Turnovers and problems with the kicking game doomed the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday against Iowa State. The Cyclones' (5-2, 3-1) 31-13 win dropped Texas Tech's record to (4-3, 1-3).

After the loss, Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury said his team was "dragging" at the start of the game and sluggish throughout. Saturday's game against Iowa State was Texas Tech's third consecutive 11 a.m. kickoff.

While Texas Tech finished the game minus 2 (-2 ) in the turnover battle, the reality of the game was even worse. Offensively, Texas Tech turned the ball over with two second quarter fumbles plus an interception in the fourth quarter. They also turned the ball over on downs twice in the fourth quarter. Texas Tech's defense only garnered one turnover, an interception of a Kyle Kempt pass on the opening drive of the game.

The start of the game looked promising as the Red Raiders on their first possession scored a touchdown on Desmond Nisby's 4 yard run. However, Michael Ewton's extra point was no good; putting Texas Tech up 6-0 with 12:36 left in the first quarter.

The Cyclones didn't stay down for long, as they immediately responded with a 14 play, 75 yard drive that took over six minutes to complete. Kempt's 13 yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard tied the game and the extra point put Iowa State up 7-6. The Cyclones kept this lead for the rest of the game.

In the second quarter, two consecutive Texas Tech drives ended on fumbles. Justin Stockton fumbled on a pass reception on the first play of the second quarter. The Cyclones converted that drive into a field goal to go up 10-6.

Then, on the first play of the Red Raiders ensuing drive, Nisby fumbled at his own 25 yard line, turning the ball over. Iowa State only took four plays to score another touchdown, a Kempt four yard pass to Matthew Eaton. With 10:40 left in the second quarter, Iowa State began to pull away 17-6.

Texas Tech had a chance to cut into the Iowa State lead on their next offensive possession, but a wide left 34 yard field goal by Matthew Cluck killed the Red Raiders momentum.

Another Kempt to Eaton touchdown pass with under a minute left in the second quarter extended Iowa State's lead to 24 to 6.

Nic Shimonek had sub-par performance for the Red Raiders, going 31/41 passing for 207 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. The fourth quarter interception led to a pick-six by Marcel Spears, Iowa State's only points scored in the second half.

Justin Stockton only carried the ball four times, for 19 yards. After his second quarter fumble he didn't touch the ball for the rest of the game. During the postgame press conference, head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Stockton suffered a head injury and that's what forced him from the game. Tre King received the vast majority of the rushes for Texas Tech. King carried the ball 20 times for 82 yards.

Texas Tech's next game is October 28, on the road at Oklahoma. The game will kickoff at 7pm and be televised on either ABC or ESPN2. Countdown to Kickoff will air on SportsRadio 1340 The Fan from 4pm-6pm.

 

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