AMES - Solid gold ruled in the Jack Trice Stadium seats Saturday night.

On the field, Nebraska found the perfect reply. The Huskers chose to spin an oldie.

For the first time in six years, Nebraska left Iowa State's home turf as a winner, building an early lead and hanging on for a 28-14 decision here, thanks largely to a powerful ground attack.

During the week, ISU had declared Saturday Golden Rules Night at Jack Trice. The fans responded, as many in the crowd of 55,338 wore gold T-shirts imploring the Cyclones to beat Nebraska.

In the end, though, the color of the game changed to Big Red. Nebraska, which had lost two straight games at Jack Trice, ended that streak. Prior to Saturday, the last Cornhusker victory in Ames was a 49-27 thumping of Iowa State in 2000.

While head coach Bill Callahan stuck with his West Coast offense, Nebraska's attack looked a little old school. The Huskers rolled up 104 on the ground in 21 first-half attempts on the way to a 251-yard total.

Cody Glenn, a member of the Huskers' I-back by committee contingent, gained 60 yards in eights tries and scored a touchdown in the opening 30 minutes. Fellow ballcarrier Brandon Jackson tallied 56 in 11 tries, and he also ran for six points.

Overall, Glenn rumbled to 148 yards in 19 attempts, and Jackson finished with 116 yards in 22 rushes.

"To get two guys over 100 yards is quite an accomplishment," said Callahan. "The offensive line played great. We were more physical between the tackles."

Said Iowa State defensive tackle Brent Curvey, "We know we have to come on stronger earlier. We'll learn from our mistakes and come back from it."

Through the air, quarterback Zac Taylor hit Maurice Purify with a huge, 27-yard touchdown pass with three seconds to go in the first half. That key air strike lifted Nebraska into a 21-7 edge at the break.

ISU, meanwhile, tightened up in the final half, keeping the Huskers off the scoreboard until late in the fourth quarter. But the Cyclones' own offense, with quarterback Bret Meyer constantly pressured by Nebraska's blitzing defense, produced little but frustration as it tried to rally.

"We had some chances, but we weren't able to capitalize on them," said Cyclone head coach Dan McCarney. "Nebraska deserves credit for that. They're a real talented team and showed why they deserved to be nationally ranked."

On the first possession of the third period, Meyer hit Todd Blythe with an apparent 29-yard touchdown pass. An offensive interference penalty on the ISU wide receiver erased the score.

Later on that same series, Blythe caught a deep pass from Meyer for what looked like first-down yardage. The officials ruled him out of bounds, and the replay booth confirmed the call. A punt followed.

But Blythe declined to knock the officiating.

"In a game like this, we can't blame anybody else," said the Cyclone receiver.

Then came a fumble recovery by ISU safety Steve Johnson, a turnover that put the Cyclones back in business at the Husker 14. This time, Austin Flynn caught a Meyer pass in the end zone, but the officials said he failed to get the ball in-bounds.

On fourth-and-7 from the Cornhusker 11, Flynn took off on a fake field goal play, but he gained just 4 yards.

An interception by Nebraska corner Cortney Grixby stopped another promising Cyclone possession.

Hampered by false start penalties, two more ISU threats died on fourth down in Nebraska territory.

The Cornhuskers, by contrast, added an insurance TD with 1 minute, 33 seconds to play on Glenn's 4-yard run.

Iowa State ended the scoring. Blythe, who did not catch a pass in the first half, hauled in a 13-yard TD throw from Meyer. That effort lifted Blythe to six receptions for 96 yards, while Meyer collected 262 on 18 completions in 39 passes. But it was far too little, and far too late.

"We left a lot of points on the field today," said ISU wide receiver Jon Davis. "Overall, we just hurt ourselves tonight."

And so it went. Iowa State dropped to 3-3 on the season and 0-2 in Big 12 play. Nebraska is now 5-0 and 2-0.

"There were some times where I thought we played the best football all year," said McCarney. "There were times that left a lot to be desired."

Curvey thinks ISU can remain in the Big 12 North race.

"We have some games left to hit our stride," said the senior defensive tackle. "We still have a lot of things to work on."

Over the opening 30 minutes, Nebraska's offense worked over Iowa State.

The Cornhuskers mixed a powerful rush offense with their versatile passing attack. Thus, they owned the 14-point lead at the break.

Striking immediately after the opening kickoff, Nebraska bolted 80 yards on its initial possession. Glenn finished the drive at the 9-minute, 33 second mark of the first quarter.

The Cornhuskers then broke a 7-7 tie with a 68-yard dash to the end zone. Jackson's 1-yard dive with 8:07 to go in the half restored the Husker lead.

Then came what looked like the dagger. Out of time outs, the Cornhuskers scored again in the closing seconds of the half.

Taylor, just before being hit by blitzing cornerback DeAndre Jackson, lobbed the ball deep to the left corner of the end zone, where Purify beat Ty McKenzie.

As for ISU's offense, the Cyclones put together one strong drive, an 11-play 43-yard effort. On a third-down sneak, Meyer scored to tie the game at 7-7 with 14:10 left in the half.

But ISU didn't shine again until the game had been decided.

"We made a few plays, but not enough," said Blythe.

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