominating 24-10 victory over Georgia Tech (4-3, 3-2). … Malik Rosier threw for a career-high 356 yards with three touchdowns to help No. 8 Miami (7-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) hold off North Carolina (1-8, 0-6) 24-19. … Baker Mayfield completed 22 of 34 passes for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns, and ran for another score to lead No. 10 Oklahoma (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) to a 49-27 victory over Texas Tech (4-4, 1-4) . ... Mason Rudolph threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead No. 11 Oklahoma State (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) to a 50-39 victory over No. 22 West Virginia (5-3, 3-2). … Myles Gaskin led No. 12 Washington’s running onslaught with 169 yards and 1 touchdown, Lavon Coleman added 94 yards and 3 touchdown runs, and the Huskies (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) routed UCLA (4-4, 2-3) 44-23. … Josh Jackson threw for a touchdown and ran for another to lead No. 13 Virginia Tech (7-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 24-3 victory over Duke (4-5, 1-5). … D’Eriq King kept Houston’s hopes alive with a 30-yard completion on fourth-and-24, then finished a game-winning drive with a 20-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds remaining, lifting the Cougars (5-3, 3-2 American Athletic) over No. 17 South Florida (7-1, 4-1) 28-24. … McKenzie Milton threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns as No. 18 Central Florida (7-0) reinforced its reputation for having one of the most explosive offenses in the country with a 73-33 victory over Austin Peay (5-3).