Huskers fall flat in Ames
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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
AMES, Iowa — He overthrew receivers on a few critical occasions and failed at other times to see receivers running open.
Yet for 57 minutes of Saturday's football game against Iowa State, Nebraska quarterback Joe Dailey was successful in one critical area: He avoided throwing an interception.
That changed with 2:55 remaining, and Dailey's mistake ended Nebraska's hopes of forging a two-game lead in the Big 12 North race.
Iowa State linebacker Tim Dobbins caught Dailey's errant pass in the flat, helping preserve the Cyclones' 34-27 triumph before 45,022 spectators at Jack Trice Stadium.
Nebraska and Iowa State are now tied for first in the North with 3-3 records, a game ahead of three division rivals.
The Huskers, 5-4 overall, were left to lament senior Sandro DeAngelis' missed field goal from 24 yards, a blocked field goal from 33 and a blocked extra-point attempt.
"It's very frustrating," Husker linebacker Chad Sievers said of his team's inability to seize control of the North. "We controlled our own destiny. I can't even describe the hurt inside."
Following Dobbins' interception and 15-yard return, Iowa State (5-4) took over at the Nebraska 30-yard line with 2:45 remaining, needing only to run out the clock.
After quarterback Bret Meyer pushed forward for a first down on fourth-and-1, the Cyclones' celebration began in earnest.
As the seconds ticked off the clock, Iowa State offensive coordinator Barney Cotton — one of seven Nebraska full-time assistants dismissed after last season — thrust his hands toward the heavens.
Cotton said his players prepared harder and with more focus than any group he had coached.
"They sunk their hearts and souls into this, and they won it for themselves," said Cotton as about a dozen delirious Iowa State fans hung from the goal post nearby, trying to tear it down.
In the end, both goal posts remained standing.
If only Nebraska's defense had been so sturdy.
Iowa State entered the day ranked last in the Big 12 in both total offense and scoring offense. But the Cyclones, in winning their third straight game, rolled up 466 yards of total offense and nearly doubled their average scoring output.
Meyer, a redshirt freshman, threw for a career-high 345 yards and three touchdowns. He zipped two first-half touchdown passes, including a 15-yard strike to classmate Todd Blythe that made it 24-7 five seconds before intermission.
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Blythe made eight receptions for 188 yards, doing all of his damage in the first half against mostly man-to-man coverage by cornerbacks Lornell McPherson and Cortney Grixby.
Blythe's 51-yard reception set up Iowa State's first touchdown.
Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan said his team failed to match Iowa State's passion and intensity early in the game, a recurring theme this season for the Huskers.
"We dug ourselves a hole and couldn't get out of it," Callahan said.
Part of that hole was dug by the head coach himself. An unsportsmanlike conduct call — Callahan was upset with the line judge after a controversial catch near the NU sideline — helped set up Iowa State's first-quarter field goal.
Iowa State wideout Jon Davis took advantage of a Nebraska coverage mistake for a 77-yard touchdown reception that pushed the lead to 34-14 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Nebraska responded with touchdown drives of 72 and 60 yards. Freshman I-back Brandon Jackson's 1-yard plunge pulled the Huskers to 34-27 with five minutes remaining.
Nebraska's hopes were alive when it held Iowa State on downs, forcing a punt from the Cyclones' 27.
Nebraska took over at its 31 with 2:55 left. Dailey dropped into the pocket and threw right into Dobbins' chest, the pass badly underthrown.
Dailey finished 18-for-42 passing for 230 yards and a touchdown, and the Huskers gained 195 yards on the ground.
"We stuck together and fought until the last minute," Dailey said. "No matter what happens, this is a very strong team."
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