Kliff Kingsbury and the Red Raiders were up early once again this Saturday as they hosted Paul Rhodes and the Iowa State Cyclones for a homecoming match-up.  With the injury sustained by freshman Baker Mayfield in last weeks win over Kansas, that gave the reigns of the offense to fellow freshman Davis Webb.

The 11am kickoff would show in both teams offenses as they would trade punts to start in their opening drives.

Webb would get going  on the teams second drive though as he would eventually hit Jakeem Grant for a 33 yard touchdown pass to make the score 7-0 with 6:31 left to play in the first quarter.  Iowa state would bounce right back as Jarvis West would return the ensuing kickoff for a 95 yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

The Red Raiders would retake the lead at 1:25 left in the first on a 4 yard touchdown grab by senior wide receiver Eric Ward from quarterback Davis Webb to make the score 14-7.

Defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstedt's defense would be stellar out of the gate as they allowed just eleven total yards in the opening quarter opposite the red raiders 179 total yards as Iowa state would punt the ball back to Tech to end the first quarter.

Tech would start the second quarter as Webb would put together a nice drive but kicker Ryan Bustin couldn't capitalize as he would miss a 34 yard attempt with 13:00 minutes left in the first half.  The Tech defense would force another three and out but the special teams would have an unfortunate turnover as the punt would inadvertently hit a Red Raider to give the ball back to the Cyclones inside the Tech 35 yard line.  That turnover would lead to a four yard touchdown run by Iowa State running back Aaron Wimberly to even things up at 14-14.

The offense would strike back with a nice drive of their own as they would go eleven plays and cover 86 yards that was capped off by a fourth down conversion that resulted in a one yard touchdown run by Kenny Williams to put Tech back up 21-14.

The Tech defense would show their first signs of vulnerability as Iowa State would drive down 75 yards in eight plays to tie the game up at 21-21 with 2:57 left in the half.  After a later drive would be squandered by a Bradley Marquez fumble, Iowa State would just run out the clock to leave the score at halftime tied at 21-21 with Iowa state to get the ball to start the second half.

Ashley Wirz, 1340TheFan.com
Ashley Wirz, 1340TheFan.com
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At the half Texas Tech's offense racked up over 350 yards of offense as they ran 55 plays.  Their two turnovers would prove to be critical though as they could not pull away from the 1-3 Cyclones.  Freshman Davis Webb would have a nice first half as he went 23 of 33 for 286 yards and two touchdowns.  Jakeem Grant on the other hand had a huge half as he accumulated 90 yards and a touchdown on just five catches.  Tight end Jace Amaro would also have a solid opening half with his team leading six catches for 77 yards, but the special teams issues were really the story of the first half for the Red Raiders.

Iowa state would get the ball to start the second half.  Matt Wallerstedt's defense would get back to form as Austin Stewart would sack ISU quarterback Sam B. Richards to force a punt that would give tech the ball deep in their own territory at the nine yard line.  The offense would sputter as again though as they would punt it back to the Cyclones.  Special teams play would hurt Tech again on the punt as they gave up another long run into Texas Tech territory.

The field goal unit would come through on a fake field goal attempt by head coach Paul Rhodes to give the ball back to Kliff Kingsbury's offense with 10:04 left in the third quarter.  That offense would go back to work as the would methodically work their way down the field capped off by a perfect fade pass from Davis Webb to Bradley Marquez at the 7:01 mark for the twelve yard touchdown to give the lead back the the Red raiders at 28-21.

The teams would exchange punts as the defensive play continued to show out in the opening quarter of the second half.

A scary moment for Tech fans as with :32 left in the quarter wide out Jakeem Grant would go down on an incomplete pass intended for him.  He would land in what seemed like a normal way but with a closer look would hit his head pretty hard on the Jones AT&T turf.  He would eventually leave the field on under his own power with the help of the training staff.  He would not return.

The quarter would end with the Tech offense driving down inside the 50 yard line and the score set at 28-21.  A few errant passes by the freshman quarterback would doom the good field position though, as they would be forces to punt and give Paul Rhodes' offense the ball back with 14:40 left in the game.  The Texas Tech offense would get the ball back fairly quick though thanks to an Iowa State three and out.  That can be credited to defender Austin Stewart as he would make a pass defense on a key third down.  The Cyclone punt would set coach Kingsbury's offense up at the 31 yard line with 13:37 left.

Jace Amaro would get back in the ball game as he bursts out for a 39 yard reception to move Tech into Iowa State territory.  That drive would be capped off by a 12 yard touchdown run by DeAndre Washington to extend the Texas Tech lead to 35-21 with 12:06 left to play.

Davis Webb would make a bad decision at the 10:56 mark as he threw his lone interception of the game to give the ball back to Iowa State at the Texas Tech 20 yard line.  It would lead to a quick score on a three yard rush by ISU's running back Shontrelle Johnson to bring them back within seven.  With 10:40 left in the ball game the score now sat at 35-28.

After a ISU punt, Davis Webb and company would start their drive on their own 20 yard line with just over seven minutes left in regulation.  A couple of nice runs by DeAndre Washington would help move the chains and more importantly burn some clock.  That drive would end with Sadale Foster bursting through the Cyclone defense at the 5:30 mark to put Tech up by a score of 42-28.

Iowa State would strike back late in the game to pull them back within seven.  They would attempt an onside kick to try and extend the contest and would have a good chance to recover the try, but it would ultimately be landed on by the Red Raiders.  They would proceed to just run out the rest of the clock for the victory.  For Freshman Davis Webb, he would finish his first career start as the Red Raider quarterback going 35-56 for 415 yards and three touchdowns to go along with that lone interception.  Jace Amaro would rack up another great game as he was unable to find the end zone, but still managed to gain 143 on nine grabs.  He would average nearly 16 yards per reception.  The run game followed up last weeks game with an even better performance as Kenny Williams, DeAndre Washington, and Sadale Foster would each rush for over 80 yards on the day.  Each running back found the end zone on Saturday as they rushed for a season high 251 yards on 45 total carries.

With the win, Kliff Kingsbury becomes the first coach in school history to start a his first season at 6-0.  The win also moves the #20 ranked Red Raiders to 3-0 in Big 12 play.  Coach Kingsbury and company will be on the road next week as they travel to Morgantown, West Virgina to take on the Mountaineers next Saturday on October 19th.

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