TCU scored on a late drive to down Iowa State 21-17.
Iowa State had a three-point lead in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t hold off a late rally and fell to TCU 21-17 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.
Trevone Boykin scored on a one-yard run — his third of the game– with :38 seconds to go to put TCU ahead. Iowa State couldn’t get into the end zone before time ran out to end the game.
“I wish I could put into words the pain that is associated with a loss like this,” Cyclone coach Paul Rhoads said after the game,”for all those young men for everybody in the program working so hard for success, for all our fans.”
Iowa State got the ball back on a turnover with just over five minutes left, but ended up punting the ball back to TCU.
Paul Rhoads
Rhoads said one more play would have made the difference between winning and losing. “One more first down, one more first down and extend the clock by about another minute plus — then you have the chance to run it out and if you don’t then there’s 10 more yards on your punt,” according to Rhoads.
He said that would have really put the pressure on the Horned Frogs to move down the field. Iowa State trailed 14-7 at the half, but DeVondrik Nealy got them right back into the game — by breaking tackles and returning the second half kickof 98-yards for a touchdown.
Rhoads said it was a great play to get the team and the crowd back into the game. “You can’t have a kickoff return with a lot of contribution…but DeVondrik’s individual effort on that play was one of the better we’ve seen all season,” Rhoads said. Freshman quarterback Grant Rohach started the game for the Cyclones and alternated with Sam Richardson throughout the game.
He was asked to grade his performance. “A loss is always a bad grade no matter how well I play, a loss is a terrible grade in anybody’s book,” Rohach said. Rohach had a shaky start, but played better in the second half.
He says he was completing passes and throwing more accurate passes in the second half. Rohach said he wasn’t sure why he was missing his target early, but said nerves were not a factor.
The Cyclones fall to 1-8 on the season and 0-5 in the Big 12 Conference. They go on the road to Oklahoma on Saturday.