While the chill of a cold November day and snowflakes falling in the sky may have signified a change in the season, the Cyclone football team continued its streak of inconsistent play with a 42-7 loss to Nebraska on Saturday.

Freshman quarterback Eric Crouch made his third start of the season, starting in place of sophomore Bobby Newcombe, and immediately led the Cornhuskers down the field on the opening possession of the game.

On the strength of a running attack led by senior fullback Joel Makovicka and sophomore Dan Alexander, making his first start of his career in place of sophomore DeAngelo Evans, the Huskers put themselves in scoring position after a 7:13 long drive. However, senior kicker Kris Brown missed a 38-yard field goal, and the game remained scoreless.

The Cyclones took over on offense, but two crucial penalties, a personal foul and an illegal procedure call, ended the Cyclones’ scoring hopes.

On the ensuing punt, the Cyclones were called for interference, giving the Cornhuskers the ball at their own 39-yard line.

Ending the day with nine penalties for 70 yards, Head Coach Dan McCarney was not pleased with the mistakes.

“It’s one of those things we’ve got to cut down on,” McCarney said. “Those are the things we’ve got to coach against; that’s our job. We have to keep them down a to a minimum.”

Nebraska would fail to convert on the possession and had to punt. However, junior defensive back Jamarcus Powers broke through and blocked senior punter Bill Lafleur’s kick. It was Lafleur’s first blocked punt of the season and a huge play for Powers and the Cyclones.

“It was a low snap, and he (Lafleur) couldn’t get control of it. I took a step inside, a step outside and then another step back inside,” Powers said. “The punter took the move, and I saw a clear opening to block it.”

A near disaster for Nebraska became a costly mistake for the Cyclones as the blocked punt, which went 14 yards, was picked up and fumbled by junior defensive back Jarrott Lollis of the Cyclones. Nebraska linebacker Josh Kohl recovered the fumble for Nebraska and gave the Cornhuskers another chance to score.

“We had a return set up, and I wanted to downfield my man. I spotted the ball bouncing around freely, and my first reaction was to make a play,” Lollis said. “I let my emotions take over my better judgment, even though I should have gotten away from the ball. I was trying to make a play, but it didn’t quite work out the way I wanted it to.”

A five-play, 42-yard drive ensued for the Cornhuskers, capped off by a nine-yard touchdown run from Alexander with 28 seconds left in the first quarter.

With the score 7-0 going into the second quarter, the Cyclones started strong with a 37 yard pass play from senior quarterback Todd Bandhauer to junior receiver Damien Groce.

A 12-yard completion to sophomore wideout Chris Anthony kept the drive going, but with 12:51 left in the quarter, Bandhauer was picked off by sophomore defensive back Clint Finley at the Nebraska 17-yard line to stop the scoring drive.

Capitalizing on another costly turnover, the Cornhuskers relied on the ground attack of Crouch, Makovicka and Alexander to move the ball. Alexander would finish the drive with a three-yard touchdown run at 6:50.

The very next possession for the Cyclones would be abruptly halted by another interception by Finley. However, the Cornhuskers would not score off of the turnover and would be forced to punt.

Sophomore defensive lineman Ryan Harklau blocked the punt and gave the Cyclones possession of the ball at the Nebraska 46-yard line, but a holding penalty against the Cyclones would contribute to another scoreless drive.

Nebraska regained possession, and yet another costly penalty hurt the Cyclones when they were called for pass interference with just 2:10 left in the half.

Spurred by the penalty, the Nebraska ground attack took control again. Sophomore I-back Cornell Buckhalter finished the rushing barrage with a two-yard touchdown run to put the Cornhuskers up 21-0.

Iowa State was unable to score on the final possession of the half, so the score remained 21-0 at halftime.

Playing conditions worsened as the second half began with the Cyclones receiving the ball first.

A nine-yard run by junior running back Darren Davis and two Bandhauer completions — a 15-yard grab by Groce and a 10-yard catch by Anthony — kept the Cyclones offense on the field. The drive was ended by a seven-yard sack of Bandhauer.

A bad snap from long snapper Cory Kluver to sophomore punter Carl Gomez resulted in a 17-yard loss for the Cyclones, and the Cornhuskers took over at the Cyclones’ 38-yard line.

The Cyclone defense stepped up, as senior linebacker Kip King intercepted a Crouch pass and returned it 51 yards to put the Cyclones in scoring position.

Nevertheless, the Cyclones were unable to convert on the possession, and Nebraska got the ball back.

Nebraska would then go on a seven-play, 62-yard drive, ended by Alexander’s third touchdown of the day, a one-yard plunge at 3:11, to make the score 28-0.

The score remained 28-0 going into the fourth quarter, with Nebraska driving and senior Monte Christo replacing Crouch at quarterback.

Two offsides penalties on the Cyclones would help propel the Cornhuskers to another score, a 16- yard run by Christo, to increase the Nebraska lead to 35-0.

Iowa State’s next possession featured a 27-yard catch by Groce and an 11-yard run by Davis, but Bandhauer was picked off for the third time in the game, this time by sophomore defensive back Joe Walker at 11:05 in the quarter.

Walker returned the ball 65 yards for a touchdown and a 42-0 lead for the Cornhuskers. ISU would then switch quarterbacks, replacing Bandhauer with sophomore Sage Rosenfels.

Rosenfels would lead the Cyclones on a 15-play, 74-yard drive finished off by a 19-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Ennis Haywood to put the Cyclones on the board and make the final score 42-7.

McCarney was left yet again to ponder the reasons for the Cyclones’ disappointing performance.

“Nebraska is a real fine football team, and they’re very physical and well-coached. I thought our kids were ready to play and gave a great effort,” McCarney said. “The kids hung in there, and I was glad to see them keep fighting in the second half.”

Despite the blustery field conditions, McCarney said the weather is no excuse for poor play.

“You can look for excuses on our end and say that dry conditions might help you throw better, but we still had penalties, we still have to do a better job protecting and making decisions,” McCarney said. “You look at that offensive line and front seven on defense, and it’s vintage Nebraska. They look like they’re going to bust out of their jerseys.”

Nebraska racked up 403 yards of total offense, 359 of which came from the running game, while ISU was only able to muster 103 yards on the ground and 227 yards of total offense.

Despite the loss of starters Ben Beaudet and Marcel Howard and some shifting of players on the line, there are no excuses for the performance, said senior offensive lineman Charley Bogwill.

“A lot of it falls on ourselves; it just comes down to technique and fundamentals,” Bogwill said. “It (the shifting) is discouraging sometimes after you get used to playing next to certain people, but when injuries happen, you just have to adapt to the people who come in.”

Three Bandhauer interceptions led to 14 points for the Cornhuskers. Bandhauer took his performance in stride.

“I made some plays I wish I could take back, but they’re over with, so I have to move on,” Bandhauer said. “I have two big games left in my career, and I’m just looking forward to playing again.”

McCarney indicated that the team is banged up right now, but it must learn from the Nebraska game and look ahead to next week’s game at Colorado.

“We’re extremely thin right now,” McCarney said. “We’ve got guys who are taking snaps that probably shouldn’t, but we just don’t have anyone else to put in the game right now. We have to keep working and improving with the kids we’ve got.”