Alamo Bowl: Iowa 19, Texas Tech 16

SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Nate Kaeding kicked a 47-yard field goal -- his fourth of the game -- with 44 seconds left Saturday to give the Iowa Hawkeyes their first postseason win in five years with a 19-16 victory over Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl.

"Those field goals are a credit to our offense," Kaeding said. "They've been great in the red zone all year. They needed me to step up."

Iowa overcame a pregame hamstring injury to leading rusher Ladell Betts to record its first bowl victory since beating Texas Tech, 27-0, in the 1996 Alamo Bowl. The Hawkeyes (7-5) also clinched their first winning season since 1997.

"There is a world of difference between six and seven wins," Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. "It was great to win a close game on national television. I think that we've turned the corner, finally."

Betts, who rushed for 1,056 yards in the regular season, tweaked his left hamstring during warmups and played in only two series.

Betts carried only twice for four yards. He spent most of the first half riding a bike in an attempt to get loose but did not return to the game.

"We were hoping some rest would do him good, but after he warmed up, we knew that it was a no-go," Ferentz said. "He had a great career for us and we wouldn't be here without him. He still has plenty of football to play. He will have a great career in the NFL."

Iowa was able to contain Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury, who passed for a school-record 3,502 yards during the season and led the nation with 364 completions.

He completed 29 of 49 passes for 309 yards Saturday, but was intercepted twice, once late in the third quarter after engineering a tying drive on the opening possession of the second half.

Kingsbury threw a pass right into the hands of 280-pound tackle Derrick Pickens, who returned it 11 yards to the Red Raiders' 11-yard line. The Texas Tech defense held, but Kaeding kicked a 31-yard field goal to give Iowa a 13-10 lead with 5:12 left in the period.

"I felt like we were ready to play. We just didn't execute when we got out there," Kingsbury said. "I thought we had a great week of practice and we'd come out there ready to play."

The Hawkeyes forced a punt on Texas Tech's next possession and Kaeding booted a 46-yarder to mnake it 16-10 four seconds into the final quarter.

"There's no question about Iowa being a good football team," Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach said. "They were a more mentally tough team today than we were. I think the biggest difference was their ability to rise at key times."

Texas Tech's Robert Treece kicked a 23-yard field goal with 8:29 left, then converted a 37-yarder to tie it again with 2:05 to go.

With 35,000 Texas Tech fans on hand, Saturday's contest felt like a home game for the Red Raiders (7-5). But Iowa kept Kingsbury off the field for most of the first quarter, opening the contest with a nearly 10-minute drive that Kaeding capped with a 36-yard field goal.

Iowa took a 10-0 lead on Aaron Greving's two-yard run with 3:19 left in the second quarter and appeared in position to get more points before halftime. But Kaeding missed a 31-yard field goal with 33 seconds left.

Texas Tech took advantage as Kingsbury found Nehemiah Glover over the middle for 35 yards. After an incompletion, punter Clinton Greathouse kicked a 50-yard field goal as time expired to make it 10-3 at halftime.

With momentum on its side, Texas Tech looked like a different team on its initial possession of the second half. Using a no-huddle offense and spread formations, Kingsbury drove the Red Raiders 65 yards in less than 3 1/2 minutes and tied it with a 20-yard pass to Wes Welker.

It was the first of six bowl assignments for schools from the Big Ten.

The loss continued Texas Tech's postseason frustration as the Red Raiders (7-5) suffered their fourth straight bowl loss. Despite passing for more than 6,000 yards in his career, Kingsbury is 0-2 in bowl play.