Despite leading by 11 in the fourth quarter, TCU football failed to seal the deal against Iowa State, and the Cyclones stormed back to defeat the Horned Frogs 20-17 on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Trailing 17-12, Iowa State’s Aiden Flora scored on a 79-yard punt return touchdown with 6:32 remaining in the game.
The Horned Frogs (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) were driving to tie or retake the lead, but Jeremy Payne was stripped near the red zone. The Horned Frogs had a chance to get ball back with less than two minutes remaining, but the Cyclones (6-4, 3-4) converted a fourth-and-1 on a bootleg by quarterback Rocco Becht with 1:47 remaining to pull off the comeback.
The defeat has all but ended TCU’s hopes of reaching the Big 12 title game.
Here are four takeaways from the loss:
Home Hoover not enough?
Josh Hoover didn’t play up to his usual standards at Amon G. Carter Stadium with two interceptions on TCU’s first three drives. Hoover wore a glove on his right hand for the first time this season, and his accuracy was off to start the game. His pass to Major Everhart was too high as he took a hit and it was picked off by Iowa State leading to a Cyclones touchdown.
Hoover’s second pick came off a bad decision as he declined a running lane to scramble and tried to force a pass to Jordan Dwyer that was also picked off near the red zone. But Hoover settled down as the game wore on and led TCU on a scoring drive after the halftime break. He completed eight of his first 10 passes, including a beautiful jump ball to Dwyer in the end zone that put TCU ahead 10-6 with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter.
After a second turnover forced by the defense, Hoover led another long scoring drive as Trent Battle capped off an 11-play, 92 yard with a two-yard touchdown with 13:30 remaining in the game to put TCU up 17-6.
Run game doesn’t show up
Despite a breakout half by Jeremy Payne in the second half, TCU’s run game left much to be desired against the Cyclones as the offensive line was overwhelmed by the Iowa State defensive front most of the night. Trent Battle and Kevorian Barnes combined for just 18 yards before TCU opted to lean on Payne in the second half.
The sophomore was able to take advantage of the cutback lanes opened up against the Cyclones as he rushed for 71 yards on his first eight carries. However on his eighth touch, Payne turned a good play into a disaster. As he fought for extra yardage on a 28-yard gain Payne was stripped at the last second while TCU was driving to tie or take the lead.
It was a critical mistake that ultimately led to the Horned Frogs not getting the ball back in the final minutes.
Clutch Rocco Becht
Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht struggled most of the night, but when the fourth quarter came Becht played his best football of the night as the Cyclones shocked TCU. With the Horned Frogs leading 17-6, Becht ripped off a 25-yard gain to get the Cyclones in TCU territory.
Later in the drive Becht converted a crucial third-and-6 with a pass to Chase Sowell inside the TCU 10-yard line. Iowa State would score a few plays later to make it 17-12 with 8:15 remaining.
Sluggish start
The Horned Frogs looked more rusty than rested coming off the bye week as TCU trailed Iowa State 6-3 at halftime. It was a forgettable and frustrating opening half as Hoover threw two interceptions in the first quarter including one deep in Iowa State territory.
The Cyclones’ lone touchdown of the half came right after a Hoover’s first interception as Becht led Iowa State on an eight-play, 65-yard drive to take a 6-0 lead at the 9:18 mark in the first quarter. The Horned Frogs’ offense took more than quarter to wake up as the Cyclones stuffed the run game and were selling out on TCU’s short routes.
Hoover was much better in the second quarter and led TCU into the red zone, but the Horned Frogs had to settle for a short Nate McCashland field goal. On Iowa State’s next possession, Bud Clark came up with a massive interception right before the two-minute timeout, giving TCU a great opportunity to seize control of the game with the Horned Frogs getting the ball at halftime.
Instead, TCU got inside the Iowa State-10 yard line and once again failed to punch it in as the Cyclones stuffed Trent Battle and Kevorian Barnes on back-to-back plays. After an incompletion on third down, McCashland’s next field goal was no good as hit the right upright with 17 seconds remaining in the half. Despite outgaining Iowa State 207-122, the Horned Frogs failed to take control of the game.