LINCOLN, Neb. — Oct. 19, 1991: Kansas 41, Iowa State 0.

Until Saturday’s 28-0 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, that date marked the last time Iowa State’s football team had been shut out.

“It’s a low point for us,” said Cyclone wide receiver Lane Danielsen. “We didn’t do anything offensively today. It was very frustrating.”

Iowa State amassed only 230 total yards against Nebraska’s defense, which is ranked third in the nation. Austin Flynn started the game for the Cyclones and finished 13-of-29 for 109 yards and one interception.

Flynn was pressured all day and was forced to run 15 times for just 26 yards. Flynn’s 15 carries equaled those of the rest of the Cyclone backs combined.

“They have a tremendous defense and that’s the reason why they’re successful,” Flynn said. “I give a lot of credit to the Nebraska defense.”

ISU head coach Dan McCarney said he was disappointed by his team’s failure to put points on the board for the first time in 12 years.

“On offense, we are not close to where we want to be,” McCarney said. “Today, we were very poor in our offensive execution to [be] shut out like that.”

The closest the Cyclones came to scoring was on the final drive of the game, when junior quarterback Waye Terry took the offense to the Nebraska 20 in his first significant action of the season, only to be intercepted on a desperation heave. Terry finished the day with 6-of-11 passing for 57 yards.

“We could not sustain drives to attempt to get back in the game,” McCarney said. “We’ve got to find a way to move the ball, especially in a conference like this, against teams like this.”

McCarney said this is a drastically different Husker team than the one his Cyclones beat 36-14 in Ames last year, especially defensively.

“Nebraska is much better on defense than they were last season — you really see a dramatic improvement,” he said.

“They are tough, fundamentally sound, playing with confidence and going after the ball in an attacking style. It’s a defense they should really be proud of.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Nebraska’s touchdowns came quickly and early.

Nebraska’s first touchdown came on a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jammal Lord after Tony Yelk’s punt was blocked by Josh Bullocks on the ISU 19-yard line with 9:27 left in the first quarter.

On the Huskers’ next possession, it took them only three plays to score after wide receiver Isaiah Fluellen ran an end-around for 39 yards into the end zone.

On the Cyclones’ following possession, Yelk’s punt was blocked yet again, this time by Demorrio Williams. Bullocks was in on the play again as he scooped up the loose ball and ran it in for a touchdown, making it 21-0 Nebraska with 51 seconds left in the first quarter.

The ISU special teams continued to struggle early in the second quarter as Yelk’s pass to a wide open Steve Paris was low on a fake punt play, causing Paris to fall down short of the first down.

“Today, the punt team was disappointing,” McCarney said. “It wasn’t any scheme that Nebraska did, it was just a matter of getting to the ball.

“As for the fake punt, we threw a dirt ball into the ground. If the punter had gotten the ball up, he would have still been running. The play was set up perfectly, he was wide open, but we just didn’t execute. Three big plays on special teams hurt us today.”

Yelk said he would take responsibility for the botched fake.

“I blame myself, it wasn’t a great throw,” Yelk said. “I didn’t throw it into the ground, but it was close enough and I’ve got to get the ball up. I thought it was a great call, but poor execution on our part.”

Nebraska’s fourth and final touchdown came on a 1-yard run by Josh Davis with 8:46 to go in the second quarter after a Flynn fumble gave Nebraska the ball on the ISU 20-yard line.

On a brighter note, the Cyclone defense held Nebraska scoreless for the rest of the game. Freshman Jason Berryman forced two turnovers in the second half with a fumble recovery and his first career interception.

Iowa State also held Nebraska to 317 total yards of offense, the Cyclones’ best defensive effort in Lincoln since holding the Huskers to 272 yards in 1981.

“I’m very proud of the effort of our team today, especially that of our defense,” McCarney said. “Today, we only gave up one long scoring drive. Other than that, it’s blocked punt, blocked punt and a fumble that we give to them on the 20-yard line.

“You saw the character of our team today, we never gave up, even after we were down 28-0 at halftime.”

After the Nebraska loss, the Cyclones will have a much-needed bye week before Kansas State comes to Ames on Nov. 8.

“One good thing is that we have a bye week,” Danielsen said. “We’ve had a tough stretch of opponents, so, hopefully with a bye week, we can get our minds and bodies rested up. We’ll try to have some good practices and get our offense going again.”

Even with their current string of six straight losses, Yelk and the Cyclones remain optimistic about the fact there are still four games left.

“Bottom line is, we’ve still got a shot at this thing,” Yelk said. “Our backs are against the wall, but anything can happen in this league on any given Saturday. It’s going to be a tough four-week stretch for us, but I believe we can get it done, and I think the guys do, too.”