The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 34

Page6C Sunday, November 7, 2010 Metro Edition Des Moines Sunday Register Des Moines Sunday Register Metro Edition Sunday, November 7, 2010 Page 7C The 105th Meeting fk Nebraska 31, ISU 30 Scoring IS Iowa St. Playback Player of the game You can call Grant Mahoney "Thunder Foot" after what he did on Iowa State's final play of the first half. With a 15 mph wind at his back, Nebfsk 0 7 17 0 7 31 Iowa Stat 0 10 0 14 6 30 FIRST QUARTER No Scoring SECOND QUARTER Helu Jr. 6 run (Henery kick), 13:13. Drive: 12 plays, 79 yards; 5:36.

IS: J. Williams 13 pass from Arnaud (Mahoney kick), 6:38. Drive 7-47; 2:06. IS: FG Mahoney Drive: 4-2; 1:11. THIRD QUARTER FG Henery 25, Drive: 12-55; 5:30.

Cassidy 29 interception return (Henery kick), 8:42. Burkhead 2 run (Henery kick), Drive: FOURTH QUARTER 15: Arnaud 1 run (Mahoney kick), Drive: 13-75; 3:52. IS: Robinson 14 pass from Arnaud (Mahoney kick), Drive: 3 13; 0:44. OVERTIME Burkhead 19 run (Henery kick); Drive: 2 25, 0:00. IS: J.

Williams 9 pass from Arnaud (pass intercepted); Drive: 3-25, 0:00. Attendance: 51,159. Missed FG attempts: Mahoney 49; Mahoney 55. Team Statistics Ills a VAV if VSS' xfl State quarterback Austen Arnaud and Nebraska tight end Ben Cotton, a former Ames High School star, embrace at midfield before the start of the game. (Photo Mahoney kicked a 57-yard field goal that provided the Cyclones a 10-7 halftime lead.

He missed from 47 I yards earlier in the PV game, but the next one cleared with plenty of room to spare. Mahoney was 1 yard shy of matching Iowa State's school-record field goal of 58 yards by Ty Stewart and Alex Giffords. Mahoney kicked a 52-yarder in last season's win at Nebraska. What went right? Alexander Robinson rushed 17 times for 76 yards while helping Iowa State to a 10-7 lead and almost 3-minute possession advantage at halftime. He had 101 yards for his third 100-yard game in the past three weeks.

What went wrong? Turnovers. First it was a fumble by Jeff Woody at the Nebraska 25 that turned into a touchdown drive in the first quarter. Then, it was a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter. News Notes Who's next? Nebraska's departure from the Big 12 leaves Iowa State looking for a new conference rival. And, according to former Arkansas coach Frank Broyles, that void may linger.

"We have yet to rebuild a rivalry like we had with Texas," said Broyles, whose Razorbacks left the Southwestern Conference for the Southeastern two decades ago. "We have rivals, but we don't have someone we hate. What makes a rivalry is that fans are close enough to intermingle on a daily basis." Still, Broyles said switching conferences made sense for Arkansas. "When you leave, it leaves a lot of people out in the cold," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the time, though, it's a major, long-term benefit to the program." The large crowd Saturday's announced crowd of 51,159 was the largest at Jack Trice Stadium since 52,060 attended the Texas game in 2007.

Lamaak starts Ben Lamaak started at center after missing the Kansas game with a sprained MCL. Arnaud has 42 TD passes, second in school history. Key Number There were no passes in Nebraska's first scoring drive, a 12-play, 79-yard series that took 5:36 off the clock between the first and second quarters. Next Game Saturday vs. Colorado KICKOFF: 12:30 p.m.

at lsom Field, Boulder, Colo. ARl ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Coach Dan Hawkins was on the hot seat even before Saturday's 52-45 loss at Kansas. His team faces Iowa State for the final time as a member of the Big 12 Conference, while owning a four-game home winning streak against the Cyclones. PLAYER TO WATCH: Receiver Scotty McKnight, a candidate for the nation's top receiver award, can become the only player to lead Colorado in receiving four times. He has 19 catches for 223 yards and three touchdowns in three games against Iowa State.

Mahoney Category Neb. IS First downs 15 24 Rushing 9 10 Passing 6 12 Penalty 0 2 Rushing yards 235 157 Attempts 52 48 Passing yards 79 203 7-12 21-32 Had intercepted 0 2 Total yards 314 360 Average per play 4.9 4.5 Fumbles-lost 5 2 2 1 Penalties-yards 6-54 3-40 3rd-down conversions 7-14 7-15 Time of possession 29:15 30:45 Individual Stats Rushing Nebraska Att. Yds. Avg. Long Burkhead 20 129 6.4 29 Helu Jr.

22 99 4.5 9 Green 9 10 1.1 6 Iowa State Att. Yds. Avg. Long Robinson 32 101 12 TT Arnaud 13 63 4.8 14 Woody 15 5 5 Passing Nebraska Com. Att.

Yds. TD-lnt. Green 7 TF 79 0-0 Iowa State Com. Att. Yds.

TD-lnt. Arnaud 21 32 203 32 Reynolds 0 0 0 0 Receiving Neb. NO; Yds. Iowa St No. Yds.

Reed 3 52 Twildams5 46 Kinnie 3 22 Darks 5 44 Paul 1 5 Robinson 4 29 Franklin 3 28 Reynolds 3 25 Lenz 1 31 Punting Nebraska No. Yds. Avg. Long Henery 6 235 39.2o9 Iowa State No. Yds.

Avg. Long VanDerKamp 3 128 42.7 52 Tackle leaders Neb. Solo Art. tewaSt. Solo Art.

Cassidy 7 5 Sims 8 5 Meredith 9 1 Knott 7 4 David 8 2 O'Connell 1 7 Osborne 5 2 Latlimer 5 2 Amukamara5 2 Klein 4 2 Allen 2 5 Reeves 2 2 Gomes 4 2 Sandvig 1 3 Crick 4 0 Parker 2 1 Thorell 2 1 Benton 2 1 Steinkuhlerl 2 Maggitt 2 1 J.Williams 1 2 Le. Johnson 1 2 Hagg 2 0 Ruempolh. 1 1 West 0 2 Broomfield 1 1 SACKS Nebraska: Amukamara 1 Meredith 11 Iowa State: Lattimer 1-8. Returns Nebraska Punts Kkkoffs Ints. Paul 0 0 2-40 0 0 Hagg 0 0 0 0 1 0 Marlowe 0 0 116 0-0 Cassidy 0 0 0-0 1 29 Iowa State Punts Kkkoffs Ints.

Lenz 1 10 0-0 0 0 Sh. Johnson 0 0 1-25 0 0 Sims 0 0 1-19 0 0 bowl eligibility Saturday at 3-6 Colorado. "It was a good call," said Franklin, Iowa State's top receiver who didn't catch his first pass until the second half. "I was pumped when they called the play. I was ready to make it happen." Quarterback Austen Arnaud emphatically defended Rhoads' decision.

"It's going to look like it was one play that made the difference," said Arnaud, whose 9-yard completion in the end zone to Jake Williams in overtime made it a one-point game after Nebraska opened overtime with a touchdown and extra point. "No way. Momentum was on our side. We were at home. The surprise was there.

"When 1 heard the call on the sidelines, I was excited. 1 was like, 'We're going to win this We've worked on that play 1,000 times." Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, who started third-string quarterback Cody Green so Taylor Martinez could rest his sprained ankle, said from his vantage point, the play A midfield meet: Iowa A game of lasts The Iowa State-Nebraska football rivalry concluded Saturday after 105 games. A look at some of the historic "lasts" on Saturday: Last Iowa State score: Jake Williams' 9-yard touchdown catch from Austen Arnaud Last Nebraska jJ Sb' score: Rex Burkhead 19-yard touchdown run Last coin toss: Iowa State wins the overtime flip and elects to take the ball last Last field-goal attempt: Iowa State kicker Grant Mahoney comes up short from 55 yards Last sack: Nebraska's defensive end Cameron Meredith drops Cyclone quarterback Austen Arnaud for a 1-yard loss Last fumble: Nebraska's Niles Paul on a kickoff return; Iowa State's Deon Broomfield recovers Last penalty: Nebraska's David Lavonte, for pass interference The last word: "I can escort you back in the locker room and show you how much it hurts (to lose). I've got no problem with a grown man crying; I've got a lot of grown men crying" Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads 2010 Schedule Williams by Christopher Gannon) while improving to 8-1 Jeff Woody lost a fumble 25 yards from scoring in the first quarter that Nebraska turned into a 7-0 lead. Austin Cassidy returned an Arnaud interception 29 yards into the end zone as the Cornhuskers broke a 10-10 tie in the third quarter.

Nebraska increased its lead to 24-10 after Hagg's third-quarter interception. "That's why I'm saying just one play didn't cost us this game," Arnaud said. The Cornhuskers' 17-point third quarter turned a 10-7 halftime deficit into a 24-10 lead. "No lead was going to be big enough, and there was going to be no deficit we couldn't overcome," Rhoads said. "After being down 24-10 our kids never buckled.

They never flinched. They just kept playing on." They played until Nebraska intercepted what may have been the final pass to be thrown in this series. "We execute, and the game's over," Rhoads said. "We're the ones going into the end zone to celebrate." fenses that had already scored a defensive touchdown," the coach explained, "too much risk in that. At that point, our kids didn't deserve to not have the opportunity to go for overtime.

No hesitation on that. If they had ran the ball and wound up short and were going to let the clock run, I was going to let the clock run, too." Fair enough, but ask yourself this, now that the smoke's cleared: Who would you rather have making the pass that determines your lot in the biggest home game of the season Austen Arnaud or Kuehl? "Again, it's a game of inches," Rhoads said. It's a game of heartbreaks, too. Right call. Wrong guy.

had the potential to succeed. "It looked like (Franklin) was open," Pelini said. "I thought it was a gutsy call by coach Rhoads, and our guy made a play." Another intriguing situation happened when the Cyclones had the ball at their 20-yard line with 40 seconds to play in regulation. They had three timeouts remaining, the wind at their backs, and place-kicker Grant Mahoney as a potential weapon after making a 57-yarder in the second quarter. Instead, Iowa State ran out the clock.

"With that far to travel against one of the nation's top defenses that had already scored a defensive touchdown, too much risk in that," Rhoads said of his decision to let the clock run. "At that point, our kids didn't deserve to not have the opportunity to go to overtime. No hesitation on that." Iowa State took advantage of eight Nebraska turnovers during last season's 9-7 win in Lincoln. Saturday, the turnover bug struck the other sidelines. The Cornhuskers turned three Iowa State miscues into 21 points both counts the last thing you want to do is test your luck in overtime.

It's a battle of attrition, one you'll almost never win. Rhoads was wise to want to get overtime over with as quickly as conceivably possible. At the same time, the decision he made at the end of regulation was an absolute head-scratcher. Let's review: There's 40 seconds left on the clock. Game's tied at 24-all.

You've got three timeouts. Stiff breeze at your back. Your senior quarterback has completed 20 throws and piled up almost 200 passing yards. Your kicker has already nailed a 57-yard field goal. You take a knee.

"With that far to travel against one of the nation's top de ISU FROM PAGE 1C final game in this rivalry not only with consecutive wins against the Cornhuskers for the first time since 1976 and 1977, but also having met bowl qualification. The Cyclones also would have had sole possession of first place in the Big 12 North given that Missouri lost later in the day. Instead, nickelback Eric Hagg intercepted the pass and it was Nebraska that celebrated before stunned Iowa State fans. "I made a decision to go for the two-point play," Rhoads said. "I studied what they did throughout the game.

The play was there. Collin Franklin was open." Franklin had his doubts about the success of the play as soon as the pass was in the air. "It was a little slow motion for me," he said. "Out of his hand, 1 knew it wasn't happening. The Nebraska kid made a good play on it." Rhoads had the backing of his players, who continue to seek KEELER FROM PAGE 1C Nebraska fight song.

"The play was there," Rhoads said. "If we execute, game over. We're the ones celebrating in the end zone." Instead, thousands of Nebraska fans inside Jack Trice Stadium squealed with delight. The Cyclones were a line of slumped shoulders, drained and stunned. They left everything they had out on that field.

Then they left some more. They deserved better. "This," said Iowa State receiver Jake Williams, who caught two touchdown passes, "is definitely a tough one." 13000 I I I 1 'ar-v- i Nebraska's Rex Burkhead, top, celebrates his overtime touchdown with his Date Opponent Info Sept. 2 vs. N.

Illinois 27-10 Sept. 11 at Iowa 35-7 Sept. 18 at Kansas State 27-20 Sept. 25 vs. Northern Iowa Oct.

2 vs. Texas Tech 52-38 Oct. 9 vs. Utah 68-27 Oct. 16 at Oklahoma 52-0 Oct.

23 at Texas 28-21 Oct. 30 vs. Kansas 28-16 Nov. 6 vs. Nebraska 31 -30 (OT) Nov.

13 at Colorado 12:30 p.m. Nov. 20 vs. Missouri TBA JUSTIN HAYWORTHTHE REGISTER teammates at JackTrice Stadium. JUSTIN HAYWORTHTHE REGIST1 Vote in our online poll: Was it the right call? Did Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads, right, make the right decision by going for two points on the last play of the game? DesMoinesRegister.comCyclonelnsider PHOTOS: The game was heartbreaking for ISU, but it also was memorable.

The Register's photographers were there for all the action: DesMoinesRegister.comphotos The last Big 12 Conference meeting between the two old rivals lived up to its billing, though. Three ties, 39 combined first downs, and 674 yards of total offense between the two schools, and more crazy swings than a Dave Kingman at-bat. "I've got no problem with a grown man crying," Rhoads said when asked about the hurt inside that Cyclone locker room. "I've got a lot of grown men crying." Again, love the call. When a door of opportunity opens against Nebraska, you don't crawl into a shell.

You run through it. But as a general rule, if you're facing a team with a suffocating defense and a stellar running game the Huskers qualify on 190 12.3 MK.A PIXELS Uf T0 4.S FRAMtS I MR SECOND I Of TT)4 nil MCONO I 2.7 Ml Ml 1X0 MOW! OH Ktt Inch TPSmm Vn taom-fm or mm WAS M199 NOW 1149" Kit tnrferfrf 5fenm iaom-MKNOff- torn Mr 1 I CotarlCO WWr Cyclones who played OFFENSIVE STARTERS: Darks, Reynolds, Osemele. Alvarez, Lamaak, Hicks, Burns, Franklin, J. Williams, Arnaud, Robinson. DEFENSIVE STARTERS: Parker, Ba.

Johnson, Ruempolhamer. Laltimer, Klein, Knott, Benton, Reeves, Le. Johnson, OConnelf, Sims. OTHERS: Boyer, Se. Johnson, Watson, Sandvig, Young, George.

Washington, Tiller, Jennert, VanDerKamp. Broomfield. Kuehl, Brooks, Lenz, Mahoney, Sh. Johnson. Mansfield, Woody, Maggitt, Morton, Hamlin.

Tau'fo'ou, Zimmerman. Se. Smith. Kaufman, Tuftee. Lichtenberg, Bykowski, Mitchell, Klacik, Hammerschmidt, Laing, Neal, McDonough.

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