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Iowa State played TCU in a football game today. The Cyclones lost by a score of 41-20 to fall to 0-3 on the season. The result was what about what most people expected, as even Vegas tabbed this game with a 24.5 spread.
The Cyclone offense had struggled in the first two games of the season, and they still had plenty of rough patches today, but there were some positive developments. First and foremost, Mike Warren looked more like the Mike Warren of last season, as he gobbled up 95 yards on 23 carries on the ground. Offensive coordinator Tom Manning went to Warren early and often, and the former Freshman All-American averaged a solid 4.1 yards per attempt.
The other big storyline of the day was a rotating quarterback position featuring Joel Lanning and Jacob Park. Lanning played the game’s first two possessions, then Park played the next two, and they continued to rotate in and out every two times on offense for Iowa State. The Cyclones’ two touchdowns on the day both came on Lanning runs, and the redshirt junior finished with a line of 12/21 passing for 127 yards. He also chipped in the two TDs on the ground on 11 carries for 31 yards. Meanwhile, Park completed 7/15 passes for 90 yards.
ISU struggled with mistakes in its games against UNI and Iowa. They still had 7 penalties for 44 yards against the Horned Frogs, but they did manage to avoid turning the ball over.
As for the defense, Iowa State gave up 481 yards to TCU on offense. The Horned Frogs spread out their attack, gaining 229 yards rushing and 252 yards passing. Four different TCU players scored on the ground, while quarterback Kenny Hill passed for one touchdown to running back Kyle Hicks.
Iowa State’s star wide receiver, Allen Lazard, only tallied 1 catch for 8 yards. That’s enough to extend his streak for consecutive games with a catch, but he otherwise struggled against the TCU secondary. To his credit, he did get one big catch called back due to a pass interference call, and he was often covered up by a cornerback and safety on one side of the field.
The next game for the Cyclones is at home next week against San Jose State. That game will kick off at 11 a.m. Central