AMES, Iowa – It will be a contrast in offensive styles when TCU visits Iowa State on Saturday in Big 12 Conference play. The Horned Frogs, who still haven't settled on a starting quarterback, are averaging 275.3 rushing yards per game which ranks eighth nationally while the Cyclones, led by quarterback Brock Purdy, finished with just 63 rushing yards in last week's 23-21 loss at Baylor.
TV: Noon ET, ESPN2. LINE: Iowa State -3.5
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TCU used three different quarterbacks while rolling up 625 yards in last week's 51-14 win over Kansas with true freshman starter Max Duggan, fifth-year senior Alex Delton, who started the first two games of the season, and junior Mike Collins all seeing action in the second half. Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson wouldn't tip his hand who his starter would be against the Cyclones, but whoever gets the call will benefit from a running game led by Darius Anderson that is averaging its most yards per game since 2000 when future NFL Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson was in the backfield. "All three played well," Anderson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of the quarterbacks. "All of them stepped up and played well. I know all three guys can play, and they made the most of their opportunities." Iowa State meanwhile is still searching for a replacement for two-time All-Big 12 running back David Montgomery and has managed just a total of 154 yards rushing over its past two games.
ABOUT TCU (3-1, 1-0 Big 12)
Duggan, who hails from Council Bluffs, Iowa, is just the second true freshman to start at quarterback during the 19-season head coaching tenure of Gary Patterson and completed 8-of-11 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns against the Jayhawks while Delton, a Kansas State transfer, was 10-of-15 for 186 yards and also rushed for 21 yards on four carries. "I thought Delton looked a lot more comfortable to be honest with you," Patterson said. "I made him a captain. He's been a captain all of our games. He's going to keep being a captain whether he's a starter or not." Anderson is second in the Big 12 and sixth in the FBS in rushing yards per game (120.8) while linebacker Garret Wallow leads a defense that ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 in both total defense (246.0 ypg) and rushing defense (79.2 ypg) with 48 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss.
ABOUT IOWA STATE (2-2, 0-1)
The Cyclones have rotated five different running backs -- Kene Nwangwu, Johnnie Lang, Sheldon Croney, Breece Hall and Jirehl Brock -- but head coach Matt Campbell said the competition remains even. "The competition's too close to count anybody out right now," Campbell told the Ames Tribune. "Until somebody really separates themselves from the rest of the pack, I think it's hard to just come out and say, 'That's our guy.'" Purdy ranks fourth nationally in total offense (358.0 ypg) and seventh in the nation in passing yards (332.8) and comes in with back-to-back 300-yard passing games.
EXTRA POINTS
1. TCU leads the series, 8-2, including 3-1 in Ames.
2. Iowa State is 7-0 in October games vs. Big 12 opponents since 2017.
3. TCU is 94-7 when rushing for at least 200 yards in a game under Patterson.
PREDICTION: Iowa State 24, TCU 21