It’s been a little under four years since the last time Texas scored a point in Ames, Iowa. Perhaps former Iowa State assistant Tom Herman, now the head coach of the Longhorns, was aware of that fact.
Texas struck first with a touchdown on their opening drive Thursday night but didn’t do a ton offensively afterward, managing to take a 14-0 lead over the Cyclones into halftime. If the scoreboard didn’t tell you, the game was not quite the barnburner you’re used to seeing in Big 12 play.
That first score was not without controversy for the burnt orange though, as an unsportsmanlike penalty by Iowa State helped extend the offensive drive a few plays before UT tailback Chris Warren III eventually barreled into the end zone from 11 yards out in the first quarter. The Horns were able to move the ball through two quarters occasionally but needed an interception from safety DeShon Elliott to set up their next score.
Shane Buechele got the start at quarterback for Texas after not playing against USC in the team’s last game and finished 9/11 for 91 yards and a beautiful touchdown throw to Toneil Carter just before getting smacked by a blitzer.
The biggest bright spot for Iowa State may have been the debut of their fantastic new secondary logo/helmets for a national TV audience. While the new lids were great, the team’s third down performance on both sides of the ball left much to be desired. The offense was just 2/7 converting while the defense allowed their opponents to go 7/10 in the first half. Signal-caller Jacob Park was already up to 26 attempts for the Cyclones and recorded 103 yards passing, but wasn’t terribly accurate while trying to avoid a lot of pressure in his face most of the night and was picked off twice.
Still, it should be a much more interesting second half as the two teams make adjustments and look to grab that first Big 12 conference victory of the year.