LJS: Huskers prepare for different result against ISU
According to Nebraska defensive end Wali Muhammad, Husker coach Bill Callahan twice last week referenced last year’s loss to Iowa State as he prepared his team for this week’s rematch.
Callahan evidently wasn’t smiling at the recollection of the Cyclones’ 34-27 win in Ames, Iowa.
“Coach Callahan told us it’s been on his mind — he said he still has a taste in his mouth from that loss,” Muhammad said. “I think it’s been on all of our minds. It was a bad loss. They were a beatable team, and we should’ve beaten them.”
Nebraska and Iowa State square off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium, each team hoping to get a leg up in the Big 12 North race. Both teams are 3-0 as they begin league play, and both have encountered their share of ups and downs while emerging unscathed to this point.
The Huskers were idle last week, while the Cyclones needed a late rally to overcome winless Army 28-21 on Friday night at West Point, N.Y.
It marked Iowa State’s eighth win in nine games dating to last season. The Cyclones were The Sporting News’ preseason choice to capture the Big 12 North, while a preseason conference media poll picked ISU second and Nebraska third behind Colorado.
“They’re a tough team,” Husker middle linebacker Corey McKeon said of the Cyclones. “They’re on the rise. You have to hit a team like that in the mouth. They’re going to come in here on a high. They have a great quarterback, a great running back. They’re going to come in and try to pound the ball. We just have to step up and play our best.”
Against Army, Iowa State sophomore quarterback Bret Meyer was intercepted three times and sacked four times. He finished 18-for-26 passing for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
Cyclone running back Stevie Hicks, a junior from Omaha, was held to nine carries and 22 yards because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Dan McCarney said after the game he’s hoping Hicks will be healthy for the Nebraska game.
The 6-2, 215-pound Hicks rushed 28 times for 118 yards in Iowa State’s 23-3 win against Iowa on Sept. 10 in Ames. The Cyclones forced five turnovers against the Hawkeyes. However, ISU struggled in its opener, holding off Division I-AA Illinois State 32-21.
Iowa State ranks 91st nationally in total offense and 40th in total defense, while Nebraska ranks 107th and sixth in the same categories. The Huskers are coming off a 7-6 home win against Pitt that elicited a significant amount of grumbling in Husker Nation, as fans had hoped for improved offense in year two of the Callahan regime.
“We’re ready to get Big 12 play going,” Nebraska defensive end Jay Moore said. “There’s not a revenge factor against Iowa State; we just want to come out and prove we’re a much better team than we were last year.”
McKeon, Nebraska’s leading tackler this season with 26, watched video of the entire Iowa-Iowa State game, focusing on Hawkeye linebackers Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge.
“We watched Iowa State’s offensive linemen just get after them,” McKeon said. “Our linebackers have to be ready for that. If they try to come out on us (linebackers), Adam Carriker and those guys on our D-line are going to make great plays. Just watching the film, our D-line might have an edge on them.”
Said Moore: “We’re playing great defense right now. We have a lot of momentum. Guys have a lot of confidence and are playing much faster out there.”
Nebraska’s offense, on the other hand, has sputtered in all three games. I-back Corey Ross has been a bright spot, averaging 118.7 rushing yards on 4.9 per carry. The senior expects a difficult test Saturday.
“They’re definitely better than last year,” Ross said of the Cyclones. “Their defense is attacking the ball. They’re going to try to create a lot of pressure (with blitzes).”
Nebraska has beaten Iowa State 13 straight times in Lincoln, although the Cyclones have won two of the last three games in the series overall.
Last year, Iowa State intercepted Joe Dailey’s pass with 2:55 left to thwart Nebraska’s rally.
“The last drive sticks out in my mind,” McKeon said. “We were coming back on them. Coming back and coming back. Fighting, fighting, fighting. Then we turned the ball over, and that really hurts a team’s morale.”
Thus began a three-game slide to end Nebraska’s 5-6 season.
“It was a troublesome period,” McKeon said. “After a loss, you have to bounce back — and that’s something we never did.”