Benson's toe just fine in running for 199 yards

 

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Texas heard all week about its 84th-ranked offense and struggling running game.

The Longhorns responded by saying the ground game would come.

Cedric Benson finished one yard shy of 200 on a banner day for Texas.

Did it ever.

Just when No. 7 Texas needed it the most, the Longhorns gained 245 yards rushing Saturday in a 21-10 win over No. 17 Iowa State (No. 17 AP, No. 18 ESPN/USA Today).

Cedric Benson ran for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries -- including a 59-yarder that put Texas ahead in the third quarter -- as the 'Horns revived a punishing ground game that all but disappeared.

"We were tired of playing like we weren't a top team,'' said Benson, who had 45 carries for 113 yards in the previous two games while playing with a nagging turf toe injury.

"It started to make some guys sick.''

Texas (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) sealed its 17th straight win at home on Selvin Young's 2-yard TD in the fourth. The play capped an 80-yard drive in which the Longhorns converted a fourth-and-1 at the Iowa State 21 and chewed up more than nine minutes.

"It's been a long time since we had a 19-play drive that changed the momentum of the game for us,'' Texas coach Mack Brown said.

Perhaps most importantly, the Longhorns ground game kept Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace off the field.

Texas' Royal-Memorial Stadium was soggy after a week of rain and under a steady drizzle Saturday. The Longhorns worried that would favor the shifty Wallace.

"I've always felt a wet field was to the advantage of the offense,'' Brown said. "We thought it was a Seneca Wallace day. We needed to get our running game back on track to keep the ball out of his hands.''

Iowa State (6-3, 3-2) has lost two straight since cracking the top 10 for the first time.

Held to just 43 yards passing in a loss to Oklahoma, Wallace was much better against Texas with 226 yards and a touchdown.

But he didn't make the big plays the Cyclones needed as Texas' second-ranked defense held Iowa State to 286 total yards. He was 18 of 31 passing with an interception and rushed for 15 yards.

A Heisman Trophy favorite two weeks ago, Wallace might have surged back to the front of the race with a win or a big game.

"We're the only team in the country to play back-to-back games on the road against top 10 teams,'' Iowa State coach Dan McCarney said. "It's been a long two weeks. We're sick of losing.''

Wallace couldn't do anything to counter Benson's performance. Benson ran for 61 yards and a 2-yard TD in Texas' opening drive for a 7-0 lead.

The Longhorns would come back to him after the Cyclones grabbed the lead.

On the 59-yard run, Benson swept left, cut back between a pair of defenders and raced to the end zone before stretching out over a tackler at the 2 to give Texas a 14-10 lead.

Turnovers hurt Texas in the first half. Benson fumbled and Iowa State's JaMaine Billups intercepted a tipped pass.

The Cyclones led 10-7 at halftime on Wallace's 16-yard touchdown pass to Lance Young and Adam Benike's 40-yard field goal.

The Cyclones dominated the second quarter but missed a chance for a TD when they couldn't punch it in on first-and-goal from the 2. Benike kicked a 24-yard field goal that was wiped out by a penalty, and he missed the retry from 29.

"That was a huge momentum swing,'' McCarney said. "That was as big a series as you could have and to come away with no points really hurt us.''

Iowa State wasted another opportunity when Nik Moser blocked a Texas punt in the third quarter and took over at the Texas 29. But the Cyclones picked up just one first down, and Benike missed a 32-yarder that would have cut the Texas lead to 14-13.