Courtesy of The Sports Network

Team 1 2 3 4 Score Texas 3 7 7 14 31 Oregon State 10 10 7 0 27

Courtesy of The Sports Network

Team 1 2 3 4 Score Texas 3 7 7 14 31 Oregon State 10 10 7 0 27

Austin, TX (Sports Network) - David Ash completed 25-of-31 passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns, lifting the 19th-ranked Texas Longhorns over the Iowa State Cyclones, 33-7.

Johnathan Gray carried the ball 14 times for 74 yards and two scores for the Longhorns (8-2, 5-2 Big 12), who have won four in a row. Joe Bergeron rushed for 86 yards on 12 carries.

Jaxon Shipley caught eight passes for 137 yards and Mike Davis hauled in seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown for Texas, which racked up 609 yards of total offense.

Steele Jantz connected on 15-of-29 passes for 133 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for the Cyclones (5-5, 2-5), who have dropped two straight.

"I said going into the week that I thought Texas was a very hot football team, and they are," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. "They've now won four in a row, so congratulations to them."

Texas honored former coach Darrell Royal, who passed away on Wednesday, by lining up in the wishbone formation on its first offensive play of the game. Royal introduced the wishbone to college football in 1968. Instead of a run, the Longhorns ran a trick play that resulted in a 47-yard catch by Greg Daniels. Texas ended up punting the ball away.

"Well, what we wanted to do was just honor Coach (Royal) anyway we could, and even if we had taken the timeout all the kids were going to point to the sky and say, "Thank you, Coach," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "But it couldn't be any better than that. I think they told me ESPN stopped all production to look at that play, so they got their money's worth too."

The Longhorns, though, did score a touchdown on their second possession of the game. Ash completed passes to Davis, Shipley and Gray. Daje Johnson followed with a 16-yard run to move the ball to the five. Gray's 5-yard TD run made it a 7-0 game.

After Iowa State went three-and-out, Ash threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Davis.

The Longhorns had a chance to add to their lead following Carrington Byndom's interception of Jantz. However, Anthony Fera's 32-yard field goal was blocked early in the second quarter.

The Cyclones tried to get on the board with a field goal, but Edwin Arceo's 53-yarder was off the mark.

Texas followed with a 9-play, 65-yard scoring drive. Davis caught a 14-yard pass on 3rd-and-6 near midfield, while Shipley hauled in a 26-yard pass on 3rd-and-7 from the Iowa State 34. Barrett Matthews capped the march with a 3- yard TD catch. Fera missed the extra point to keep it 20-0 with 2:53 left.

The Cyclones finally got on the board on the ensuing possession, as Quenton Bundrage caught a 14-yard touchdown pass.

Nick Jordan made a 37-yard field goal early in the third stanza to make it a 23-7 game.

Gray's 13-yard TD run with 12:32 remaining in the fourth made it 30-7. Jordan added a 25-yard field goal later in the period to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Texas leads the all-time series by a 9-1 margin ... Royal, who was 88 years old, is Texas' all-time winningest coach.

GAME NOTES: A pair of Big 12 Conference teams heading in opposite directions face off in Austin on Saturday, as the 19th-ranked Texas Longhorns play host to the Iowa State Cyclones.

Iowa State has had an up-and-down season. All four of its losses have come against conference opponents, including last week's defeat at the hands of 12th-ranked Oklahoma, 35-20. Still, the Cyclones have notched impressive wins over Tulsa (38-23) and Baylor (35-21) at home, and TCU (37-23) on the road, and they are just one win away from becoming bowl eligible for the third time in four years.

"I don't believe that everyone's goal or priority is 'OK, we've just got to get that sixth win.' I think it's 'OK, we've got to go out and focus on beating Texas this week,'" sophomore linebacker Jevohn Miller said.

After suffering consecutive losses to West Virginia and Oklahoma in early October, Texas has bounced back with three straight wins, including a 31-22 road victory over nationally-ranked Texas Tech last week. Although its unlikely the Longhorns are going to catch Kansas State for first place in the Big 12, at 4-2 they are at least within striking distance with three conference games left to play, including the season finale against the Wildcats in Manhattan on Dec. 1.

"We've got to have the intensity and urgency we had Saturday (against Texas Tech), and we've got to do it everyday," head coach Mack Brown said of finishing the season out strong. "There's enough parity out there that you better be ready to play every week. We know now that anybody can beat you. We've played poorly at times this year, and we've played great at times. So it's time for us to finish by playing great."

These two programs have met nine times before, with Texas winning eight of those matchups.

The Iowa State offense (24.4 ppg) has experienced plenty of ups and downs this season. After tying a school record with 102 offensive plays in a 35-21 win over Baylor a few weeks back, it put up just 290 yards in last week's 35-20 loss to Oklahoma.

Quarterback Steele Jantz has been equally hit-or-miss. He has completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 1,410 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions, but eight of his 12 scoring strikes came in just two games. He's been held without a touchdown in three of his past four contests.

Aaron Horne is the team's leading receiver with 35 receptions, but the Cyclones rely on a plethora of pass-catching options, as five different players have at least 200 receiving yards and multiple touchdowns.

The Cyclones employ a similar sharing strategy when it comes to their running backs, with Shontrelle Johnson (371 yards, two TDs) and James White (333 yards, two TDs) splitting the bulk of the carries.

While the offense has struggled, the defense has been the third-strongest unit in the conference, allowing just 21.4 ppg. Iowa State is also third in red zone defense, allowing touchdowns on just 56 percent of trips inside the 20- yard line.

With the loss of All-Big 12 linebacker Jake Knott (79 tackles) for the season with a shoulder injury, Iowa State's defense is led by another stud linebacker in A.J. Klein (73 tackles, INT), who was the Big 12's co-Defensive Player of the Year last season. The ball-hawking secondary is led by Durrell Givens, who has a national-best eight takeaways (three INTs, five fumble recoveries).

In the pass-happiest conference in the nation, Texas has done more than just hold its own, as it averages more than 40 ppg while racking up 441.1 ypg.

After being benched for Case McCoy in the fourth quarter of the Kansas game a few weeks ago, David Ash bounced back nicely in the win over Texas Tech. He needed to complete just 11-of-19 passes to accumulate 264 yards and three touchdowns. He's been rock solid all year long, completing nearly 68 percent of his passes for 1,990 yards with 15 TDs and five interceptions.

Taking a lot of pressure off Ash is an outstanding running game. Johnathan Gray is the team's leading rusher with 533 yards, and he had his second straight 100-yard rushing game last week. When down near the goal line, Joe Bergeron (464 yards) does most of the dirty work, as he has rushed in 16 touchdowns, only one behind KSU's Collin Klein for the Big 12 lead.

Mike Davis is coming off a career-high 165 receiving yards against Texas Tech. He now has three 100-yard receiving games this season, and he has clearly emerged as Ash's top target (38 receptions, 724 yards, six TDs).

The Texas defense has had its share of struggles this year (31.6 ppg), but it was stellar in last week's win, holding the high-powered Red Raiders to just two touchdowns.

Alex Okafor can get after the quarterback with the best of them, recording eight sacks and another 16 QB hurries. Quandre Diggs has a team-high three interceptions, and Steve Edmond and Kenny Vaccaro are great tacklers with 149 stops between them.

Iowa State has shown plenty of promise, but it lacks consistency, which is never a good trait to have, especially on the road against a ranked opponent. The Longhorns seem to be hitting their stride at the right time, and they should have no problem bowling over the Cyclones.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Texas 35, Iowa State 21

By Nicholas DeLorenzo, Associate College Football Editor, The Sports Network

GAME NOTES: Lone Star State rivals square off in Lubbock on Saturday, as the 20th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders play host to the Texas Longhorns in Big 12 Conference action.

After a 4-0 start to the season, Texas rose to No. 11 in the country, but it promptly fell from grace following back-to-back losses to West Virginia (48-45) and Oklahoma (63-21). Since then, however, the Longhorns have righted the ship with two straight wins, including a come-from-behind road victory over Kansas last week, 21-17.

Texas Tech lost a home bout to Oklahoma on Oct. 6 (41-20), but it responded from that defeat incredibly well with two signature wins over West Virginia (49-14) and on the road against TCU (56-53). The Red Raiders had their most difficult test to date last week in facing No. 4 Kansas State, losing 55-24, causing them to fall from No. 14 to No. 20 in this week's AP Poll.

"Last week's game was a disappointment," head coach Tommy Tuberville said. "We can't turn the ball over against a team that doesn't turn the ball over and have a chance to win."

"Texas is a big game for us," he continued. "They've struggled up-and-down in some areas as we have -- pretty similar, same record -- so pretty much similar teams. We'll tee it up and see what happens."

Texas has dominated the all-time series with Texas Tech, winning 45 of the 60 previous meetings. The Red Raiders have not beaten the Longhorns since 2008.

The Longhorns rank in the bottom-half of the league in terms of total offense (442.9 ypg), but they still rack up 41.5 ppg. In the high-flying Big 12, they are one of seven teams that average at least 40 ppg (along with Texas Tech).

David Ash (215.8 ypg, .687 completion percentage, 12 TDs, five INTs) has been the starter all season, but after throwing two interceptions last week, he was replaced in the fourth quarter by Case McCoy, who sparked a comeback by going 6-of-8 for 109 yards and the game-winning touchdown to D.J. Grant in the final minute. Head coach Mack Brown is sticking with Ash as his starter for now, but knows that he can rely on McCoy if need be.

"Not much discussion, David has done a great job," Brown said. "We're lucky to have two (quarterbacks). That's what we fought for in the competition in the spring and summer. David struggled (last week), but the offense struggled. I was excited for Case that he was prepared to come in. We feel like Case is the guy we can use when needed."

Complementing the quarterbacks is a stable of talented running backs. Joe Bergeron (450 yards), Johnathan Gray (427 yards), and Malcolm Brown (245 yards) have all shown explosion, but when the Longhorns get near the goal line it's usually Bergeron doing the dirty work. He's plunged into the end zone 15 times on the ground, one behind K-State's Collin Klein for the league lead.

Mike Davis (34 receptions, 559 yards) and Jaxon Shipley (30 receptions, 334 yards) have been steady in the receiving game, hauling in four touchdown passes apiece.

The Texas defense (32.8 ppg) has been vulnerable this year, especially on the ground (218 rushing ypg).

Alex Okafor is one of the conference's best defensive linemen, racking up 10 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and 16 QB hurries. Quandre Diggs has 10 passes defended and three interceptions.

Despite tying a season-low with 24 points last week, Texas Tech is still more than capable of scoring points in bunches (40.5 ppg).

The Red Raiders have traditionally gotten strong play out of their quarterbacks, and Seth Doege has been no exception this season. He's one of the nation's best signal callers, ranking seventh in the FBS in yards (2,540), fifth in completion percentage (.707), and first in passing touchdowns (30). He has thrown for 300 yards or more in all but two games this season.

Doege does a good job disrupting his passes to many different receivers as 10 players have recorded double-digit catches. Darrin Moore (43 receptions, 440 yards, eight TDs) and Eric Ward (41 receptions, 517 yards, 10 TDs) are among the nation's leaders in receiving touchdowns.

Even with the high-powered passing attack, Texas Tech still finds time for an effective running game, as Kenny Williams (504 yards), Eric Stephens (358 yards), and SaDale Foster (330 yards) each average more than five yards per carry and have scored three touchdowns apiece.

After starting the season so well, the defense has been a major letdown over the past two games, surrendering a total of 111 points. Even with back-to-back duds, the unit's points allowed per game is respectable (25.8 ppg) and it still ranks 12th nationally in total defense (300.0 ypg).

Cody Davis not only has a team-high 64 tackles but he's also picked off three passes. The team doesn't get much pressure on the quarterback with just 12 sacks, led by four from Kerry Hyder.

Surprisingly, Texas Tech hasn't score more than 24 points against a Texas team since 2008, but with Doege and company going up against a lackluster Longhorns defense, expect that to change in this matchup. The Red Raiders have taken huge steps backwards with their defense in recent weeks, and it'll surely get burned a few times again, but at home, they will be able to hold off the Longhorns.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Texas Tech 45, Texas 38

Team 1 2 3 4 Score Texas 7 0 0 14 21 Kansas 0 14 0 3 17

Box Score courtesy of The Sports Network