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Final score matters most: Huskers overcome mistakes to beat
Cyclones
September 30, 2007
By Jim D. Berryman
It was another one of those days where Nebraska ended up on
the short end of the final game stats, but made the plays
necessary to pull out a victory.
The Huskers overcame 3 first-half turnovers and a 10-0
deficit, and used 2 interception returns, one for a
touchdown, and another that set up a score, to push past
Iowa State 35-17.
It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win, and after all the
upsets around the country on Saturday, finally the Huskers
weren't the ones raising eyebrows in the college football
world.
Nebraska is 4-1 (1-0) heading into a showdown at No. 20
Missouri next Saturday. Iowa State drops to 1-4 (0-1).
For awhile, it seemed Nebraska wanted to give the game away.
The Huskers had 3 turnovers in their first 8 possessions.
The Cyclones capitalized and jumped out to a 10-0 lead, once
again sending a packed house at windy Memorial Stadium into
stunned mode.
Perhaps stunned mode is now old hat for NU fans, as this
season, seems we're getting used to being stunned by the
game's goings on.
Overall, the Husker defense allowed 415 yards of offense by
the Cyclones, netting just 369 total yards themselves.
Iowa State had 28 1st downs to Nebraska's 17.
Husker QB Sam Keller had a decent afternoon, completing 18
of 28 passes for 219 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
NU running back Marlon Lucky ran for 107 yards on 16
carries.
But one thing became obvious as the game went on, and scores
from other Big 12 games started to materialize: The Huskers
will be in a lot of dog fights this season, and could easily
lose quite a few games, unless improvement is seen on both
sides of the ball.
Now it's on to Columbia to face the Missouri Tigers, who
were idle this week. USC had a week off to prepare for the
Huskers and we all know what happened in that game.
Missouri will be hungry for a showcase win over the Huskers.
In addition, the Tigers will be looking to steal a bit of
thunder away from Colorado and Kansas State, both of which
made major statements against the Big 12 South's sweetheart
teams Oklahoma and Texas on Saturday.
So we savor a Husker win, and realize there's a lot of
toughness on the schedule ahead.
Let's hope the Huskers step up on toughness to make the rest
of the season a whole bunch of fun.
jimdberryman@missingnebraska.com
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