Beren Morton leads late TD drive as Texas Tech beats No. 11 Cyclones 23-22 for first loss

Ames, Iowa – Beren Morton drove 71 yards to Texas Tech for the game-winning touchdown with 19 seconds left and the Red Raiders denied No. 11 Iowa State its best start in program history 23-22 on Saturday.

Taj Brooks scampered 5 yards for a touchdown after the Cyclones took their first lead on Rocco Becht’s 44-yard pass to Carson Brown with 2:11 to play.

Brooks rushed 25 times for 122 yards to surpass 4,000 for his career. He has passed for over 100 yards in all nine games this season.

The Red Raiders (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) picked up the win after losing back-to-back games to Baylor and TCU.

Iowa State (7-1, 4-1) was trying to get off to an 8-0 start for the first time and had plenty of opportunities to do so, but fell short.

Becht threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns, Jaden Higgins caught 10 passes for 140 yards.

Morton, who was sidelined last week against TCU with a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury, was 21 of 40 for 237 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice.

The Red Raiders overcame three false starts on their winning drive, and Morton converted on fourth-and-7 with an 8-yard pass to Josh Kelly. Brooks scored the decisive TD on a direct kick.

Takeout

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are bowl eligible for the fourth straight year, including three straight under coach Joey McGuire.

Iowa State: The Cyclones couldn’t find enough points against a Tech defense that came in allowing the most points in the Big 12 (288).

Consequences of the survey

Iowa State could fall significantly after its first loss.

Further

Texas Tech: Hosts No. 23 Colorado next Saturday

Iowa State: Visits Kansas next Saturday.

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