TCU Football: 3 takeaways from win over Iowa State in Week 5

TCU football hosted Iowa State in a Week 5 Big 12 bout, but what did we learn from the Horned Frogs’ victory over the Cyclones?

Before the season began, you may have looked at a Week 5 matchup between Iowa State and TCU and you may have thought it would be a statement game for either side as they would remain in the race for the conference title with a chance to move up in the rankings.

The Horned Frogs, coming off two consecutive losses which have knocked them out of the rankings, were able to pick up a victory over Iowa State which had lost two of its first three games of the year. This wasn’t exactly the matchup fans were expecting at the start of the year.

This matchup did, however, come down to the wire as both sides were evenly-matched. The Horned Frogs were able to hit the game-winning field goal with under 40 seconds left.

What’d we learn from the Horned Frogs’ victory over Iowa State?

3. TCU secondary bounced back in big way

After two straight tough weeks against Texas and Ohio State, the secondary was a bit down on its luck heading into a Week 5 matchup with Iowa State. The Cyclones had a strong quarterback by the name of Zeb Noland who has breakout potential, but the Horned Frogs clamped down on the young passer and made him work for every yard.

In fact, Noland wasn’t able to muster much through the air, completing 14-of-28 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. They shut down all the big plays down the field which was huge for this defensive backfield which was looking for some confidence.

This is a huge boost heading into the heart of Big 12 play as the conference loves to air the ball out. We’ll see if the Horned Frogs can build on this strong showing in Week 7, after a bye, against Texas Tech’s aerial attack.