Cyclones have hard time keeping up with NU offense
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BY RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star
When Nebraska finally revved its offensive engine, the Iowa State defense couldn’t catch the Huskers.
The Cyclones built a 10-0 lead midway through the second quarter, but they had converted on just one of the three Husker turnovers.
“They started running their fast offense,” said free safety James Smith, who forced one of NU’s fumbles and recovered the other in the first half. “I’m not saying we panicked, but we needed to get lined up. That’s when their offense started driving down the field on us.
“Their offense started clicking. Their confidence level went up as they started to score more points.”
After Nebraska cut the deficit to 10-7 with a halfback pass from Marlon Lucky to Sean Hill, Iowa State picked up a pair of first downs. But the Cyclones fell short on a fake punt run by Mike Brandtner, who came up a yard short.
Nebraska took over on its 18-yard line with 2:43 remaining in the first half and scored one minute, 35 seconds later after a 10-play drive.
“They got a little momentum with the two-minute drill when they drove down and caught us on our heels and ended up scoring just before the half,” said linebacker Jon Banks. “We were up 10-0 and they came out with a trick play and caught us off-guard.
“We went for the fake punt and they got it and scored. The two-minute drill to score before the half was a back-breaker.”
Turnovers and big plays were the difference-makers in Nebraska’s 35-17 win.
“It came down to a lot of big plays and the cost us, both on offense and on defense,” coach Gene Chizik said. “We were playing really well on defense and stopping the run fairly well and they run the toss, double pass.
“That might have gotten to us a little bit mentally. We scrambled a bit there for a while to get our defense back on track.”
Banks agreed.
“They caught us in a couple of bad situations. They had the right calls and they played well in the two-minute drill. We didn’t play as well as we would have liked,” he said. “That’s how the game goes. We forced some turnovers and they forced some turnovers.
“You just have to go out there and try and get a stop.”
Chizik said he would call the fake punt in the same situation again.
“We had the wind with us. When you’re playing on the road at a place like this, you have to take chances,” he said. “You have to go for the win. It was the right call and I’d call it again tomorrow. We were a yard short. If we had made it, then we’d all look great. We didn’t make it, so we all look bad.”
Iowa State finished with more first downs, more total yards and had a nearly two-to-one advantage in time of possession (39:12 to 20:48).
And although he wouldn’t claim any moral victories for the statistical advantage, Chizik said the Cyclones could learn from the game.
“You look at what’s good and you look at what’s bad,” he said. “Whatever is positive, you try to build on it. Whatever is negative, you try to get those things shored up.”
Quarterback Bret Meyer said the offense didn’t respond the way it should have in certain situations.
“Any time our defense is playing that good and getting us the ball, we need to convert on the opportunity. We can’t turn the ball over four times,” he said. “That interception (returned 93 yards by Bo Ruud for a touchdown) was on me. I read the wrong side. I shouldn’t have been throwing to him (Todd Blythe).”
Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
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