FORT WORTH, Texas – Following a disappointing road trip, TCU returns to Fort Worth on Saturday for a Big 12 matchup with Iowa State. The Horned Frogs dropped the final two games on their three-game trek and now must knock off the Cyclones to get back over .500.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU. LINE: TCU -10.5
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TCU outscored its opponents 97-19 in jumping out to a 2-0 start this season, but a neutral-site loss to mighty Ohio State and a second-half meltdown in last weekend's loss to Texas have taken their toll. “Nobody is panicking,” coach Gary Patterson insisted on Tuesday, adding that he will stick with Shawn Robinson at quarterback. “Nobody is going anywhere. (We’re) going about our business. We’re going to grow people up. We’re going to get ready to go. That’s the way we’ve done things here." Robinson has struggled with turnovers the last two weeks, but perhaps he can get back on track at home, where the Horned Frogs have won seven straight games. Iowa State doubled up Akron last Saturday for its first win of the campaign.
ABOUT IOWA STATE (1-2, 0-1 Big 12)
Cyclones quarterback Zeb Noland has hovered around 70 percent completions in each of the last two games and has three touchdown passes over that span. Still, Iowa State is averaging a relatively modest 18.7 points per game on the year as the running game in particular has struggled to the tune of 2.7 yards per carry. David Montgomery has yet to surpass 21 yards on any of his 61 rushing attempts, while none of his teammates have gone over 13 yards on any carries this year.
ABOUT TCU (2-2, 0-1)
The Horned Frogs have blown halftime leads in each of the last two weeks with Robinson's turnovers (six in the last two games) playing a major factor. On the bright side, Robinson has accounted for nine TDs (six passing, three rushing), while Darius Anderson contributes 7.4 yards per rushing attempt and scored twice against the Buckeyes. Garret Wallow has been a fixture on defense with a team-high 28 tackles, including 11 versus Texas.
EXTRA POINTS
1. TCU holds a 7-2 lead in the all-time series.
2. In Patterson's 18 seasons as coach, the Horned Frogs have lost three straight games in the same year only once - back in 2013.
3. The Cyclones only have one player with a rushing touchdown (Montgomery, 2) and one player with a receiving touchdown (Hakeem Butler, 3).
PREDICTION: TCU 27, Iowa State 13