Texas Tech defeats previously undefeated Iowa State with a late TD

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Behren Morton drove Texas Tech 71 yards for the winning touchdown with 20 seconds left, and the Red Raiders denied No. 11 Iowa State its best start in program history with a 23-22 upset on Saturday.

Tahj Brooks' 5-yard touchdown run came after the Cyclones took their first lead on Rocco Becht's 44-yard touchdown pass to Carson Brown with 2:11 left.

“I’m so proud of this football team,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “It’s a big win for us because we qualify for the bowl and stay in the game.”

Brooks ran 25 times for 122 yards, surpassing 4,000 yards in his career. He has rushed for over 100 yards in all nine games this season.

“(Tahj Brooks) is one of the players I have the most respect for,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “I think he’s one of the great players in this conference, so he definitely deserves a lot of credit.”

The Red Raiders (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) won after losing consecutive games to Baylor and TCU. It was the highest-ranked opponent the Red Raiders have defeated since 2012 against No. 5 West Virginia.

Iowa State (7-1, 4-1) attempted its first 8-0 start and had several opportunities to do so, but failed.

Becht threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns, and Jayden Higgins caught 10 passes for 140 yards.

“We deserved this defeat because we didn’t live up to our expectations,” said Becht.

Morton, who left last week's game against TCU with an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder, completed 21 of 40 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice.

The Red Raiders overcame three false start penalties in their winning drive, and Morton converted a fourth-and-7 with an 8-yard pass to Josh Kelly. Brooks scored the game-winning touchdown after a direct snap.

The score with 20 seconds left was their last start in regulation since a win over then-No. 1 Texas in 2008.

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.