AMES — Bend don’t break was the name of the game for Iowa State’s defense in its 27-14 win over TCU in the Jack Trice Legacy Game.

TCU started the game on fire moving the ball with ease. The Horned Frogs’ run game was complimenting the passing game as Iowa State’s defense got caught off guard on multiple plays.

However, even though the defense bent, it showed early on that it was not going to break.

The first three drives for TCU ended with the same outcome. Iowa State’s defense clutched up to give the ball back to its offense.

The first drive ended with Iowa State’s Will McLaughlin sitting in the right place at the right time as TCU quarterback Chandler Morris threw the ball straight to him. One drive later, Iowa State’s Beau Freyler picked up an interception for himself by ripping the ball out of a TCU receiver’s hands.

“When the opportunities provide themselves, make a play for the team,” Freyler said.

Iowa State’s defense came away with two picks to prevent what would have been easy scores for TCU.

With TCU driving the ball with ease on the ground on the next drive, the Cyclone defense had a big opportunity to make another stop when the Horned Frogs were forced into a third-down situation. The Cyclones clutched up to get stops on two straight plays to get the ball back into their offense’s hands.

Iowa State’s Joey Petersen got the tackle for a loss on fourth down to get a turnover on downs. Although the defense was giving the offense chances to score, the scoreboard remained empty. The defense may have been bending, but it refused to break.

The third time was the charm for the Cyclones offense as it finally put points on the board after the defense forced its third turnover of the game. Eli Sanders pushed past one defender on a short run into the end zone to give the Cyclones a 7-0 lead.

Just under 20 minutes into the game, TCU had over 200 total yards, with almost 120 of those yards being on the ground. Despite that, TCU never had a lead throughout the game.

“I thought there were moments where you saw us play really good football tonight,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said. “Again, you hope with this young team to be growing forward, and I would say again, there’s great growth.”

That growth was on display with the special teams as well as the defense.

With time running out in the half, the special teams made a huge play as Darien Porter wrapped around on the edge on a TCU punt to block it and give the Cyclones the ball back inside the 10-yard line. Porter had seen that exact play a couple years back and recalled what he needed to do to get another block.

“Two years ago, we had a very similar block. Basically the exact same scheme, and that exact same thing two years ago to block TCU,” Porter said. “So, It worked. Kinda saw the same flaw in the system two years later, so see if we could get another crack at it and we did.”

That was also Porter’s third blocked punt of his Cyclone career. Ben Nikkel picked up the blocked punt and nearly ran it into the end zone but could not regain his balance on the sideline. However, just seeing Nikkel come up with the recovery was enough to put a smile on Porter’s face.

“That’s my guy, I love the kid,” Porter said. “He came here three years ago; he’s been one of my friends since.”

The blocked punt was close enough to the end zone to allow the Cyclones to pick up three more points before the half.

With the success the defense had as a group, it was only a matter of time before more veterans got their time to shine. Iowa State’s J.R. Singleton picked up his second career sack early in the third quarter to stop TCU’s drive short. That was also Singleton’s second sack in three games.

That sack stopped all momentum TCU had on a potentially lead-flipping drive. Again, the Cyclone defense refused to break.

Later in the third quarter, TCU’s starting quarterback Chandler Morris went down with a leg injury. From that point on, anytime TCU backup quarterback Josh Hoover was forced to spend time in the pocket, the Iowa State defense made his life rough.

With the final quarter quickly approaching, TCU was marching down the field on the legs of Emani Bailey. However, after TCU’s fifth-straight run, Iowa State was starting to figure out the Horned Frogs’ plans.

The Cyclone defense stuffed Bailey in the backfield to force TCU to throw. As Hoover took to the air, Malik Verdon swooped in to pick up Iowa State’s third interception of the day and his first career interception.

The three picks was the first time the defense had three interceptions since 2018 when they took on Alan Bowman, now Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback, and Texas Tech.

“Going into this game, we knew that was one of the keys of victory was winning the turnover margin,” Freyler said. “So creating those turnovers, especially when they’re driving on us, it was critical to our success.”

Halfway through the fourth quarter, TCU was driving again. Bailey was ripping off big runs and Hoover was starting to connect with his receivers. As the Horned Frogs hopped into the red zone, the Cyclone defense had their backs against the wall.

Iowa State was coming up with stops, but TCU kept moving. On fourth down, TCU came up big with a first-down reception to keep the drive alive and sit just yards out of the end zone.

However, the defense did not break.

Three more downs played out and TCU still could not find the end zone. Another fourth-down play was coming up thanks to the defense making big stops.

As Hoover dropped into the pocket, the Iowa State defensive line put on the pressure immediately. Hoover was forced to throw a shaky pass to Corey Wren who dropped it just outside the end zone. Another big turnover on downs as the Cyclone defense showed that even if it bends, it would not break.

“This group is courageous,” Campbell said. “They have come in with a purpose, and they have come in and it has not always been perfect, but they demand to get better everyday.”

That courage was on display after every turnover and every big play given up. The defense knows there is room to grow, as Freyler said there were still areas to work on.

After the turnover on downs, Iowa State’s lead was too big for TCU to overcome. As TCU was making desperation plays late in the game to try to come back, Freyler shut the door on the Horned Frogs.

Freyler picked a poorly thrown ball from Hoover to get his second of the day. With just over two minutes left in the game, TCU’s hopes of coming back were officially dashed.

Iowa State’s defense capped off an airtight performance with a fourth interception. The first time the Cyclones had four picks in a game since 2016.

With time running out in the game, TCU picked up another touchdown in garbage time to pull the lead closer. However, it was clear that the defense already did its job. Iowa State came out on top 27-14 to pick up its second win of the conference season.

“It wasn’t perfect, but this is definitely the closest we’ve been so far,” Porter said.