Iowa State Beaten by Nebraska, 77-14

LINCOLN, Neb. - Ahman Green ran for three touchdowns in the first 7:37 of the game while Bobby Newcombe and Scott Frost added two first-half touchdowns each as third-ranked Nebraska took out its frustration on Iowa State in a 77-14 Big 12 Conference game.

Upset after being bumped from the top spot in both polls despite hanging on for an overtime victory at Missouri last week, the Cornhuskers (10-0, 7-0 Big 12) scored nine of their 11 touchdowns in the first half.

"I thought the first half that we did pretty good," understated Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne. "We obviously weren't flat. We were well prepared. We had the first unit in there a little over a half. In a way, you would rather want to play them longer because we have such a long layoff."

Green, who finished with 209 yards on only 15 carries, scored on runs of 18, 49 and four yards as Nebraska recorded its 38th consecutive conference victory dating back to its days in the Big Eight.

"I hope so," responded Iowa State coach Dan McCarney when asked if he thought Green would turn pro after this season. "He is an outstanding football player and he has had a great college career."

The victory wrapped up the North Division for the Huskers, who will play the winner of the South Division for the Big 12 Conference's alliance bowl slot. That game will be played on December 6th at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Nebraska lost to Texas in last year's Big 12 Conference Championship Game.

The Cornhuskers, who recorded their fifth 10-win season in a row, wrap up their regular season at Colorado in two weeks. Nebraska won its 42nd consecutive home game, tying it with Texas for the fifth-longest Division I-A streak of all-time. The Longhorns won 42 in a row from 1968-76.

It was the fourth time this season Nebraska topped 55 points in a game and the most points scored in a game since its modern-day school-record of 84, set against Minnesota on September 17th, 1983. The Cornhuskers have scored 70 or more points at least once a season the last five years.

"I told the players that if we win today, we are in the championship game," said Osborne. "That's nice to have that in the bag. It won't be quite the same if we don't get the job done in Boulder (Colorado) either. The players will play real hard out there. We are going to beat Colorado's best effort, too."

Iowa State (1-9, 1-6) was the last conference school to beat the Cornhuskers in the regular season, recording a 19-10 upset on November 14th, 1992. Nebraska leads the all-time series 76-14-2 and has won 44 of 50 all-time meetings in Lincoln.

Green opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game with an 18-yard scamper. Newcombe, who entered the game with six punt returns for 116 yards, then raced 53 yards with a punt to make it 14-0 at the 4:02 mark.

Green pushed the lead to 21 with a 49-yard run 49 seconds later and extended the margin with a four-yard burst to make it 28-0 at the 7:37 mark.

The Cyclones finally got on the board with 5:05 left in the first quarter when Todd Bandhauer hooked up with Tyrone Watley on a 35-yard pass. This seemed to enrage the Huskers, who promptly marched down the field and scored on a 16-yard jaunt by Newcombe with 2:55 to go in the first quarter.

The onslaught continued in the second 15 minutes as Joel Mackovica ran nine yards for a score, and Frost bulled in from one yard to make it 49-7 with 7:53 left in the half. Sixty-three seconds later, Frost found Sheldon Jackson for a five-yard TD toss before capping the half with a two-yard run five second before halftime and a 63-7 margin.

Nebraska was held to second-half touchdowns by Frankie London and Josh Cobb around a nine-yard dash for a score by Iowa State's Darren Davis.

Frost added 88 yards while completing 8-of-9 passes for 111 yards. The 'Huskers churned out 594 yards of total offense, 473 on the ground.

Davis finished with 62 yards on 22 carries for Iowa State, which was limited to 228 yards. Bandhauer completed 11-of-36 passes for 153 yards.

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Players Mentioned

Todd Bandhauer

Darren Davis

Tyrone Watley

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics