Iowa State comes back to stun TCU, 20-17, Saturday on the road

As Iowa State’s pulse seemed to flatline, its heartbeat remained strong Saturday at TCU.

Beat one: The Cyclones’ lead back, Carson Hansen, scored a one-yard rushing touchdown to pull his team within five, at 17-12, with 8:12 left.

Thump, thump, thump.

Beat two: ISU backup tailback Aiden Flora jetted to the end zone on a 79-yard punt return with 6:32 remaining to give his team the lead.

Thump, thump, thump.

And the Horned Frogs’ last-gasp series of pitches in the final seconds tumbled out of bounds — allowing the once-reeling Cyclones to somehow notch a stunning 20-17 comeback win at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.

“I’m super proud of this team for just continuing to show up,” linebacker Kooper Ebel, who had a team-best 11 tackles, said on the Cyclone Radio Network. “No one’s flinched. No one’s wavered. We’re just gonna continue to show up and pound away at this thing.”

Just like that, ISU (6-4, 3-4 Big 12) erased an 11-point early-fourth quarter deficit, snapped a mistake-filled four-game losing streak, and finally became bowl eligible for the eighth time in the past nine seasons.

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And the Cyclones did it by overcoming the mammoth miscues in key moments, more critical injuries to key players, and ill-timed penalties that marked the four-game skid.

But this time, when their shoulder blades were pinned firmly against the wall, they responded.

“I told them (Friday) night, I’ve never seen anybody quit their way to the top,” said ISU head coach Matt Campbell, whose team will face Kansas next Saturday at home. “But I’ve seen a lot of great players and great teams struggle their way to the top, and, man, this group refuses to flinch and they showed it today, and finally made a couple of critical plays in the moment to win the game.”

As usual, it didn’t come easy against the Horned Frogs (6-3, 3-3), who saw their slim Big 12 title hopes dashed.

ISU needed to bow up several times in the closing minutes, and the outlook seemed grim late in the fourth quarter when TCU tailback Jeremy Payne burst free for a 28-yard run to the Cyclones’ 12-yard line. But cornerback Tre Bell forced a fumble and backup safety Drew Surges pounced on it to end the Horned Frogs’ last real threat to forge a stirring comeback win of their own.

“I saw the ball, and instincts just kicked in,” said Bell, who also snared one of his team’s two interceptions. “We’ve been practicing all week punching the ball out, so I just took my shot and I got it.”

ISU’s defense forced three turnovers for the second straight game as freshman safety Josh Patterson joined Bell in notching an interception — the first of his career.

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And star tight end Ben Brahmer triumphantly returned to the field after last week’s scary incident in the 24-19 loss to Arizona State resulted in him being briefly hospitalized for an undisclosed issue. The 6-7, 255-pound junior caught quarter Rocco Becht’s lone touchdown pass — a 23-yarder that gave the Cyclones an early 6-0 lead.

“Good start, good momentum,” Brahmer said.

Becht completed just nine of his 24 passes for 111 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. But the gutsy third-year starter also broke off a big run of 26 yards to keep a late drive alive, and on fourth-and-1 at the Cyclones’ 40 with 1:46 left, he faked a pitch to Hansen — who rushed for 108 yards — and scampered nine yards to essentially seal the win.

“Great play,” Campbell said. “Really proud of him.”

He’s similarly proud of his team as a whole, which avoided tying the longest skid since he took over the program in 2016..

“Their fight has been incredible,” Campbell said.

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