Nebraska 27, No. 23 Iowa State 20, 2OT

LINCOLN, Neb. — Zac Taylor finished his record day with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Cory Ross in the second overtime to give Nebraska a 27-20 victory over No. 23 Iowa State on Saturday.

The Cornhuskers (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) avoided losing to Iowa State for the first time at home since 1977 and finally found some offensive spark after muddling to wins in their first three games.

Taylor completed 36 of 55 passes for 431 yards on a day the Huskers all but abandoned their running game. He set school records for completions and yards.

Taylor’s most important pass also might have been his easiest, as he found Ross alone in the flat on the winning touchdown with no defenders within 10 yards of him.

The Cyclones (3-1, 0-1) picked up 10 yards on their first two plays of their second overtime possession. But Bret Meyer passed incomplete, ran for no gain and was off-target with his final two passes, prompting the players on the Nebraska sideline to storm the field in celebration.

Ross set a school receiving record for a running back with eight catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest gainer was a 70-yard touchdown off a dump pass in the third quarter.

Nebraska was in position to win in regulation after driving to the ISU 10 with under two minutes left. But on third-and-6 Taylor was caught in the backfield by DeAndre Jackson and fumbled. Jackson recovered, but Iowa State could do nothing offensively and had to punt.

The Huskers got the ball back with 20 seconds, and Taylor took a knee to force overtime.

The teams matched touchdown runs in the first overtime, with ISU’s Greg Coleman scoring from 10 yards and Ross from 1.

Coleman led all rushers with 65 yards on 20 carries, but the Cylones netted only 57 yards on the ground.

Ross had 32 yards on 15 carries. The Huskers netted 36 yards on 25 carries, tying the school record for fewest attempts in a game.

Meyer was 23 of 41, with an interception, for 317 yards.

The Huskers went into the fourth quarter down 13-10 after Bret Culbertson’s 32-yard field goal late in the third quarter.

But Jordan Congdon tied it with a 23-yard field goal after Iowa State stopped Taylor a yard short of the goal line on a third-and-3.

Ross’ long touchdown broke a 3-3 tie in the third quarter, but Iowa State responded with a five-play, 80-yard drive that Meyer finished with a 2-yard pass to Walter Nickel.

Nebraska-Iowa St., Stats

NEBRASKA 27, No. 23 IOWA STATE 20, 2OT

Iowa State 0 3 10 0 7 0 — 20

Nebraska 3 0 7 3 7 7 — 27

First Quarter

Neb — FG Congdon 30, 8:23.

Second Quarter

ISU — FG Culbertson 31, 11:43.

Third Quarter

Neb — Ross 70 pass from Taylor (Congdon kick), 10:00.

ISU — Nickel 2 pass from Meyer (Culbertson kick), 5:39.

ISU — FG Culberton 32, 2:01.

Fourth Quarter

Neb — FG Congdon 23, 7:20.

Overtime

ISU — Coleman 10 run (Culbertson kick).

Neb — Ross 1 run (Congdon kick).

Second Overtime

Neb — Ross 8 pass from Taylor (Congdon kick).

A — 77,433.

ISU Neb

First downs 21 26

Rushes-yards 38-57 25-36

Passing 317 431

Comp-Att-Int 23-41-1 36-55-0

Return Yards 11 76

Punts-Avg. 6-44 4-41

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 4-34 8-80

Time of Possession 31:38 43:22

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Iowa State, Coleman 20-65, Davis 1-11, Hicks 1-4, Kock 2-0, Meyer 14-(minus 23). Nebraska, Ross 15-32, Nunn 1-4, Taylor 7-2, team 2-(minus 2).

PASSING — Iowa State, Meyer 23-41-1-317. Nebraska, Taylor 36-55-0-431.

RECEIVING — Iowa State, Flynn 8-100, Davis 5-36, Sumrall 4-99, Blythe 3-51, Nickel 2-9, Barkema 1-22. Nebraska, Ross 8-131, Nunn 8-59, Swift 5-81, Mulkey 5-60, Fluellen 3-40, LeFlore 2-23, Hardy 2-20, Sievers 1-6, Todd 1-6, Phillips 1-5.