TCU will look to get back on track when it travels to Ames, Iowa, on Saturday to face Iowa State, which has suddenly started to experience a defensive lull.
The Horned Frogs (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) head to Iowa on the heels of a bitter 24-21 home loss to West Virginia last weekend. TCU, which had won three straight games after a season-opening loss to Colorado, had its 10-game winning streak in Big 12 regular-season play snapped.
Chandler Morris led the Horned Frogs with 298 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Mountaineers. He also had 51 yards and a score on the ground in the loss. TCU’s Griffin Kell had two-field goal attempts blocked in the final 4:47 of the game, including a 55-yarder with 32 seconds remaining.
“That’s twice this year we’ve had opportunities at the end of the game to put a drive together and kick a field goal or score a touchdown,” Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes said. “That’s two times we weren’t able to do it. That’s not what we’re accustomed to.”
TCU’s fourth-quarter push came after it gained just 1 yard of offense on 11 snaps in the third quarter. The Horned Frogs had a goal-line stand early in the fourth to keep the game tied.
The Cyclones (2-3, 1-1) return home looking for answers as well after a 50-20 loss at then-No. 14 Oklahoma last Saturday. Iowa State surrendered the game’s final 29 points and gave up 523 total yards, 366 of those passing, the most it has allowed through the air in a game since October 2021.
Rocco Becht hit on 15 of his 33 passes for 188 yards and two scores to lead the Cyclones but was also intercepted twice, including a 44-yard pick-six in the first quarter. Iowa State had no answer on offense in the second half, gaining just 82 yards after the break while losing for the third time in four games.
“There’s a lot of youth across the board on this team — and that’s not an excuse, it’s a reality,” Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said. “The fact of the matter is that we weren’t as good as we needed to be against Oklahoma, but there was some great growth.”
Saturday marks just the 15th all-time meeting between TCU and Iowa State, with the Horned Frogs holding a 9-5 series lead, including a 6-5 advantage since they began Big 12 play in 2012.
