ISU coach Dan McCarney’s young squad gave fans a glimpse of what the Cyclones’ future appears to be Saturday with all of the offensive output being done by underclassmen.

Freshmen Bret Meyer, Todd Blythe, Ben Barkema and, Bret Culbertson and sophomores Jon Davis and Stevie Hicks scored all of Iowa State’s 34 points against the Cornhuskers.

McCarney said sometimes the talent in the Cyclone offense surprises even him.

“It’s almost amazing to me sometimes, but we just coach them as good as we can,” McCarney said. “These kids enjoy playing together — we got each other’s back; it’s not some phony team.”

Meyer finished the game throwing 17 of 38 for 345 yards and three touchdowns; both are career highs for the redshirt freshman. His 345 yards passing is the ninth-best single-game yards passing total in ISU history.

After the game, Meyer said his play just came down to the fundamentals of the game and enjoying himself on the field.

“It felt like my receivers were getting in the holes,” he said. “I just felt like I was playing in the backyard and throwing the ball around.”

At the end of the first half, Meyer hit Blythe in the end zone, giving Iowa State a 24-7 advantage and the momentum heading into the break.

“The coaches said we were going to take one more shot at the end zone before we tried to kick a field goal,” Blythe said. “The play was designed for Jon [Davis] and I to streak down the sidelines, and Bret threw it out there.”

Blythe’s touchdown reception was his ninth of the season, breaking the school record he shared with Tracy Henderson (1983) and Tyrone Watley (1997).

“I just look at it like it’s great to get touchdowns because that means you’re putting points on the board, and, hopefully, points equals a win. That’s the only thing I’m looking at,” he said.

Blythe finished the game with 188 yards and eight catches, both are career highs for the wideout.

Meyer found Blythe for a 51-yard reception in the first quarter, giving Blythe 106 yards receiving in the first quarter alone.

It was only the beginning of the long passes for Meyer as he found wideout Jon Davis for a 77-yard touchdown reception, putting the Cyclones up 34-14 late in the third quarter.

The pass was the longest play of the season and ties the ISU record for the 10th longest pass play with Bob Utter’s 77-yard touchdown pass to James Brooks against Northern Illinois on Sept. 2, 1993.

Senior cornerback Ellis Hobbs said the team has a good mix of young and old, and when it’s on the field, age doesn’t matter.

“Young guys doesn’t mean anything once you go out on the field — you’re a number and you’re representing a school,” Hobbs said. “We’ve been put in enough situations this year and last year and [we picked] it up and the guys who just got here are following the lead of the older guys.”