TCU rebounds with rout of Iowa State to open Big 12
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Kyle Hicks ran for 117 yards with a long touchdown and also scored on a 25-yard catch as TCU beat Iowa State 41-20 on Saturday in the first game this season that counts in the Big 12 standings.
Hicks went 64 yards untouched to put TCU (2-1, 1-0 Big 12) up 10-0 in the first quarter, after his path was cleared by 315-pound tackle Joseph Noteboom's downfield block of a defensive back.
"He kept running until he ran into somebody," Hicks said.
On the opening drive of the second half, Kenny Hill hit Hicks wide open in the end zone behind the secondary for a 31-7 lead.
"Unreal. He can go," Hill said when asked about the scores by Hicks.
Iowa State, with first-year coach Matt Campbell, is 0-3 for the first time since 1997.
While the Horned Frogs bounced back from a double-overtime home loss to Arkansas that knocked them out of the Top 25, receiver and returner KaVontae Turpin sustained an apparent left leg injury and had to be helped off the field the play before Hicks' TD catch. Coach Gary Patterson said he had no update after the game.
Turpin entered the game the national leader with 236 all-purpose yards per game, but had only two caches for 8 yards and one kickoff return for 28 yards.
THE TAKEAWAY
IOWA ST.: The Cyclones, who clearly weren't ready for Big 12 competition, have to figure out their quarterback situation. As expected, junior Joel Lanning (12-21 passing for 127 yards) and former Georgia transfer Jacob Park (7-15 for 90 yards) both played.
Coach Matt Campbell said he believes both quarterbacks can help Iowa State.
"We'll just keep manufacturing and working. I think that's a great situation when you have two guys you really believe you can have success with," Campbell said. "Both guys like each other, both guys are helping each other on the sidelines."
Lanning did have two scoring runs, including an impressive 8-yard TD run when he kept driving his feet and got a push from running back Mitchell Harger after initially being stacked up short of the end zone.
TCU: While the Frogs got the lopsided victory to start Big 12 play, the competition for the next conference game will be much tougher when No. 14 Oklahoma visits in two weeks. Coach Gary Patterson was far from satisfied with what he perceived as a lack of emotion, especially coming off the loss the previous week.
"It's a win, simple as that," Patterson said. "Not happy ... but it's a win."
Kenny Hill, the new quarterback who had slow starts and strong finishes his first two starts, threw for 219 yards with a touchdown while running for 28 yards and another score while playing only three quarters. The defense had five sacks, matching their total from the first two games combined.
UP NEXT
IOWA ST: Another pre-noon kickoff for the Cyclones next Saturday when they go home to play San Jose State in their last non-conference game.
TCU: The Horned Frogs close out their non-conference schedule Friday night, about 40 miles away at former Southwest Conference foe SMU.