FORT WORTH, Texas _ The best thing Gary Patterson could say about Saturday against Iowa State was "It's a win."
Indeed, TCU's 41-20 victory against Iowa State was a win.
Quarterback Kenny Hill threw for one touchdown, ran for another and was turnover free, Kyle Hicks caught a touchdown pass and ran for a touchdown, and the defense allowed a season-low in yards and points.
But it missed some elements for Patterson.
"It's a win. I'm not happy about it, but it's a win," the veteran head coach said. "Too many people got banged up and not enough emotion."
Receiver/returner KaVontae Turpin, defensive end Josh Carraway and cornerback Jeff Gladney all left the game with injuries, and Patterson said he knew nothing about their status.
Carraway and Gladney were treated on the training tables, but Turpin, the team's all-purpose yardage leader a year ago and one of the Big 12's most feared returners, was taken under the medical tent to shield him from view. He needed help leaving the field, not using his left leg, but later walked on his own to the locker room.
But whatever his and the others' availability from here, the Frogs (2-1) have a winning record again, are 1-0 in the Big 12 and appear to have shaken off last week's two-overtime loss to Arkansas.
"We were like, we've got to bounce back, we've got to be 1-0 in the conference," Hill said. "We got that goal done today."
Hill, who said he's past the scrutiny of a celebration penalty last week, completed 19 of 30 passes and ended a streak of seven games with an interception. His 1-yard run in the second quarter gave him a team-high six on the season. His 25-yard touchdown pass to Hicks gave TCU a 31-7 lead on the first possession out of halftime.
It put the game in hand for TCU, which opened with a three-and-out on defense and a field goal on offense.
It wasn't enough for Patterson.
"Here's what happens when you don't have emotion: People get hurt," he said. "When you're the nail and not the hammer, you get hurt. It's as simple as that."
Hill understood the message.
"It's just, we've got to keep getting better each week," he said. "Like this game, that's not good enough. We've got to do better next game. That's just the mentality. It starts with him, and it carries on to us."
Of course, it was not entirely a gloom-and-doom day.
Hicks's 64-yard touchdown run in the first quarter made things brighter quickly, and Derrick Green and Trevorris Johnson also had touchdown runs. Ryan Graf and Brandon Hatfield each made a 37-yard field goal.
Defensively, tackle L.J. Collier and end Mat Boesen, making his TCU debut, each had a sack and a half, and tackle Aaron Curry and end Tipa Galeai each had one. The five sacks matched TCU's season total coming in.
Linebacker Ty Summers led TCU with 16 tackles. Linebacker Sammy Douglas, who started against Arkansas and had 17 tackles, didn't start, with Travin Howard back at linebacker. Patterson did not address that change.
Iowa State (0-3) managed 355 yards on 83 plays, a 4.3 average.
"He seemed happy we got the win, our first Big 12 win," cornerback Deante Gray said of Patterson. "We as a team know we have small things to tweak and stuff, like small mistakes. Other than that, he was happy with the win. We're all happy with the win. Looking forward to Friday."
