No. 11 Iowa State suffers first loss of season, falling 23-22 to Texas Tech in final seconds

No. 11 Iowa State suffered its first defeat of the season, losing to Texas Tech, 23-22, on a 5-yard touchdown run by Tahj Brooks with 19 seconds left in the game.

With the loss, the Cyclones drop to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12, falling behind No. 9 BYU (8-0, 5-0) into a second-place tie with Colorado (6-2, 4-1). No. 17 Kansas State (7-2, 4-2) drops to fourth place after the Wildcats’ 24-19 defeat to Houston.

The Red Raiders drove 71 yards in 12 plays, taking 1:41 off the clock, for the go-ahead score. A two-point conversion attempt to take a three-point lead failed.

Texas Tech got to the 1-yard line with 35 seconds remaining on a 13-yard pass from Behren Morton to Jordan Brown. But a false start penalty on the next play pushed the offense back to the 5-yard line. However, Brooks scored two plays later.

The Cyclones took a 22-17 lead with just over two minutes remaining. Rocco Becht hit Carson Brown for a 44-yard catch and run that put the Cyclones on top after trailing for most of the fourth quarter. That was Brown’s only reception of the game.

Texas Tech had two opportunities to take the lead in the final two minutes of the game, but Behren Morton first overthrew an open Josh Kelly for what would’ve been a 60-yard score. Kelly couldn’t come up with another reception in the end zone on a 49-yard pass attempt.

Kelly finished with eight receptions for 127 yards with his two touchdowns. Morton passed for 237 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, completing 21-of-40 passes. Brooks rushed for 122 yards and the game-winning score on 25 carries. Texas Tech improves to 4-2 in the Big 12 and 6-3 overall, keeping it in the mix for a spot in the conference title game amid a jumble at the top.

The Cyclones were driving for a go-ahead score with just over five minutes left in the game, but curiously called for a quarterback run on third-and-10 from the Texas Tech 32-yard line. Becht only gained 1 yard running off right tackle, forcing Iowa State to settle for a 51-yard field goal try.

However, Kyle Konrardy missed badly, shanking his kick far to the right.

Texas Tech took a 7-0 lead on its opening possession, finishing off a 72-yard drive with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Morton to a wide-open Kelly.

The two later connected on a 19-yard score late in the third quarter to give the Red Raiders a 17-13 advantage.

For Iowa State, Becht completed 22-of-39 passes for 332 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Jayden Higgins had 10 receptions for 149 yards and a score, with Jaylin Noel adding six catches for 68 yards. Abu Sama III led the Cyclones with 74 yards rushing on 13 carries, and Carson Hansen ran for 46 yards on 11 rushes.