Four takeaways from TCU football’s devastating loss to Iowa State
Despite leading by 11 in the fourth quarter, TCU football failed to seal the deal against Iowa State, and the Cyclones stormed back to defeat the Horned Frogs 20-17 on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
With Iowa State trailing 17-12, walk-on running back Aiden Flora return a punt 79 yards for a touchdown with 6:32 remaining in the game.
“The punt return for a touchdown killed us,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said. “We just outkicked our coverage. We had a guy there that missed the tackle, and then after they did a good job of blocking some people. When you give up three turnovers, when you miss a short field goal and give up a punt return, you’re just not going to win too many football games.”
The Horned Frogs (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) were driving to tie or retake the lead, but sophomore running back Jeremy Payne was stripped near the red zone. The Horned Frogs had a chance to get ball back with less than two minutes remaining, but the Cyclones (6-4, 3-4) converted a fourth-and-1 on a bootleg by quarterback Rocco Becht with 1:47 remaining to finish off the comeback.
It was the second time this season TCU blew a double-digit second-half lead against a Big 12 opponent after the Horned Frogs squandered a 17-0 lead at Arizona State in a 27-24 defeat on Sept. 26.
The Horned Frogs outgained Iowa State 432-272, but failed to come out on top as the Cyclones snapped their four-game losing streak.
The defeat has all but ended TCU’s hopes of reaching the Big 12 title game.
Here are four takeaways from the loss:
Home Hoover not enough?
TCU quarterback Josh Hoover didn’t play up to his usual standards at Amon G. Carter Stadium with two interceptions on TCU’s first three drives. Hoover wore a glove on his right hand for the first time this season, and his accuracy was off to start the game. His pass to Major Everhart was too high as he took a hit, and it was picked off, leading to an Iowa State touchdown.
Hoover’s second pick came off a bad decision as he declined a running lane to scramble and tried to force a pass to Jordan Dwyer that was picked off near the red zone.
Hoover settled down as the game wore on and led TCU on a scoring drive after the halftime break. He completed eight of his first 10 passes, including a beautiful 14-yard jump ball to Dwyer in the end zone that put TCU ahead 10-6 with 9:07 remaining in the third quarter.
After a second turnover forced by the TCU defense, Hoover then led another long scoring drive. Senior running back Trent Battle capped off an 11-play, 92 yard march with a 2-yard touchdown with 13:30 remaining in the game to put TCU up 17-6.
Hoover finished 319 yards on 34-of-50 passing, but his two turnovers were critical mistakes that led to TCU’s slow start in the first half.
Run game doesn’t show up
Despite a breakout performance by Payne in the second half, TCU’s run game left much to be desired against the Cyclones, as the offensive line was overwhelmed by the Iowa State defensive front most of the night. Battle and Kevorian Barnes combined for just 18 yards before TCU opted to lean on Payne in the second half.
The sophomore was able to take advantage of the cutback lanes opened up against the Cyclones as he rushed for 71 yards on his first eight carries. However, on his eighth touch, Payne turned a good play into a disaster. As he fought for extra yardage on a 28-yard gain, Payne was stripped at the last second while TCU was driving to tie or take the lead.
It was a critical mistake that ultimately led to the Horned Frogs not getting the ball back in the final minutes. The Horned Frogs finished with just 113 yards on 30 carries, only averaging 3.8 yards per carry.
“We just didn’t make enough plays to win,” Dykes said. “I feel like we wasted a half of offense. Once we got going in the second half, we made a critical mistake at a critical time and it was costly.”
Clutch Rocco Becht
Becht struggled most of the night, but when the fourth quarter came, he played his best football. With the Horned Frogs leading 17-6, Becht ripped off a 25-yard gain to get the Cyclones in TCU territory.
Later in the drive Becht converted a crucial third-and-6 with a pass to Chase Sowell inside the TCU 10-yard line. Iowa State would score a few plays later to make it 17-12 with 8:12 remaining.
After Flora’s go-ahead punt return score and Payne’s fumble, Becht had two important conversions on the Cyclones’ final drive. Facing a third-and-6, Becht threw a 15-yard strike to Eli Green with 3:46 remaining.
Then, on the pivotal play of the game, Becht ran untouched for nine yards on a great play call by coach Matt Campbell to ice the game. Becht was just 9-of-24 for 111 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, but he made the important plays on the Cyclones’ biggest drives of the game.
“We gave up two drives the entire game,” Dykes said. “It was just one of those games that was very frustrating. I thought we pressured him at times, I don’t think we ever let him get comfortable. This was just an Iowa State type of football game.”
Sluggish start
The Horned Frogs looked more rusty than rested coming off the bye week as TCU trailed Iowa State 6-3 at halftime. It was a forgettable and frustrating opening half as Hoover threw two interceptions in the first quarter, including one deep in Iowa State territory.
The Cyclones’ lone touchdown of the half came right after a Hoover’s first interception, as Becht led Iowa State on an eight-play, 65-yard drive to take a 6-0 lead at the 9:18 mark in the first quarter. The Horned Frogs’ offense took more than quarter to wake up as the Cyclones stuffed the run game and were selling out on TCU’s short routes.
Hoover was much better in the second quarter and led TCU into the red zone, but the Horned Frogs had to settle for a 35-yard Nate McCashland field goal. On Iowa State’s next possession, TCU senior safety Bud Clark came up with a massive interception right before the two-minute timeout, giving TCU a great opportunity to seize control of the game with the Horned Frogs getting the ball at halftime.
Instead, TCU got inside the Iowa State 10-yard line and once again failed to punch it in, as the Cyclones stuffed Battle and Barnes on back-to-back plays. After an incompletion on third down, McCashland’s 25-yard field goal attempt was no good, hitting the right upright with 17 seconds remaining in the half.
Despite outgaining Iowa State 207-122, the Horned Frogs failed to take control of the game.
This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 6:06 PM.
