LINCOLN, Neb. - Iowa State's new outfit will arrive next season.

Saturday afternoon, the Cyclones' attempt to look like a winner here didn't fit at all.

Once again, ISU dressed itself in defeat for the 15th straight time at Memorial Stadium, falling to Nebraska by a 35-17 margin in the Big 12 Conference opener.

Back in 1977, Iowa State knocked off the Cornhuskers, 24-21, on their own turf. Three decades later, the Cyclones (1-4, 0-1) appeared to be in good shape when they grabbed an early 10-0 lead as turnovers and mistakes littered Memorial Stadium.

That's when the Cyclones donned a tattered wardrobe that Gene Chizik had seen far too often during his first season as a head coach.

Take special teams. Following ISU's only touchdown of the first half, Nebraska's Cortney Grixby roared 51 yards with the ensuing kickoff. His return led to the Cornhuskers' first score and a run of 28 unanswered points.

A fake punt gamble also blew up on Iowa State, when Michael Brandtner missed getting a first down by a yard at the Nebraska 33. From there, NU quarterback Sam Keller directed the drive that put the Huskers up for good, at 14-10, with 1 minute, 8 seconds to go in the opening half.

"We've been trying to correct them for five weeks," said Chizik of the special teams woes that have repeatedly cut down Iowa State in 2007. "They all come in different ways. We just have to go back and see what happened and why."

Turnovers, another recurring problem, plagued Iowa State once more Saturday.

A fumble stopped one first-quarter threat; a Bret Meyer interception halted another. NU linebacker Bo Ruud picked off a deflected ball and rumbled 93 yards for the score that gave the Huskers the 28-10 lead in the third period. A final interception - by Grixby - set up the concluding Husker TD of the day.

While Iowa State's defense collected a pick (by Chris Singleton) and a fumble (recovered in the end zone by Allen Bell), the Cyclone offense gave up the football four times.

"We moved the ball pretty good," said Meyer, who hit 26 of 51 passes for 281 yards. "We have to convert. We can't turn the ball over four times. That's going to kill any offense. We just keep killing ourselves on drives."

A lot of solid performances failed to produce that streak-busting victory.

Jason Scales, seeing his first significant action of 2007 when a shoulder injury sidelined J.J. Bass, rumbled for 115 yards in 31 rushes, both career highs.

Overall, Iowa State rolled up 415 yards in total offense, its second-best yield at Memorial Stadium. Only the 1983 Cyclones - with 503 - had a bigger day at the Huskers' home.

None of that mattered very much. Next year, of course, ISU will own new uniforms, a brand-new helmet and a redesigned logo when NU comes to Jack Trice Stadium. On a tough Saturday afternoon, nobody wanted to dress up the fourth loss of 2007.

"I'm not into moral victories - time of possession, total yards," said Chizik. "I'm into points, and we didn't get 'em. That's the way I see it."

Said linebacker Alvin Bowen, "We did some good things, but we did some stupid things. Myself, on things that were basic, I made mistakes. I believe we had opportunities. I had opportunities. I should have made more plays. The defense had opportunities."

Both teams had chances in the opening minutes, thanks to two turnovers by NU and one by ISU. Only the Cyclones cashed in when Bret Culbertson booted a 30-yard field goal after Bell's fumble recovery and runback.

When Scales tallied the first of his two TDs, on a 3-yard run, the Cyclones carried a double-digit lead - and plenty of optimism.

"The game plan was really unfolding the way we hoped it would," said Chizik. "Then … the momentum swung a little bit there toward halftime, and a few big plays turned the game around."

In the wake of Grixby's long kickoff return, I-back Marlon Lucky hit tight end Sean Hill with a 20-yard touchdown pass that caught ISU by surprise.

"That was mostly on us as players," said safety James Smith. "I know in practice we talked about it and (practiced it) a couple of times. It was disappointing."

So was the fake punt. On fourth down from the Husker 37, Brandtner ran right, needing 5 yards. He got 4. He also took a wicked hit after he stepped out of bounds, but the officials ruled the late hit a dead-ball personal foul.

Thus, the Huskers got possession of the football, and Keller's 6-yard TD pass to fullback Thomas Lawson made it 14-10 Nebraska.

"If we'd made it, we'd look great. We didn't, so we all look bad," said Chizik. "I understand that. I was happy with the call. We were just a yard short."

Every attempt to rally hit a roadblock. Trailing by 11, ISU reached the 9 before Ruud snared a pass intended for Todd Blythe and made the third-longest interception return for a score in school history.

That last chance for the comeback ended with 3:50 to go on Grixby's pick. Minutes later, ISU shed its road uniforms and searched for answers.

"We just have to play better," said offensive guard Tom Schmeling. "We've got to handle the ball. We can't turn it over. As everybody could see, those were crucial mistakes."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com

Iowa St. 3 7 0 7-17

Nebraska 0 14 14 7-35

First Quarter

ISU - FG Culbertson 30, 2:50

Drive: 12 plays, 52 yards,5:36. Key plays: Bell recovers Lucky fumble - forced by James Smith - in ISU end zone and returns it 35 yards; Nebraska 5-yard offside penalty on fourth-and-4 gives Cyclones first down at Iowa State 46. Hamilton 14 pass from Meyer to Husker 40.

Second Quarter

ISU - Scales 3 run (Culbertson kick), 7:47

Drive: 6 plays, 48 yards, 2:32. Key plays: D. Williams 8 punt return to Nebraska 48, Blythe 28 pass from Meyer on fade pattern left to Cornhusker 7

Neb - S.Hill 20 pass from Lucky (Henery kick), 4:34

Drive: 7 plays, 47 yards, 3:03. Key plays: Grixby 51 kickoff return to ISU 47; Lucky 6 run on third-and-4 to Cyclone 22

Neb - Lawson 6 pass from Keller (Henery kick), 1:08

Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards, 1:35. Key plays: Nebraska stops Brandtner short of first-down yardage on fake punt; 15-yard late hit penalty on Huskers ruled after play, leaving NU with possession; Swift 21 pass from Meyer to Cornhusker 41, Hardy 14 pass from Keller to Cyclone 24; Lucky 11 run to ISU 13.

Third Quarter

Neb - Lucky 41 run (Henery kick), 14:01

Drive: 4 plays, 54 yards, :55. Key plays: Hill returns squib kickoff 17 yards to NU 46; Purify 7 pass from Keller on third-and-4 to ISU 41

Neb - Ruud 93 interception return (Henery kick), 2:13

Fourth Quarter

ISU - Scales 6 run (Culbertson kick), 6:57

Drive: 17 plays, 97 yards, 4:07. Key plays: Hamilton 7 pass from Meyer on third-and-4 to ISU 9, Hamilton 18 pass from Meyer to Cyclone 46, Sumrall 7 pass from Meyer on fourth-and-4 to NU 41, Sumrall 24 pass from Meyer to Cornhusker 17

Neb - Lawson 4 pass from Keller (Henery kick), 2:25

Drive: 3 plays, 3 yards, 1:25. Key play: Grixby interecepts Meyer pass and returns it 41 yards to ISU 3

A-84,703.

TEAM STATISTICS

ISU Neb

First downs 28 17

Rushes-yards 51-134 30-130

Passing 281 239

Comp-Att-Int 26-51-3 19-29-1

Return Yards 15 146

Punts-Avg. 4-42.5 4-38.5

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 2-2

Penalties-Yards 1-5 4-50

Time of Possession 39:12 20:48

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

IOWA STATE - Scales 31-115, Meyer 12-28, Brandtner 1-4, W.Franklin 1-2, Arnaud 5-(minus 7), Robinson 1-(minus 8).

NEBRASKA - Lucky 16-107, Glenn 8-27, Keller 4-7, Castille 1-0, Nunn 1-(minus 11).

Passing

IOWA STATE - Meyer 26-51-3-281.

NEBRASKA - Keller 18-28-1-219, Lucky 1-1-0-20.

Receiving

IOWA STATE - Hamilton 6-72, Sumrall 6-56, Blythe 5-84, Barkema 3-23, Scales 3-19, Bates 2-19, Catlett 1-8.

NEBRASKA - Swift 4-59, Lucky 4-16, Purify 3-36, Hardy 2-74, Nunn 2-18, Lawson 2-10, S.Hill 1-20, Phillips 1-6.

DEFENSIVE STATISTICS

Tackles

IOWA STATE - Chris Singleton 3-5-8, Alvin Brown 4-3-7, Jesse Smith 2-4-6, Ahtyba Rubin 3-2-5, Jon Banks 3-1-4, Bryce Braaksma 2-2-4, Rashawn Parker 1-3-4, James Smith 3-0-3, Kurtis Taylor 3-0-3, Caleb Berg 0-3-3, Allen Bell 2-0-2, Chris Weir 1-0-1, Bret Meyer 1-0-1, Cameron Bell 1-0-1, Brandon Hunley 1-0-1, Josh Raven 0-1-1, Fred Garrin 0-1-1, Bailey Johnson 0-1-1.

NEBRASKA - Bo Ruud 6-8-14, Steve Octavian 7-4-11, Armando Murillo 7-2-9, Larry Asante 5-4-9, Corey McKeon 4-5-9, Zackary Bowman 5-0-5, Zach Potter 2-3-5, Ndamukong Suh 4-0-4, Phillip Dillard 2-2-4, Lance Brandenberg 3-0-3, Kevin Dixon 1-2-3, Barry Turner 1-2-3, Bryan Wilson 2-0-2, Clayton Sievers 2-0-2, Ben Martin 1-1-2, Tierre Green 1-1-2, Rickey Thenarse 1-1-2, Cortney Grixby 1-0-1, Shukree Barfield 1-0-1, Carl Nicks 1-0-1, Matt O'Hanlon 1-0-1, Ty Steinkuhler 1-0-1, Andy Poulosky 0-1-1, Andy Sand 0-1-1, Anthony Blue 0-1-1.

Tackles for loss

IOWA STATE - Bowen 2-12, Rubin 1-1, Parker 1-0.

NEBRASKA - Octavien 2-11, McKeon 1-3, Potter 1-3, Suh 2-10, Dixon 1-1, Turner 3-10, Steinkuhler 1-6.

Sacks

IOWA STATE - None.

NEBRASKA - Potter 1/2-3, Suh 1-6, Turner 1 1/2-9.