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Webb's big day propels Texas Tech past Iowa State

Oct 13, 2013 - 12:21 AM Lubbock, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - True freshman Davis Webb threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns in his first collegiate start to lead 20th-ranked Texas Tech to a 42-35 win over Iowa State.

Webb went 35-for-56 and showed no signs of having never started a college game. He started in place of another true freshman, Baker Mayfield, who injured his knee in the Red Raiders' win last week over Kansas.

"Baker wasn't ready to go, so Davis was the guy, and he played well," Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury said. "We have some throws out there that he'd like to have back and some things he could have hit, but I liked the way he handled himself and stayed composed."

The Red Raiders (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) had three backs rush for 80-plus yards and a touchdown apiece in a 251-yard team effort. SaDale Foster, who had the game- winning touchdown, had nine carries for 87 yards, DeAndre Washington had 13 carries for 88 yards and Kenny Williams had 17 carries for 80 yards.

Texas Tech also had three receivers with a touchdown apiece. Eric Ward had seven catches for 61 yards, Bradley Marquez had six catches for 50 yards and Jakeem Grant had five catches for 90 yards. Jace Amaro led the team with nine receptions and 143 yards.

Iowa State (1-4, 0-2) was led by a rushing score apiece from Aaron Wimberly, Shontrelle Johnson and Jeff Woody. Sam B. Richardson was 15-for-38 with 168 and one touchdown in defeat.

The Red Raiders started the scoring with an 11-play, 80-yard drive. On a 3rd- and-1 from the Cyclones' 34-yard line, Washington rushed to pick up the first down. That led to a 33-yard touchdown pass from Webb to Grant.

On the kickoff following the score, Iowa State's Jarvis West wasted no time answering by coming up with a 95-yard touchdown return to tie the game.

"Once I caught the ball, I just realized that I had to make the right reads," West said of his return. "It was down to one person, and I knew I could make him miss it."

Texas Tech then had another 11-play drive, this time for 77 yards, and another score. On a 3rd-and-4 in the red zone, Webb threw a pass into the hands of a Cyclone defensive back, but Foster muscled the ball away to get the first down with a 13-yard catch. One play later, Ward was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, but redeemed himself with a 4-yard touchdown catch after Washington rushed for 12 yards.

The Cyclones went three-and-out to end the first quarter. Texas Tech attempted to take advantage of the lack of offense by Iowa State, but Ryan Bustin missed a 34-yard field goal attempt on the following drive.

Iowa State went three-and-out again on its next possession, but got a break on the punt when a blocker for Texas Tech's Keenon Ward was hit by the ball, causing a fumble which was recovered by the Cyclones' Levi Peters at the Texas Tech 33-yard line.

West caught a 15-yard pass on 3rd-and-9 to extend the drive, and the next play was a 4-yard option toss from Richardson to Wimberly for a touchdown that tied the game again.

Texas Tech continued the trading of scores with an 11-play, 86-yard drive capped by Williams' push across the goal line on a 4th-and-1. Webb led the drive by completing a pair of 17-yard passes, one to Williams and the other to Grant. Amaro later contributed a 28-yard catch which brought Tech to the ISU 10-yard line, then had a catch for nine yards which preceded the Williams touchdown.

The Cyclones came right back with a touchdown of their own. Richardson ran for 38 yards on the first play of the drive to get to the Texas Tech 37-yard line. Quenton Bundrage later caught a 19-yard pass to get to the 8-yard line, and Wimberly rushed for five yards before Jeff Woody ran it in from 3-yards out to tie the game at 21-21 with 2:57 left in the first half.

Webb came out ready to score once again, however, as he completed six passes in a row on the ensuing possession. He hit Ward for 16 yards, Amaro for a pair of 12-yard gains, Marquez for six yards, Grant for a loss of two and the last two to Marquez, who fumbled the ball on the second catch and Iowa State recovered on their own 24-yard line with just over a minute left in the half.

Texas Tech scored the first points of the second half to move back in front. Foster had a 22-yard rush and Williams had a 17-yard run to move the Raiders down the field before Webb finished the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Marquez midway through the third quarter.

It wasn't until the fourth quarter when the crowd saw more points. Webb hit Williams with a 14-yard pass and then Amaro for a 39-yarder to bring the Red Raiders into Cyclones territory. Washington ended the drive with a 12-yard score for a 35-21 lead with 12:06 to play.

Jeremiah George intercepted Webb shortly afterward, however, to give the Cyclones the ball at Texas Tech's 20-yard line. It took Johnson two rushes to get into the end zone, one for 17 yards and then a 3-yarer for the score that brought the Cyclones within a touchdown.

Two drives later, the Red Raiders' Foster ran for 38 yards to put Texas Tech up by a 42-28 score with 5:30 left to play.

Iowa State then drove 13 plays for 80 yards, capped off by an E.J. Bibbs 16- yard touchdown reception with 1:54 remaining. However, Texas Tech was able to run the clock out to seal the victory and remain unbeaten.

Game Notes

Texas Tech leads the series all-time series, 9-3 ... First-year coach Kliff Kingsbury became the first Texas Tech coach in school history to win his first six games ... Iowa State remained perfect in the red zone this season by scoring a touchdown on each of its four opportunities.