Iowa State’s first play from scrimmage Saturday evening set the tone in the Cyclones’ 27-10 loss to Texas Christian.

ISU quarterback Jeff St. Clair rolled out on Iowa State’s first offensive effort and delivered a pass directly into the hands of TCU linebacker Leroy Jones, who returned the pick for a 23-yard touchdown. The Horned Frogs jumped out early and never looked back.

“It’s easy to put all the onus and blame on a backup quarterback. It was a dropped pass here, a missed alignment there, a bad throw here. It was a collection of things. Those things are going to happen. We don’t want them to. It’s never happened in practice,” said ISU head football coach Dan McCarney. “They bounced right back and played some good football.”

Place-kicker Jamie Kohl, who previously had not missed a field goal this season, scored the Cyclones’ first points with a 40-yard field goal in the second quarter. Kohl’s next attempt was blocked. Kohl then missed from 43 yards out before the half.

While Kohl was having somewhat of an off day, running back Troy Davis was doing what he does best. Davis gained 180 yards on 31 carries to lead the Cyclone ground attack. He currently leads all other Div. I running backs in rushing yardage this season.

“When you’ve got a back that rushes for 180 yards, that should equate to more than 10 points,” McCarney said. “We didn’t improve as much as I thought we would. I thought we’d play better.”

St. Clair, starting for the still injured Todd Doxzon, turned in a solid passing performance. He finished the game 17 of 34 for 161 passing yards and one touchdown.

While the Cyclone offense stumbled at times, TCU’s offense was flying high. Horned Frogs quarterback Max Knake racked up 242 passing yards against the ISU secondary. With Knake getting it done through the air, TCU running back Andre Davis got the job done on the ground. Davis totaled 166 yards on 21 carries.

Iowa State will now turn their sites on the University of Iowa, a school which McCarney formerly played for and later worked as an assistant coach. Doxzon is listed as the probable starter for the Sept. 16 matchup.

“This is a very important game. I’ve been involved in the series for a lot of years on the other side. It’s been totally dominated by the University of Iowa,” McCarney said. “We’re going to do all that we can to try to get this thing turned around so Iowa State people can enjoy the series a little more.”

The Cyclones and Hawks will clash this Saturday on Jack Trice Field in Cyclone Stadium. Kickoff is at noon.