Iowa State scares TCU early, but Horned Frogs hop away

AMES, Ia. — It was four years ago that Iowa State took down No. 2 Oklahoma State in double overtime during a nationally televised night game at Jack Trice Stadium.

The Cyclones took the field Saturday night with another national audience tuning in and Iowa State taking on another top-three opponent at home.

No upset this time.

Third-ranked Texas Christian survived a first-half scare from the Cyclones and controlled Iowa State late, running away to a 45-21 victory before an announced crowd of 52,480.

The loss moved Iowa State to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 Conference play. TCU, meanwhile, improved to 7-0 and 4-0.

Iowa State flirted with the upset into the third quarter and even led 21-14 after 15 minutes. The Cyclones trailed just 24-21 at the half.

But TCU pulled away in the second half like many opponents have since that memorable 2011 night.

Cyclones coach Paul Rhoads, who has built a resume of consistent upsets, most notably the one of the Cowboys, hasn’t been able to add to it in a while. In fact, Iowa State’s last win over a ranked opponent came on Oct. 6, 2012, when the Cyclones these same Horned Frogs 37-23 when they were ranked 15th.

Iowa State has since lost 13 straight games to ranked foes. That’s just part of what made Iowa State’s brush with a possible stunner even more shocking.

That the Cyclones were coming off a 66-31 stomping at Texas Tech made the first-quarter explosion more jarring.

Having developed a reputation as a risk-taker, Rhoads rolled the dice early and often, with a fake punt and onside kick in the first half. The latter didn't pan out after an illegal touching penalty, but the former, on Iowa State’s opening possession, worked to the letter of the script. Holden Kramer connected with Mitchell Harger on a 21-yard pass on fourth-and-2 from the TCU 36-yard line.

Three plays later, Joshua Thomas rushed two yards for a touchdown to give the Cyclones a 7-0 lead. But TCU picked up good yardage on the ensuing return and marched 38 yards on three plays to score a touchdown in just 46 seconds to level the game.

The two teams would trade hits through the first half. Iowa State tied the game 14-all when backup quarterback Joel Lanning connected with Allen Lazard on a 74-yard touchdown pass. The Cyclones regained the advantage at 21-14 on a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Mike Warren.

But, the Cyclones couldn’t keep it and missed out on another chance to reclaim it at 21-all when Warren fumbled in the red zone.

TCU took the lead for good when Jaden Oberkrom connected on a 23-yard field goal with 2 seconds remaining in the first half. TCU, which got the ball to start the second half, capped off an 86-yard scoring drive with a 13-yard rush into the end zone by Kyle Hicks to push its lead to 31-21.

Iowa State quarterback Sam Richardson fumbled on Iowa State’s next possession, and the Cyclones never seriously threatened the Horned Frogs again.

Things will get even more difficult for Iowa State next Saturday. The Cyclones travel to second-ranked Baylor for an 11 a.m. showdown with the Bears.

Also still on the schedule: Texas, No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 16 Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and West Virginia.