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 a pair of 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-of25 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.

The Cyclones converted on two of their three trips to the red zone.

Iowa State is now bowl eligible for the first time in five years. But the goal of simply making it to a bowl game no longer matters for a team that’s on pace to be one of the best in school history.

The Horned Frogs can still make an argument for a playoff spot — if they win out. But that’ll be a tall order with a trip to Oklahoma on tap for Nov. 11 after next week’s home game against a dangerous Texas team. “Back to the drawing board,” TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney said.

In other Top 25 games Saturday, 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. Rosier had a 51-yard touchdown throw to Christopher Herndon IV late in the first half and a 78-yarder to Jeff Thomas to open the third quarter. His 5-yarder to Braxton Berrios gave the Hurricanes a 24-13 fourth-quarter lead. … Mason Rudolph threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead No. 11 Oklahoma State to a 50-39 victory over No. 22 West Virginia. Freshman J.D. King ran for a season-high 142 yards and scored twice in place of Big 12 leading rusher Justice Hill for the Cowboys (7-1, 4-1 Big 12). West Virginia (5-3, 3-2) was limited to 347 yards, 192 under its average. … 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 routed UCLA 44-23. The Huskies (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) bounced back from their first loss of the season two weeks ago at Arizona State by blowing through the Bruins’ (4-4, 2-3) run defense, the worst in the country. … 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 over No. 17 South Florida 2824. The sophomore who has split time between receiver and quarterback replaced starter Kyle Postma in the first half. He began slowly before leading Houston (5-3, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) on three long scoring drives to position themselves for an upset over the Bulls (71, 4-1). … McKenzie Milton threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns and scored another on the ground and No. 18 Central Florida (7-0 American Athletic) reinforced its reputation for having one of the most explosive offenses in the country with a 73-33 victory over Austin Peay (5-3). The 73 points scored was a school record for the Knights, who lead the nation in scoring. Central Florida scored on 11 of 12 possessions. It’s the first time in program history that the Knights have started the season 7-0.