“We knew this game would go four quarters, and
the plays we made in the second half were the
difference.”- NU Coach Frank Solich
NU uses fourth-quarter barrage to seal win
BY DAVID DIEHL
AMES, Iowa — Amidst thousands of dejected
Iowa State fans after Nebraska’s late-game domi
nance, the accountant for the Cyclones' athletic
department had to be breathing a little easier.
The department’s pocketbook was safe
because, after NU’s four-touchdown fourth quar
ter, a new pair of goal posts wouldn’t be needed.
A 36-point second half barrage from NU’s
offense, including those 28 fourth quarter points,
crushed any upset hopes that ISU fans might have
had, as NU bounced back from a slow start and
dismantled the Cyclones 49-27 in front of50,074 at
Jack Trice Stadium.
Putting up 500 total yards vs. the Cyclones, and
running behind three Correll Buckhalter touch
downs, Nebraska turned around its 14-13 halftime
deficit and a slim 21-20 lead in the fourth quarter.
Three unanswered Husker touchdowns in
seven minutes had Iowa State fans heading for the
exits midway through the final period.
"We knew this game would go four quarters,”
NU Coach Frank Solich said, "and the plays we
made in the second half were the difference.”
The first 30 minutes were set against a back
drop of spirited Cyclone fans hoping for ISU’s first
win vs. Nebraska since its 1992 shocking upset
overNU, 19-10.
Behind the efficient passing of Iowa State quar
terback Sage Rosenfels and receivers of J.J. Moses
and Craig Campbell, who combined for 277
receiving yards, it looked early on as if the goal
posts in Ames may come down once again.
Nebraska led for only 2:33 of the Entire first half
and were behind 7-0 early with Campbell’s 53-yard
touchdown pass from Rosenfels with 9:41 left in
the first quarter. The Huskers’ cause was hindered
by two missed field-goal attempts from 39 and 48
yards in the first half.
"We played Nebraska so much better than we
have in the past,” said Iowa State Coach Dan
McCamey, who in his sixth season had never come
close to beating NU before Saturday. "We layed a
lot of good snaps and some good Big 12 defense.
“We're coming out of this game relatively
healthy and a lot of good things can happen if we
keep improving.”
Early on, ISU got a lift from key offensive con
versions on third downs, but Nebraska’s
Blackshirts held tough.
Led by an inspired performance from
Larchwood, Iowa native Kyle Vanden Bosch,
Nebraska held ISU to only 37 rushing yards for the
game. And, while the Husker offense was busy
building the fourth-quarter cushion, the NU
defense was holding the Cyclones still at 20.
The Blackshirts didn’t give up a point from the
6:46 mark in the third quarter until the game was
decided with three minutes remaining and no
hope for an ISU comeback.
First-year Defensive Coordinator Craig Bohl
said the defense is coming around after shaky per
formances earlier in the season.
Bohl said the coaches were most satisfied with
NU’s dominance against the run. The Cyclones
came into the game averaging 227 yards per con
test.
“We’re pleased with making a team one
dimensional,’’ Bohl said. “We felt like we were able
to take the rush away today and we made some
progress.”
But Iowa State capitalized on the other dimen
sion, as Rosenfels, a 6-foot-5, 220 pouftd senior
and pro-prospect, picked apart the Husker sec
ondary for 346 yards.
But in the end, Rosenfels’ effort didn’t matter.
His Cyclone defense couldn’t quiet Nebraska’s
offensive attack for the entire 60 minutes after
holding NU scoreless in the first period.
“If you have over 500 total yards on offense,”
Solich said, “you’re doing something right.”
Much of the offensive load was shouldered by
quarterback Eric Crouch, who improved his stock
as a legitimate Heisman candidate, throwing for
Please see GAME on M
TOP: Iowa State
wide receiver JJ.
Moses makes a
catch over NU's
Clint Finley in the
second quarter.
LEFT: Husker
1-backDan
Alexander is
brought down by
ISU defensive
back Atif Austin
during the first
quarter.*
Upstart ISU falters
late against Huskers
■ Despite trailing by only one point
after three quarters, the Cyclones find
no moral victories in loss to NU.
BY JOSHUA CAMENaND
AMES, Iowa - Finding a way to com
pete with upper-echelon teams like
Nebraska has been a goal of Iowa State’s
since Dan McCamey became coach in
1994.
McCamey and the Cyclones achieved
that goal on Saturday in a 49-27 defeat to
the Cornhuskers, but failed to find a way
to win in the fourth quarter with the
game hanging in the balance’and NU
clinging to a 21-20 lead.
In that fourth quarter, the new look
'Clones reverted to their old ways against
NU, giving up 28 points. Because of the
late collapse, the Cyclones finished with
out a win, something that has eluded
them since 1992. Because of the late col
lapse, ISU left Jack Trice Stadium unsatis
fied.
“I’m not going to give you a patented
speech,” McCamey said after the game.
“We're sick and disappointed that we
didn't win this game. We went out to win
this game, not look respectable.”
McCamey displayed that desire to
win when he called for an onside kick to
start the game. The gamble was success
ful and the Cyclones showed NU that
they came to play.
“He told us before the game that we
were going to do it,” strong safety Adam
Runk said. “We were all thumbs up and
ready to do it and we executed it. It was a
big play at the time and gave us a little
momentum right away.”
Even though Iowa State failed to cap
italize on McCarney’s trickery and was
forced to punt, the Cyclones would draw
first blood on a 53-yard touchdown pass
from Sage Rosenfels to Craig Campbell
on the next drive.
The duo, along with wide receiver J.J.
Moses, proved to be a thorn in the side of
NU's defensive backfield all day as they
torched the Blackshirts for 346 passing
yards and two touchdowns.
Passing became a necessity for ISU
after the Husker defense showed a
renewed enthusiasm for stopping the
run in the first half. NU held ISU, which
had averaged 227 yards in its first four
games, to 12 and eight yards, respective
ly, in the first and second quarters and 37
yards total in the game.
With their starting running back,
Ennis Haywood, hurting with bruised
ribs, Rosenfels took to the air to try and
beat NU’s stacked defense in the box.
The senior quarterback threw the
ball 42 times and completed 11 of them
to Moses, who often ran routes out of the
slot and crossed up NU defenders most
of the day. That allowed the ignored
Campbell and Rosenfels to hook up for
three big plays.
“We knew Nebraska would be trying
to stop the over route to JJ. and the safe
ty was cheating a little bit,” said
Rosenfels, who completed three passes
to Campbell for 119 yards. “On the back
side we have a post, and Craig was doing
a good job of running that route and get
ting down the field.”
Moses said Nebraska was a little
stunned early on, and he could see des
peration creeping into the eyes of some
of the Huskers as the game wore on.
"They knew that they had to dig deep
to come down here and beat us," he said.
NU did dig down in the final 15 min
utes, scoring 28 points and allowing a
lone 15-yard touchdown reception by
Moses with 3:06Lleft in the game.
“They can put up points in a hurry
and, obviously, they did that,” McCamey
said. "Our first half defense overall was
outstanding and in the second half it
wasn’t.”
The Huskers gained over half of then
total yardage for die game in the first half
(258 of500), but were limited to 13 points
by the Iowa State defense.
Cyclone defensive back Jamarcus
Powers picked off NU’s Eric Crouch with
8:12 left in the second quarter and
returned it 40 yards for a score. Powers’
touchdown, the first returned on Crouch
in his career, gave the Cyclones the lead
going into halftime and much-needed
momentum.
“I was thinking that there needs to be
a big play made and why not me to make
it,” said Powers, who saw NU run similar
passing routes against Iowa and
Missouri.
But McCamey didn’t believe plays
like Powers’s would be enough. The ISU
coach tried several trick plays in the
game with mixed results.
“I was trying to give my kids an edge
and make them understand that I trust
them and we were going for the win in
this game - not trying to be respectful
and play close," McCamey said.
While the opening onside kick was a
success, two other calls went against the
Cyclones in the end. A fake field goal,
Please see ISU on 12