Shane Buechele threw for 171 yards and a score, and Texas opened Big 12 play by beating Iowa State 17-7 on Thursday night.
Chris Warren III added a rushing TD for the Longhorns (2-2, 1-0), who improved to 13-2 against the Cyclones (2-2, 0-1).
Warren had an 11-yard touchdown run and Toneil Carter caught a 22-yard TD pass from Buechele to give Texas a 14-0 halftime lead.
The game truly hinged on a pair of plays in a 21-second span late in the third quarter that went the Longhorns’ way.
Texas fumbled away a kickoff deep in its own territory, but the runner was ruled down on replay. Iowa State then took a fumbled backward pass into the end zone to briefly pull within 14-13, but the officials ruled the ball was going forward after a review.
Jacob Park threw for 246 yards and had a career-high three interceptions for Iowa State, which had scored at least 40 points in each of its first three games.
