College football: Texas opens Big 12 play with 17-7 defeat of Iowa State

Shane Buechele threw for 171 yards and a score, and Texas opened Big 12 play by beating Iowa State 17-7 on Thursday night in Ames, Iowa.

Chris Warren III added a rushing touchdown 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 hinged on a two in a 21-second span late in the third quarter that went the Longhorns’ way.

Texas fumbled away a kickoff deep in its territory, but the runner was ruled down on replay. Iowa State then took a fumbled backward pass into the end zone to appear to pull within 14-13, but officials ruled the ball was going forward after a review.

Jacob Park threw for 246 yards and had a career-high three passes intercepted for for Iowa State, which had scored at least 40 points in each of its first three games.

“The defensive performance was phenomenal,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “To hold a team to 10 yards on the ground, to get the turnovers and fourth-down stops that we did in their stadium was impressive.”

Wolfpack’s Stevens is ready to play

North Carolina State said cornerback Mike Stevens was expected to make his long-awaited season debut this week against Syracuse.

Stevens was listed as probable on the injury report Thursday and coach Dave Doeren said after practice that “Mike’s playing.”

Stevens has 22 career starts for the Wolfpack (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). He has not played this season because of a knee injury suffered in training camp.

Etc.

Austin Proehl, North Carolina’s top receiver, will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury suffered in a loss last week to Duke. ... Auburn tailbacks Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway are expected to both be able to play Saturday when the No. 13 Tigers host No. 24 Mississippi State. Two of the team’s better playmakers, Johnson and Pettway have not been on the field at the same time because of suspensions and injuries.