TCU preview: Frogs, Iowa State seek to eliminate mistakes

TCU (1-1) vs. Iowa State (0-2)

When, where: 11 a.m. Saturday, Amon G. Carter Stadium

TV: FS1

The winner will take sole possession of first place in the Big 12 standings for at least one week. No other Big 12 teams begin conference play this week.

In this matchup, several things stand out:

Where they are similar: Both teams are coming off losses. TCU fell to Arkansas, a former Southwest Conference rival, last week in a double-overtime. The 41-38 setback took the Horned Frogs out of this week’s college football polls. Iowa State fell to Iowa 42-3 to give the Cyclones consecutive losses in their first season under new coach Matt Campbell.

Where they are different: TCU has been productive offensively under first-year quarterback Kenny Hill. The Horned Frogs have averaged 617 yards and 48.5 points per game in their spread offense. Hill, a transfer from Texas A&M, ranks third nationally in total offense among FBS players at 477 yards per game. Iowa State has struggled offensively, ranking last among Big 12 teams in yards (299 per game) and scoring (11.5 average). That has led Campbell to open the starting quarterback job in practice this week between Joel Lanning, a team captain, and Jacob Park, a junior-college transfer who began his college career at Georgia. TCU leads the Big 12 in rushing touchdowns (nine), with Hill (five) and running back Kyle Hicks (four) accounting for all of them. ISU seeks its first rushing TD of the season. ISU tailback Mike Warren, a 1,000-yard rusher last season, has 58 yards in two games (3.1 yards per carry).

Notable newcomers: Hill, who played in high school at Southlake Carroll, is preparing to make his third career start for TCU. He’s made a strong connection with WR Taj Williams, a JC transfer in his first season with the Frogs who leads the team in touchdown catches (12 receptions, 171 yards, two TDs). Kicker Ryan Graf is 2-for-3 on field goals this season but had a pivotal attempt blocked last week against Arkansas. Iowa State has a young offensive line (only six combined starts from last season), with three freshmen on the depth chart and one in the starting lineup (RT Julian Good-Jones). Warren, the team’s top returning rusher, is backed by two freshmen in the RB rotation: David Montgomery and Kene Nwangwu. The Cyclones have used 14 freshmen in the first two games.

Trends: TCU has settled three of its last four games in multiple overtimes: the final two of last season, with victories over Baylor (2 OT) and Oregon (3 OT), as well as last week’s double-overtime loss to Arkansas. TCU has the Big 12’s best combined record (24-4) and top combined mark in conference play (15-3) since the start of the 2014 season. The Horned Frogs are 31-11 in regular-season games following a loss under coach Gary Patterson. Iowa State is 5-15 in Big 12 openers as a league member but defeated Kansas, 38-13, in last year’s conference debut. Iowa State holds a career record of 1-6 against TCU but the lone victory came in Fort Worth during the 2012 season.

Key performers

Significant statistics

TCU

Iowa State

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 11:40 AM with the headline "TCU preview: Frogs, Iowa State seek to eliminate mistakes."