ACC & Big 12 Week 12 Roundup: Iowa State survives Texas to earn bowl eligibility

Iowa State kicker Connor Assalley made a 36-yard field goal as time expired Saturday, lifting the Cyclones to a 23-21 win over the 19th-ranked Texas Longhorns.

The Cyclones offense was led by running back Breece Hall, who had 24 carries for 101 yards, and wide receiver Deshaunte Jones who had seven receptions for 144 yards and a score. Quarterback Brock Purdy also finished the day with 354 yards passing and two touchdowns.

“They continue to fight when I think everyone has written us off at times,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said. “Our kids just keep playing.”

Iowa State held the advantage most of the game, but the Longhorns rallied from a 13-point deficit with back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger led the comeback attack with a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keontay Ingram, and then another 7-yarder to wide receiver Malcolm Epps to give Texas a 21-20 lead with 5:37 left to play.

After a Cyclones punt with 4:01 remaining, Texas had the opportunity to run out the clock, but the Iowa State defense forced a three-and-out, which led to the game-winning drive.

“My mindset was we were going to have to go on to the field,” said Ehlinger after the Longhorns’ final score. “We were celebrating that one too much. We did and couldn’t get a first down.”

Ehlinger was the leading passer and rusher for the Longhorns, finishing with 273 yards through the air and 27 on the ground. Texas ran the ball a total of 26 times for 54 yards, with running backs Roschon Johnson and Keontay Ingram combining for the other 27 yards.

“Obviously a really, really poor performance by our offense the first two quarters,” said Texas head coach Tom Herman. “Not being able to run the ball the way we thought we would be able to was the biggest difference.”

Now let’s take a quick look at a few more results from Week 12 in the ACC and Big 12:

Pittsburgh 34, North Carolina 27: The Panthers picked up their first win against the Tar Heels in seven years after an overtime battle on Thursday night. Quarterback Kenny Pickett finished the day with 359 passing yards, a passing touchdown and ran for a pair of scores, one of which occurred in the opening possession of overtime.

No. 3 Clemson 52, Wake Forest 3: The Tigers won their 26th consecutive game and completed a second-straight perfect ACC regular season as quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished 21-27 for 272 yards and tied his career record with four touchdowns.

Virginia Tech 45, Georgia Tech 0: The Hokies handed the Yellow Jackets their first shutout in 22 years as quarterback Hendon Hooker completed 9 of 13 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns and added two more scores on the ground.

Syracuse 49, Duke 6: Syracuse snapped its four-game losing streak with a routing of the Blue Devils after quarterback Tommy DeVito threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, and running back Mo Neal carried the ball 17 times for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Louisville 34, NC State 20: The Cardinals clinched bowl eligibility with their win over the Wolfpack on Saturday. Quarterback Micale Cunningham threw four touchdown passes, including a 74-yarder to wide receiver Tutu Atwell.

No. 10 Oklahoma 34, No. 13 Baylor 31: The Sooners rallied from a 25-point deficit and kept Baylor scoreless in the second half to hand the Bears their first loss of the season. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw four touchdown passes to tie up the game, and then kicker Gabe Brkic made a 31-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining to give Oklahoma the win.

No. 22 Oklahoma State 31, Kansas 13: Cowboys running back and Heisman hopeful Chuba Hubbard carried the ball 23 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and wide receiver Dillon Stoner added two more scores through the air in 51-yard and 43-yard touchdown catches.

West Virginia 24, No. 24 Kansas State 20: The Mountaineers survived the Wildcats after cornerback Hakeem Bailey intercepted quarterback Skylar Thompson’s pass toward the end zone in the final seconds of the game. West Virginia quarterback Jarrett Doege, who made his first start since last November, led the Mountaineers with 234 passing yards and three touchdowns, including a 50-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to wide receiver Bryce Wheaton.

TCU 33, Texas Tech 31: The Horned Frogs pulled off a seesaw win against the Red Raiders as kicker Jonathan Song completed four out of four field goals, including a game-winning 20-yarder. Despite the loss, Texas Tech quarterback completed four touchdown passes and 333 total yards.