AMES, Iowa - Credit Iowa State's defense and two sensational runs for this one.

No. 11 Iowa State kept Kliff Kingsbury in check and Seneca Wallace ignited the offense with a 12-yard touchdown run that covered at least 60 yards of ground as the Cyclones beat Texas Tech 31-17 Saturday night.

Lane Danielsen followed Wallace's touchdown with a 79-yard TD run on a reverse to put Iowa State (6-1, 3-0 Big 12) ahead to stay.

The two big plays helped the Cyclones pile up 228 yards rushing, a key factor in keeping Kingsbury and the potent Tech offense off the field.

"We knew we had to run the football," Iowa State coach Dan McCarney said. "We got a lot of hard, tough yards in the second half."

Iowa State frustrated a Texas Tech offense that averaged 48.3 points over its last three games. Kingsbury, who threw for more than 400 yards in each of his two previous games, had just 272.

The Cyclones are off to their best start since winning their first seven games in 1938 and are 3-0 in league play for the first time since 1949.

"It seemed like we had tough field position and then turned the ball over," said Kingsbury, who lost a fumble and threw an interception. "They did a good job of scheming us and taking care of the football. If you lose the turnover battle, you usually lose the game."

Texas Tech (4-3, 1 (1)- contained Wallace, the Big 12's leader in passing efficiency, for 2 1/2 quarters, and the two teams were locked in a 3-3 tie before the Cyclones took advantage of two Tech fumbles to break it open.

The first, when Iowa State's Jeremy Loyd ripped the ball from Anton Paige, set up Wallace's touchdown, which is bound to show up on ISU highlight tapes for years to come.

Iowa State took over at midfield and Wallace completed passes of 28 yards to Danielsen and 17 yards to Lance Young before working his magic on second down at the 12.

Pressured as he dropped back to pass, Wallace retreated all the way to the 32, ran toward the right sideline, barely stayed inbounds as he continued looking for a receiver, then started back to his left at the 10.

Cutting behind a crunching block from running back Mike Wagner on cornerback Ricky Sailor, Wallace strolled into the end zone untouched.

"I didn't see much of it, only toward the end, but it was really special," Iowa State center Zach Butler said. "That's the type of thing he can do. It switched the whole ballgame around. That guy's going to keep you in every ballgame. I'm very happy he's on my side."

Wagner could take a bow as well for his part in the play.

"I saw him rolling back my way," Wagner said. "I knew everyone saw it but him. He was out there by himself on an island, and I had to take him home."

Tech came right back with a 15-play, 79-yard drive that Kingsbury finished with a 1-yard dive to tie it, but Iowa State needed only one play to regain the lead.

Starting the next possession at its 21, Iowa State caught the defense pursuing to the right when Danielsen came around from his flanker position running left. He got a good block downfield from Jack Whitver, shook off Joselio Hanson's attempted tackle at the 20 and outran the pursuit to the end zone.

"The defense was playing so aggressive," Danielsen said. "We felt like if Seneca moved a bit, we could go the other way and it would be there."

Six plays later, Iowa State's Matt Word knocked the ball loose as Kingsbury scrambled. Anthony Forrest recovered for the Cyclones at the Tech 40 and Iowa State needed only five plays to score, Wagner going the final 3 yards to make it 24-10.

Wallace's 20-yard TD pass to Young stretched the lead to 31-10 with 5:51 left and, more importantly, took 8:57 off the clock. Wallace finished 15-of-22 for 148 yards and no interceptions.

Kingsbury was 35-of-48 with one touchdown, a 1-yarder to Carlos Francis with 2:15 left - after the game had been decided.

"Our coverage was really good," McCarney said. "We kept the ball in front of us and made good tackles. We kept him guessing, tried to disguise some things and change it up. They took turns making big plays on defense."

The game had been hyped as showcasing the Big 12's top two offenses and two Heisman Trophy candidates - Wallace and Kingsbury. But the defenses dominated early and each team managed only a field goal in the first half.

"We didn't have trouble moving the ball," said Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, whose team outgained Iowa State 461-376. "The biggest thing that plagued us was turnovers and key plays, making key plays in key situations."