LUBBOCK, Texas — Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads watched as redshirt freshman Jared Barnett’s confidence grew.
“He’s poised. He’s composed,” Rhoads said after the Cyclones beat No. 19 Texas Tech 41-7 on Saturday night. “I asked (offensive coordinator) Tom Herman to get us some layups early
and get his feet wet. We ran the football, a couple throws and catches, and from there his confidence just built.”
Barnett threw for a touchdown and ran for another, and Iowa State shocked the Red Raiders a week after they won at Oklahoma.
Making his first start, Barnett’s mobility gave the Red Raiders defense fits. He rushed for 92 yards on 19 carries and completed 14 of 26 passes for 144 yards. His touchdowns were career firsts.
The player from Garland downplayed his performance.
“I feel like I just came out here and played my game and everyone else around me made it easier,” Barnett said. “I don’t think I did anything super human. I just did what I was supposed to do.”
It was the largest margin of victory over a ranked team for Iowa State since the Cyclones beat No. 20 Nebraska in Ames by 22 points (36-14) in 2002.
Seth Doege completed 16 of 32 passes for a season-low 171 yards for the Red Raiders (5-3, 2-3 Big 12). He threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and gave the Red Raiders their lone score on an 8-yard touchdown run. Texas Tech had a streak of 69 games, dating back to a 12-3 loss to TCU in 2006, with a touchdown pass snapped.
Duran Hollis broke free for a 71-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter and Iowa State (1-4, 4-4) rolled up 368 yards rushing against Texas Tech’s 105th-ranked rushing defense. The Red Raiders were giving up an average of 205 per game coming into the contest.
For the Red Raiders, the game was a surprising letdown after snapping Oklahoma’s 39-game home winning streak.
For the Cyclones, it was the first game with at least 300 yards rushing since 2001 when the Cyclones beat Kansas 49-7
James White and Jeff Woody each scored rushing touchdowns.
It was the second win over a ranked team in as many seasons. The Cyclones beat No. 22 Texas 28-21 last season. Before that win it had been about 20 years since ISU topped a ranked team on the road.
It was also the second straight win over Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville for Cyclones coach Paul Rhoads, who was Tuberville’s defensive coordinator at Auburn in 2008. The Cyclones beat the Red Raiders 52-38 last year in Ames.
Tuberville said Texas Tech “didn’t do much right at all” throughout the game.
“Pretty obvious we go beat on both sides of the ball, in the kicking game,” Tuberville said. “They came in ready to play and they took advantage of us not really focused, coaching or playing the first or second half. I take total blame for that. I saw a lot of it coming during the week.”
The Cyclones kept the ball away from the Red Raiders’ offense by keeping it on the ground.
In a drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters, the Cyclones held the ball for 16 plays that gobbled 8:40 off the clock.
Iowa State stayed on the ground to start the second half and on the third play, Duran Hollis, a redshirt freshman who had just 11 yards coming into the game, took a hand off from Barnett and broke through the line to go 71 yards and put the Cyclones up 31-7.
He got free when Red Raiders tackle Kerry Hyder took a wide step and Cqulin Hubert got blocked.
The Cyclones ran the ball well in the first half, keeping the Red Raiders off the field. But even when Texas Tech had the ball it couldn’t sustain drives.
The Red Raiders had a shot to score on the first drive of the second quarter but failed to convert a fourth-and-1 from the 2. Aaron Crawford was stopped for no gain and Iowa State took over.
Doege got the Red Raiders’ lone touchdown midway through the second quarter when he faked a hand off and scooted to the near side from the 8-yard line. At about the 3, Doege leaped over safety Durrell Givens and got into the end zone to whittle the deficit to 21-7.Texas Tech’s offense, which was in sync throughout last week’s 41-38 win at Oklahoma, sputtered early. The Red Raiders punted on their first three possessions and then turned the ball over twice.
The Cyclones went up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter, holding the Red Raiders scoreless in the opening period for the first time this season. ISU got a touchdown off an interception of a Doege pass by safety Ter’Ran Benton, who returned it 40 yards to the Red Raiders 1.
Barnett, who got his first career rushing TD to put the Cyclones up 7-0, hit Darius Dark for a 2-yard score to make it 21-0.
The Cyclones added a 42-yard field goal to lead 24-7 at halftime.
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