Iowa State shuts out Longhorns

AMES (AP) — Joel Lanning gave Iowa State and coach Paul Rhoads just the spark they needed.

Lanning threw a touchdown pass in his first start and freshman Mike Warren carved out another 100-yard rushing game, leading Iowa State to a much-needed 24-0 victory over Texas on Saturday night.

Though Lanning struggled at times with his passing, he did enough with his feet for the Cyclones (3-5, 2-3 Big 12) to break a three-game losing streak.

And it came as no surprise at all to Rhoads and Lanning’s teammates.

“I would say that it was very accurate to what I sort of expected to some degree,” Rhoads said. “He is a competitive, competitive kid. He likes the ball in his hands. He stood in there under pressure.

“He ran for productive yards whether it was scrambles or designed quarterback runs. He took some hits and got up and the team knew who was tough and who was in charge.”

Added wide receiver Allen Lazard, “Seeing him making plays and throwing his body around just gives you more juice.”

Lanning, a sophomore from nearby Ankeny, led a 66-yard scoring drive that gave the Cyclones a quick early lead and floated a perfectly thrown pass to Dondre Daley in the left corner of the end zone to make it 17-0 in the third quarter. Joshua Thomas plunged in from 1 yard out late in the game to finish off the Longhorns.

Texas (3-5, 2-3) had upset Oklahoma and dominated Kansas State in its two previous outings with an improved running game. But the Longhorns struggled to get anything going in this one and didn’t advance past the ISU 47 until the final 90 seconds.

The victory should ease some of the pressure on Rhoads, whose team won for just the second time in its last 13 Big 12 games.

Warren carried 32 times for 157 yards and a 3-yard touchdown in the first quarter, the fifth time in the last six games he has run for at least 126. Lanning added 64 yards on the ground and completed 19-of-37 passes for 188 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.

While the offense was impressive, the defense was even better in handing Rhoads the third shutout in his seven seasons.