Iowa State holds off Nebraska, 34-27
By Terry Hersom, Journal sports editor | Posted: Sunday, November 07, 2004
Iowa State's Todd Blythe makes a reception over Nebraska's Lornell McPherson during the first half Saturday in Ames. Iowa State beat Nebraska 34-27. (AP photo)
AMES, Iowa -- Dan McCarney kept saying his young Iowa State football team had a bright future.
Maybe it was just that eternal optimism most coaches have.
However, there is reason now to believe the man who has coached Iowa State to more victories than any other head coach.
Win No. 43, surpassing Clay Stapleton's 42 wins from 1958-67, was bigger than most as the Cyclones turned back Nebraska 34-27 on a balmy November afternoon at Jack Trice Stadium.
It was the third win in a row for Iowa State. And, don't look now, but in this wacky world that is the Big 12's North Division, Iowa State is now tied for first place.
In fact, if the Cyclones, 5-4 overall and 3-3 in Big 12 games, can win their final two games, they'll be headed for the conference championship game.
Redshirt freshman phenoms Bret Meyer and Todd Blythe scorched the Husker defense for 188 yards in the first half and Iowa State sent Nebraska back to Lincoln with a loss for the second time in three years.
The Huskers also lost here two years ago, bowing 36-14, before answering that with a 28-0 verdict last season in Lincoln.
Before 2002, Nebraska had won 23 times in 24 years since 1977, losing only a visit here in 1992.
"I can't wait to get back on the field and coach this football team,'' said McCarney, 43-71 in 10 seasons at the ISU helm. "They're as coachable a group as I can remember.''
Blythe, the 2002 Iowa Class 4A player of the year at Indianola, hauled in eight first-half passes for 188 yards, helping the Cyclones build a 24-7 halftime lead.
He didn't add to those career-high totals in the second half, but he played despite dislocating a finger on the last play of the half.
"Todd Blythe is a special player,'' said McCarney. "He's one of the better receivers in the Big 12 and he's only a redshirt freshman. He will continue to get better and better.''
Blythe's nifty 17-yard reception with five seconds left in the first half was his ninth of the season, eclipsing a school record held by two former Cyclones,
Tracy Henderson in 1983 and Ty Watley in 1997.
Meanwhile, Jon Davis, one of several metro Omaha athletes on the ISU roster, helped fend off the team he rooted for as a youngster, breaking a 77-yard touchdown play that gave Iowa State a 34-14 lead late in the third quarter.
That became the difference-maker after a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives pulled the Huskers within 34-27 with 5:01 to play.
Iowa State couldn't start breathing easy until middle linebacker Tim Dobbins, a junior from Nashville, Tenn., picked off the last of Nebraska quarterback Joe Dailey's 42 passes with 2:45 to play and the Huskers out of timeouts.
"Our game plan was to throw the ball today,'' said Dailey, who was 18 of 42 for 230 yards. "We wanted to take advantage of their corners. I take my hat off to their defense. They played hard today.
"I guessed wrong on the last throw. I should have gotten the ball higher. He (Dobbins) made a good play to sneak in there and pick it off.''
It was the only turnover in the contest for Nebraska, which fell to 5-4 in its first season under Coach Bill Callahan.
Tailback Cory Ross, nursing a tender foot, wriggled his way 126 yards on 19 carries, scoring the first of Nebraska's three second-half touchdowns.
Understudy Brandon Jackson added two short TD runs for the Huskers' final two scores.
"We had a great chance to put it away earlier, but it wouldn't have been so exciting for the fans,'' deadplanned ISU's McCarney.
Meyer, who led Atlantic to Iowa's Class 3A prep championship two years ago, finished with a career-high 345 passing yards and also had three scoring tosses in a 17-for-38 effort. The percentage might have been better if not for a half-dozen or so dropped passes.
"It was kind of like throwing the ball around in the backyard,'' said Meyer. "Fundamentals were the key to success today.''
Meyer wasn't the only "Bret'' to make an impact for Iowa State.
It was also a big day for Bret Culbertson, a 6-5, 195-pound freshman from Des Moines Lincoln who is the third walk-on kicker McCarney has tried while an injury has kept senior veteran Tony Yelk on the sidelines.
Culbertson was perfect on four PAT kicks and also two field goals 28 and 37 yards.
The first of these seemed to mark yet another red zone disappointment for Iowa State, which came into the game ranked last in the conference in not only that department but also in scoring and total offense.
A 40-yard bomb to Blythe set up the field goal and then it was a 51-yarder to the lanky receiver that cleared the way to a four-yard touchdown throw from Meyer to freshman tight end Ben Barkema, filling in for injured senior Brett Kellogg.
Nebraska tightened things up with a 50-yard scoring drive, pulling within 10-7 after fullback Steve Kriewald's athletic six-yard catch from Dailey on a clutch third-down play.
Iowa State took control, though, with two scores in the last six minutes of the half.
First, tailback Stevie Hicks capped a 93-yard scoring drive on a 12-yard TD run with 5:59 left before intermission.
Then, the Cyclones capitalized on two straight special teams mishaps for the Huskers.
Nebraska placekicker Sandro DeAngelis hooked a 24-yard field goal try to the left with 4:17 remaining in the half. Then, with 60 seconds on the first-half clock, DeAngelis had a 33-yarder blocked by sophomore defensive end Shawn Moorehead, starting in place of injured senior Tyson Smith.
"We had a lot of guys injured,'' said McCarney, noting that senior linebacker Brandon Brown had sustained an ankle injury that will almost certainly end his season. "Our guys showed a lot of heart. In the end, we just made a few more plays.''
Moorehead's field goal block gave Iowa State the ball at its 43 and the Cyclones quickly moved 57 yards on a 12-yard scramble by Meyer and completions of 14, 14 and 17 yards, all to Blythe.
"We talked all week about having to get off to a faster start,'' said Iowa State senior center Luke Vander Sanden, a former West Lyon athlete. "Our defense has come up huge for us all year.''
Vander Sanden and left guard Kory Pence had one of the game's pivotal plays, as well, paving the way to a first down for Meyer on a fourth-down quarterback sneak with 53 seconds left.
Iowa State, now tied with Nebraska for the North lead, each at 3-3, has an open date next Saturday before facing two games that could catapult them into the Big 12 championship game.
That will happen if the Cyclones can win Nov. 20 at Kansas State and Nov. 27 at home against Missouri, which lost a chance at sharing first place in the North with a loss Saturday to Kansas State.
Maybe it was just that eternal optimism most coaches have.
However, there is reason now to believe the man who has coached Iowa State to more victories than any other head coach.
Win No. 43, surpassing Clay Stapleton's 42 wins from 1958-67, was bigger than most as the Cyclones turned back Nebraska 34-27 on a balmy November afternoon at Jack Trice Stadium.
It was the third win in a row for Iowa State. And, don't look now, but in this wacky world that is the Big 12's North Division, Iowa State is now tied for first place.
In fact, if the Cyclones, 5-4 overall and 3-3 in Big 12 games, can win their final two games, they'll be headed for the conference championship game.
Redshirt freshman phenoms Bret Meyer and Todd Blythe scorched the Husker defense for 188 yards in the first half and Iowa State sent Nebraska back to Lincoln with a loss for the second time in three years.
The Huskers also lost here two years ago, bowing 36-14, before answering that with a 28-0 verdict last season in Lincoln.
Before 2002, Nebraska had won 23 times in 24 years since 1977, losing only a visit here in 1992.
"I can't wait to get back on the field and coach this football team,'' said McCarney, 43-71 in 10 seasons at the ISU helm. "They're as coachable a group as I can remember.''
Blythe, the 2002 Iowa Class 4A player of the year at Indianola, hauled in eight first-half passes for 188 yards, helping the Cyclones build a 24-7 halftime lead.
He didn't add to those career-high totals in the second half, but he played despite dislocating a finger on the last play of the half.
"Todd Blythe is a special player,'' said McCarney. "He's one of the better receivers in the Big 12 and he's only a redshirt freshman. He will continue to get better and better.''
Blythe's nifty 17-yard reception with five seconds left in the first half was his ninth of the season, eclipsing a school record held by two former Cyclones,
Tracy Henderson in 1983 and Ty Watley in 1997.
Meanwhile, Jon Davis, one of several metro Omaha athletes on the ISU roster, helped fend off the team he rooted for as a youngster, breaking a 77-yard touchdown play that gave Iowa State a 34-14 lead late in the third quarter.
That became the difference-maker after a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives pulled the Huskers within 34-27 with 5:01 to play.
Iowa State couldn't start breathing easy until middle linebacker Tim Dobbins, a junior from Nashville, Tenn., picked off the last of Nebraska quarterback Joe Dailey's 42 passes with 2:45 to play and the Huskers out of timeouts.
"Our game plan was to throw the ball today,'' said Dailey, who was 18 of 42 for 230 yards. "We wanted to take advantage of their corners. I take my hat off to their defense. They played hard today.
"I guessed wrong on the last throw. I should have gotten the ball higher. He (Dobbins) made a good play to sneak in there and pick it off.''
It was the only turnover in the contest for Nebraska, which fell to 5-4 in its first season under Coach Bill Callahan.
Tailback Cory Ross, nursing a tender foot, wriggled his way 126 yards on 19 carries, scoring the first of Nebraska's three second-half touchdowns.
Understudy Brandon Jackson added two short TD runs for the Huskers' final two scores.
"We had a great chance to put it away earlier, but it wouldn't have been so exciting for the fans,'' deadplanned ISU's McCarney.
Meyer, who led Atlantic to Iowa's Class 3A prep championship two years ago, finished with a career-high 345 passing yards and also had three scoring tosses in a 17-for-38 effort. The percentage might have been better if not for a half-dozen or so dropped passes.
"It was kind of like throwing the ball around in the backyard,'' said Meyer. "Fundamentals were the key to success today.''
Meyer wasn't the only "Bret'' to make an impact for Iowa State.
It was also a big day for Bret Culbertson, a 6-5, 195-pound freshman from Des Moines Lincoln who is the third walk-on kicker McCarney has tried while an injury has kept senior veteran Tony Yelk on the sidelines.
Culbertson was perfect on four PAT kicks and also two field goals 28 and 37 yards.
The first of these seemed to mark yet another red zone disappointment for Iowa State, which came into the game ranked last in the conference in not only that department but also in scoring and total offense.
A 40-yard bomb to Blythe set up the field goal and then it was a 51-yarder to the lanky receiver that cleared the way to a four-yard touchdown throw from Meyer to freshman tight end Ben Barkema, filling in for injured senior Brett Kellogg.
Nebraska tightened things up with a 50-yard scoring drive, pulling within 10-7 after fullback Steve Kriewald's athletic six-yard catch from Dailey on a clutch third-down play.
Iowa State took control, though, with two scores in the last six minutes of the half.
First, tailback Stevie Hicks capped a 93-yard scoring drive on a 12-yard TD run with 5:59 left before intermission.
Then, the Cyclones capitalized on two straight special teams mishaps for the Huskers.
Nebraska placekicker Sandro DeAngelis hooked a 24-yard field goal try to the left with 4:17 remaining in the half. Then, with 60 seconds on the first-half clock, DeAngelis had a 33-yarder blocked by sophomore defensive end Shawn Moorehead, starting in place of injured senior Tyson Smith.
"We had a lot of guys injured,'' said McCarney, noting that senior linebacker Brandon Brown had sustained an ankle injury that will almost certainly end his season. "Our guys showed a lot of heart. In the end, we just made a few more plays.''
Moorehead's field goal block gave Iowa State the ball at its 43 and the Cyclones quickly moved 57 yards on a 12-yard scramble by Meyer and completions of 14, 14 and 17 yards, all to Blythe.
"We talked all week about having to get off to a faster start,'' said Iowa State senior center Luke Vander Sanden, a former West Lyon athlete. "Our defense has come up huge for us all year.''
Vander Sanden and left guard Kory Pence had one of the game's pivotal plays, as well, paving the way to a first down for Meyer on a fourth-down quarterback sneak with 53 seconds left.
Iowa State, now tied with Nebraska for the North lead, each at 3-3, has an open date next Saturday before facing two games that could catapult them into the Big 12 championship game.
That will happen if the Cyclones can win Nov. 20 at Kansas State and Nov. 27 at home against Missouri, which lost a chance at sharing first place in the North with a loss Saturday to Kansas State.
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