Jared Barnett and the Cyclones Run All Over #19 Texas Tech, 41-7
By Ross
Iowa State traveled to Lubbock, Texas to take on the team that just beat the #1 team in the land. The Red Raiders were on a high and ranked for the first time this season. The Clones have lost four straight games and they were starting Jared Barnett, a freshman quarterback, for the first time. There was no chance the Cyclones were going to come away with a win but they did it. They didn’t just win, they pummeled the Red Raiders, 41-7.
The Cyclones couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game. The Cyclones jumped out on the Red Raiders with a 21 point lead. The Clones ended up taking a 17 point lead into the half in Lubbock against the nationally ranked Red Raiders. Jared Barnett was the biggest reason for the Iowa State’s success in the beginning. In his first start, Barnett was almost flawless. He was making a lot of key plays with his legs.
The Clones won the coin toss and decided to start the game on defense. The defense held Tech to only one first down on their opening drive.
The Clones started out the game with a big run from Barnett on a zone read. Jared Barnett then hit Josh Lenz for another first down. On a third down later on the drive, the offensive line made some great blocks and Barnett took it in for a touchdown.
Seth Doege and the offense went three-and-out on their second possession. Not the way they wanted to start but you have to credit Iowa State’s defense for the early stops.
ISU got the ball back and on a 4th and 1 on Tech’s 46, Paul Rhoads decided to go for it. Jared Barnett kept the ball and converted it for a first down. However, the Clones came up empty on the drive as Mahoney missed a 50-yarder. From his reaction on the sideline, it looked like Rhoads wanted Guyer to attempt the field goal.
Once again, Iowa State held Tech to a three-and-out.
Josh Lenz had two big catches on the next drive for the Cyclones. On the play after Lenz’s second catch, Jeff Woody punched it in. The Cyclones went up 14-0. It came with a price as Ethan Tufte was injured on the play.
On the next play from scrimmage, Ter’Ran Benton picked off Seth Doege and zig-zagged his way down to the 2-yard line. On 3rd and goal, Barnett found Darks in the endzone for a touchdown. ISU 20, Tech 0.
Right after the kickoff return, Doege fumbled the ball trying to hand the ball off tp Aaron Crawford. It looked like the Clones were going to go up 28-0 but James White fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line.
To start the second quarter, Doege and the offense marched down the field from their own 1-yard line. On a 4th and 1, the Red Raiders decided to go for it but A.J. Klein and Ter’Ran Benton met the running back and stopped him short.
The Cyclones couldn’t do anything with the next possession. The Texas Tech receivers made a couple nice catches and Doege capped off the drive by hurling into the endzone for a touchdown. 21-7.
Once again, the Clones started the drive off with a James White run for a first down. On the next play, Barnett dumped it off to Horne who took it down to the 36 of Tech. On 4th and inches, Paul Rhoads decided to go for it again and Barnett kept it for the first down. Everyone held their breath on Guyer’s field goal but he drilled it and you could see Paul Rhoads smiling from the sidelines. 24-7.
On Tech’s next possession, Jacques Washingon made a really nice play as he deflected the ball right before it got to the receiver. Tech went 3-and-out again.
On 3rd down, a Tech player drilled Barnett on the sidelines while he led with his head. Barnett was injured on the play and Jantz came into the game. After a holding penalty, the Clones ran the ball three times but fell about 3 yards short of the first down. Van Der Kamp punted the ball all the way down to the 11.
Tech couldn’t do anything will the ball late in the half with under a minute left. The Clones went to the locker room up 24-7. A perfect way to start the game. Everything was clicking, Barnett and the offense were making plays. The defense held one of the best offenses in the country to 7 points.
The Cyclones opened up the second half with the ball. Jared Barnett was back in the game. Duran “Duck” Hollis took it to the house on a 71-yard touchdown run. It was a great way to start the half. ISU was up 31-7. At this point, Texas Tech fans started heading for the exit.
The defense started where they left off, holding Tech to another three-and-out.
After trading possessions for a while, the Clones found the endzone. The drive had a little bit of everything as the Clones controlled the ball and clock. The drive lasted until the fourth quarter and was capped off by a James White touchdown run. 38-7.
After that, Jeremy Reeves picked off Doege and had a decent return to go with it too. Later in the game, Guyer successfully kicked another field goal. All Iowa State, 41-7 and the game ended with that score.
Paul Rhoads got himself another signature win on the road. It is the second year in a row that Iowa State beat a ranked opponent on the road. I can’t say enough about the team’s performance tonight. The offense was stellar led by Jared Barnett who made his first career start in a hostile environment. The defense didn’t allow Seth Doege, one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, to throw a touchdown pass. It was an all around great performance and one of the best in the history of this program.
Iowa State is now 4-4 and has to win 2 games to go to a bowl game. Kansas comes to town next week and they haven’t won a conference game yet and Kansas State got exposed today by Oklahoma.
The Cyclones beat a ranked team in a place where they have never won. I can not say enough about the players and the coaches. It was perfect.
Beat Kansas.