Cyclones Earn First Win at Nebraska Since 1977

LINCOLN, Neb. ? Iowa State overcame the loss of its starting quarterback and the Big 12 Conference's leading rusher to score its first win at Memorial Stadium since 1977. Paul Rhoads became the first ISU rookie coach to win five games in his inaugural season since George Veenker did it in 1931.

"It's a big win," Rhoads said. "(When) you don't win in a stadium on the road since 1977, it's big. This (Nebraska) is a program that has as much tradition as anybody in college football. This is a program that was in the top 25 a week ago. It's a big win. I don't want to belittle just how we're trying to build this football program. As a team, you take steps and you get over hurdles. The win last week versus Baylor was a dang big win because it was our fourth win of the season. It was our first Big 12 win in a long time and it was our first Big 12 win of the season. Now we've got two of them. We're excited about that. When the film's done tomorrow and we put this one to bed, Texas A&M's up next on the docket and we've got to go back to work."

The effort was nothing short of heroic. Iowa State (5-3/2-2 Big 12) led 9-7 at halftime and held that lead all the way to the end. The ISU defense picked off three Nebraska passes and recovered five Husker fumbles to spur the Cyclones on their first conference road win since 2005. NU lost fumbles three times inside the ISU 5-yard line and twice at the goal line.

Nebraska outgained Iowa State 362-239 but ISU quarterback Jerome Tiller did just enough for the Cyclones going 9-for-19 for 102 passing yards, while rushing for 65. Jesse Smith, David Sims and Michael O'Connell each picked off Nebraska passes. O'Connell also recovered one of five Husker fumbles.

"They've got an outstanding defense," Rhoads said. "Are you kidding me? Eight turnovers I think we gained, and the final score of this game was 9-7. Anybody else that had that kind of turnover advantage would've won by 30 or 40 points. Credit Nebraska. They've got an unbelievable defensive football team, and the coaching staff that got them to hang around."

Iowa State jumped on the board after recovering a fumble by Nebraska on the first play of the game. That turnover set up a career-long 52-yard field goal by Grant Mahoney. The Cyclones were forced to sit starting quarterback Austen Arnaud and go with redshirt freshman Tiller, who made his first start. Alexander Robinson, the Big 12 Conference's leading rusher coming into the game (105.3 ypg.) also could not play.

Nebraska capped a 42-yard, nine-play drive with a Dontrayevous Robinson three-yard TD rumble with 3:26 left in the first quarter to make it 7-3, Nebraska.

In the second quarter, Nebraska had driven deep into Iowa State territory, when Sims picked off his fourth pass of the season at the ISU 1-yard line and returned the ball 16 yards to the ISU 17. ISU could not sustain a drive. But on 4th-and-5, ISU punter Michael Brandtner raced 20 yards for a first down on a fake punt. Brandtner had a great first half, averaging 52 yards on four punts.

On the next play from scrimmage, Tiller hit Jake Williams with a 47-yard TD pass with 6:53 on the clock. The play marked Tiller's first TD pass of his career. The extra-point attempt was blocked and ISU held a 9-7 lead.

The next drive for both teams went for naught. Then the ISU defense made another big play. Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee hit Niles Paul on what was going to be a long touchdown pass but Paul fumbled the ball and Iowa State recovered the fumble in its endzone for a touchback.

After Iowa State was halted on its first drive of the second half, Nebraska took the ball at its own 48. The Huskers drove deep into ISU territory before Roy Halu rushed for 15 yards but fumbled and O'Connell recovered the ball in the end zone.

Nebraska drove to the five-yard line where Dontrayevous Robinson fumbled after a 13-yard run with 5:37 left in the third quarter and ISU recovered again. On the Huskers' next drive ISU recovered another Nebraska fumble, by Menelik Holt. Iowa State attempted a 49-yard field goal which was blocked. Nebraska returned the ball 34 yards to the ISU 35 with 12:47 left in the game, but the Cyclone defense forced the Huskers to go 3-and-out.

The Cyclone defense intercepted NU passes on the final two Nebraska drives over the final four minutes of the game, holding the Huskers at bay to preserve the win.

Iowa State will next travel to Texas A&M to take on the Aggies in College Station next Saturday. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Austen Arnaud

Austen Arnaud

Grant Mahoney

Grant Mahoney

Michael O'Connell

Michael O'Connell

Alexander Robinson

Alexander Robinson

David Sims

Jesse Smith

Jesse Smith

Jerome Tiller

Jerome Tiller

Jake Williams

Jake Williams

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics