The 11th-ranked ISU football team (6-1, 3-0 Big 12) conquered both cold weather and a hot quarterback on their way to a 31-17 win over Texas Tech (4-3, 1-1) on Saturday night.

A crowd of 51,842 watched an aggressive Cyclone defense limit Kliff Kingsbury to 272 yards and only one score, while completing 37 of his 50 passes.

In what was supposed to be a high-scoring matchup of two of the nation’s most prolific passers, Iowa State’s Seneca Wallace and his counterpart from Texas Tech both had sub-par passing days and went into the locker room at halftime tied 3-3.

Strong defense typified the first half as the Ellis Hobbs recorded his second interception of the season and the linebackers and secondary contained the Red Raiders’ explosive offense.

“There were many guys on defense that played really well,” ISU head coach Dan McCarney said. “I was thrilled to come out of that game and hold Texas Tech to 17 points.”

Iowa State’s offense came out rolling in the second half as Heisman hopeful Wallace turned in a highlight play that left everyone in attendance gasping for breath.

With the Cyclone offense facing 2nd-and-11 from the Texas Tech 12-yard line, Wallace scrambled to his left, came across the field to the right, tiptoed down the sideline and finally zagged back to the left for the score.

Tailback Michael Wagner sprung Wallace with a bone-crunching block that left Texas Tech cornerback Ricky Sailor wondering what the number was of the truck that hit him.

“I saw him rolling back my way,” Wagner said. “He was out there on an island and I just had to take him home.”

Wagner contributed the third 100-yard game of his career as he gained 102 yards and one touchdown on 32 carries. But it was his block that had everyone talking after the game. “I turned around and saw Wags make that big hit,” Zach Butler said. “It was a great block and a great run by Seneca.”

Wagner was filling in for injured starter Hiawatha Rutland, who was nursing a sore ankle much of the day.

The Cyclones got a scare when defensive leader Jordan Carstens went down in the second quarter with what looked like a major injury. His return in the second half, along with Wallace’s run, helped spark Iowa State’s second-half surge.

Texas Tech came back with a 15-play, 79-yard drive that Kingsbury finished with a 1-yard plunge to tie the game, but Iowa State needed only one play to regain the lead.

That one play was a 79-yard reverse by Lane Danielsen that used the wide receiver’s speed and a few key blocks by fellow receiver Jack Whitver to complete the play.

“I knew I had a chance if I could get some blocks and make a couple guys miss,” Danielsen said. “The defense was playing really aggressive, and we knew if Seneca sold the pitch a little bit we could get it.”

It was Iowa State’s aggressive defense, however, that helped put the shackles on one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

Kingsbury, a senior who averages more than 275 passing yards per game, came into the game first in the Big 12 Conference and sixth nationally with a quarterback efficiency of 158.1. He had thrown 11 touchdowns in the last two games and 22 for the season, which makes the effort put forth by Iowa State’s defensive backs even more special.

“Kliff Kingsbury is one of the best QBs in the league,” McCarney said. ” He played a great game and he was hard to defend, but I thought we played well against him.”

No. 11 Iowa St. 31, Texas Tech 17

Texas Tech 3 0 7 7 — 17ÿ

Iowa St. 3 0 21 7 — 31ÿ

First Quarter

ISU—FG Benike 19, 8:55.

TT—FG Treece 37, 1:42.

Third Quarter

ISU—Wallace 12 run (Benike kick), 11:32.

TT—Kingsbury 1 run (Treece kick), 6:23.

ISU—Danielsen 79 run (Benike kick), 5:58.

ISU—Wagner 3 run (Benike kick), 1:50.

Fourth Quarter

ISU—Young 20 pass from Wallace (Benike kick), 5:51.

TT—Francis 1 pass from Kingsbury (Treece kick), 2:15.

A—51,842.

TT ISUÿ

First downs 23 19ÿ

Rushes-yards 30-189 46-228ÿ

Passing 272 148ÿ

Comp-Att-Int 37-51-1 15-22-0ÿ

Return Yards 51 9ÿ

Punts-Avg. 4-38.0 7-43.1ÿ

Fumbles-Lost 3-3 0-0ÿ

Penalties-Yards 5-44 4-30ÿ

Time of Possession 27:21 32:39ÿ

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Texas Tech: Henderson 12-83, Welker 5-36, Kingsbury 10-34, Aycock 1-25, Haverty 2-11. Iowa St.: Wagner 32-102, Danielsen 1-79, Wallace 8-37, Rutland 5-10.

PASSING — Texas Tech: Kingsbury 37-50-1-272, team 0-1-0-0. Iowa St.: Wallace 15-22-0-148.

RECEIVING — Texas Tech: Henderson 11-46, Welker 9-84, Hartfield 4-34, Paige 4-29, McGuire 3-18, Glover 2-25, Francis 2-22, Haverty 2-14. Iowa St.: Montgomery 6-47, Young 3-46, Whitver 2-17, Knock 2-10, Danielsen 1-28, Wagner 1-0.