No. 20 Nebraska Sees Red, Loses Again

There’s a new Big Red to deal with in the Big 12 North, where Iowa State suddenly has eclipsed Nebraska.

Seneca Wallace ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as the 19th-ranked Cyclones signaled a shift of power in the conference by dominating No. 20 Nebraska, 36-14, Saturday at Ames, Iowa.

Adam Benike kicked three field goals for the Cyclones (5-1, 2-0 in conference), who handed the Cornhuskers (3-2, 0-1) their first consecutive regular-season losses since 1976.

“I was ready for this one like never before,” said Iowa State’s Michael Wagner, a former La Puente Bishop Amat standout who rushed for 107 yards in 19 carries.

Iowa State receiver Lane Danielsen wasn’t nearly as surprised by the team’s effort.

“Going into it, I expected victory,” Danielsen said. “I felt like we were a better team. There was never a point in the game when I felt we were going to lose the game.”

Nebraska’s loss came two weeks after a numbing 40-7 loss to Penn State and is sure to turn up the heat on fifth-year Coach Frank Solich, whose team committed five turnovers in losing for the fourth time in the last seven games.

“We’ll either splinter apart or come together,” Solich said. “There’s no middle ground.”

Iowa State beat a ranked team for the first time since 1993 and it was the Cyclones’ first victory over Nebraska since Nov. 14, 1992.

The Cyclones scored 17 points off turnovers and dominated in every area. They outgained Nebraska, 412-273, and held the Cornhuskers to 81 yards rushing. Nebraska had averaged 411 yards rushing in its previous nine games against Iowa State.

Mike Stuntz replaced an ineffective Jammal Lord at quarterback. Lord’s only highlight was a 90-yard touchdown pass to Ross Pilkington in the second quarter.

Wallace scored on runs of one and seven yards and he passed to Danielsen for a three-yard touchdown, which gave the Cyclones a 19-7 halftime lead. They put the game out of reach with an 80-yard scoring drive to start the second half, culminated by Wallace’s one-yard touchdown run after a shove from fullback Joe Woodley.

“We’ve come a long ways, we’ve got a long ways to go,” Iowa State Coach Dan McCarney said. “If we want to take it to the next level, if we want to be special, if we want to make this a memorable season, these are the games we’ve got to start winning.”

No. 2 Oklahoma 31, South Florida 14--Nate Hybl threw two touchdown passes and Antonio Perkins returned a punt 82 yards for a score for the Sooners at Norman, Okla. Oklahoma (4-0), which was idle last week, punted on its first four possessions before Perkins got them going with his punt return four minutes into the second quarter. He wound up with 150 yards in six returns. South Florida is 2-2.

No. 3 Texas 49, Tulane 0--Chris Simms passed for 176 yards and two short touchdowns and Selvin Young had two short scoring runs and a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown in the Longhorns’ victory at New Orleans. Cedric Benson rushed for 88 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown run for the Longhorns (4-0), who handed Tulane (2-3) its first shutout since 1995, when the Green Wave lost to Southern Mississippi, 45-0.

Simms completed 17 of 31 passes but seemed out of sync on several drives, and he was intercepted once. Texas didn’t get its first score until late in the first quarter when an interception by Reed Boyd at the Tulane 27 helped set up Sloan Thomas’ 11-yard touchdown reception.

No. 24 Texas A&M; 31, Louisiana Tech 3--Dustin Long threw Texas A&M;’s first passing touchdown in seven regular-season games, leading the Aggies at College Station, Texas. It was the first game for the Aggies (3-1) with assistant head coach Kevin Sumlin calling the offensive plays. Coach R.C. Slocum stripped offensive coordinator Dino Babers of his play-calling duties after last week’s 13-3 loss to No. 5 Virginia Tech. Louisiana Tech is 2-3.

Missouri 44, Troy State 7--Freshman Brad Smith threw for 213 yards, ran for 137 and scored two touchdowns to lead the Tigers (3-1) over the Trojans (1-4) at Columbia, Mo. Zack Abron rushed for 98 yards and also scored twice for Missouri and R.J. Jones tied a school record with three interceptions.

Troy State defensive back Damien Coleman was taken off the field on a stretcher late in the second quarter, and was hospitalized with an injured neck. Troy State Coach Larry Blakeney said after the game that Coleman had some weakness in his right hand. Results of a CT scan came back negative.

Kansas 43, Tulsa 33--Bill Whittemore ran for three touchdowns, passed for another and accounted for 395 total yards for Kansas at Tulsa, Okla. Whittemore’s touchdowns included a 74-yard run as the Jayhawks (2-3) handed Tulsa (0-5) its 15th consecutive loss, the nation’s longest losing streak.