AMES, Iowa-Zeb Noland threw for 233 yards and a touchdown, David Montgomery had 107 yards rushing and a score and Iowa State held off Akron 26-13 on Saturday for its first win of the season.
Connor Assalley added four field goals for the Cyclones (1-2), who put forth an underwhelming performance ahead of a brutal stretch in the Big 12.
Iowa State broke a 10-10 tie on a 1-yard TD run by Montgomery just before halftime. Assalley added field goals of 29 and 33 yards, and the Cyclones stopped Akron on downs with 2:07 left.
Kato Thomas had 153 yards passing and a touchdown and a pick for the Zips (2-1). They gained just 244 yards and didn't reach the red zone.
Baylor 26 Kansas 7
WACO, Texas-Charlie Brewer threw three touchdown passes and Baylor opened Big 12 play with a 26-7 victory over Kansas on Saturday to end a rare winning streak by the Jayhawks.
Brewer completed 19 of 27 passes for 221 yards and added 56 yards rushing for the Bears (3-1, 1-0 Big 12), who have already tripled their victory total from last year when their only win in coach Matt Rhule's first season came at Kansas.
Baylor had a 23-0 halftime lead after Brewer had TD passes to three different receivers. Brewer took every snap against Kansas until graduate transfer Jalan McClendon came in with less than four minutes left for the final drive-the two quarterbacks had shared time more extensively the first three games.
Kansas (2-2, 0-1) entered the game with consecutive wins for the first time since a 2-0 start in 2011. A 31-7 victory two weeks ago at Central Michigan ended the second-longest road losing streak in college football history, 46 games since 2009.
But the Jayhawks still haven't won a Big 12 road game in nearly 10 years. They have lost 41 true Big 12 road games in a row since a 35-33 win at Iowa State on Oct. 4, 2008.
Baylor jumped ahead when Chris Platt got behind a cornerback for a 22-yard catch in the back corner of the end zone. The Bears led 14-0 after Tyquan Thornton streaked past two defenders to the end zone for a 39-yard catch, and Josh Fleeks got one foot down in the back of the end zone for a 34-yard score over two defenders.
Kansas got its only touchdown late in the third quarter when Jeremiah Booker caught a 10-yard score from Peyton Bender.
That score was set up by a 72-yard run by Pooka Williams, who after not playing the opener was the first freshman in Kansas history to start his career with consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He finished with 14 carries for 89 yards against Baylor.
West Virginia 35,
Kansas State 6
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.-Will Grier threw five touchdown passes for the fifth time in his career and No. 12 West Virginia shook off a sloppy start to drill Kansas State 35-6 on Saturday in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Grier finished 25 of 35 for 356 yards and the five scores, three of them to David Sills, and two interceptions as the Mountaineers (3-0) had little trouble against the punchless Wildcats (2-2). Sills caught 10 passes for 73 yards and the three touchdowns. Marcus Simms added five receptions for 136 yards-including an 82-yard catch-and-run to open the scoring.
West Virginia outgained Kansas State 464-318, had four sacks and was never really threatened after getting it together late in the first half.
Playing for the first time in two weeks after a visit to North Carolina State was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence, the Mountaineers looked a bit off early. Each of their first two drives ended with turnovers. The game turned thanks to a curious play call by the Wildcats.
Trailing just 7-0 midway through the second quarter and facing fourth-and-inches at the Kansas State 43, the Wildcats opted to go for it. Quarterback Skylar Thompson ran a quick option and pitched the ball to running back Alex Barnes, who was hit for a 4-yard loss.
Seven plays later, Grier found Sills for a 1-yard score to put the Mountaineers up 14-0. After forcing Kansas State to a three-and-out, WestVirginia needed just 55 seconds to go 73 yards, the last one coming on a pretty grab in the back of the end zone by Sills, to make it 21-0 at the break.
The Mountaineers kept pointing to last season's 28-23 escape on the road against the Wildcats-when West Virginia was shut out in the second half and needed to hold on late-as proof they couldn't afford to let up. They didn't.
Grier hit Tevin Bush for a 62-yard score early in the third quarter and converted a Kansas State fumble into another 1-yard touchdown to Sills to put the Mountaineers up 35-3.
Skylar Thompson completed 11 of 17 passes for 145 yards for Kansas State. Alex Delton came on late with the game out of hand and finished 7 of12 for 82 yards. He also added 28 yards rushing but by then it was far too late for the Wildcats in the rare breather in what has been a closely contested series.
The last four meetings had been decided by a total of 13 points. Not this time.