Editor’s note: This story appeared in the Nov. 8, 1970, editions of the Lincoln Journal and Star.
AMES, Iowa— Bob Devaney went to the bullpen for Jerry Tagge Saturday and the strike-throwing reliever pitched Nebraska another step closer to the Big Eight football championship and a postseason bowl bid.
Tagge, who had given way to Van Brownson midway in the Big Eight opener against Missouri, directed an awesome attack which buried Iowa State, 54-29, as Brownson was limited to holding the ball for kicker Paul Rogers because of an ailing elbow.
The Cornhuskers had called their assignment here Saturday the “Ames Bowl†and unleashed all the bombs in their scoring arsenal against the game, but outclassed Cyclones.
The 54-point spree matched the previous high Cornhusker scoring total in the 65-game series as the devastating attack clicked for a season best of 565 yards in total offense.
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Tagge riddled the league-leading Iowa State pass defense with 18 completions in 27 attempts for for 223 yards and sent Jeff Kinney, Joe Orduna and Dan Schneiss around and through the baffled Cyclones for 342 yards on the ground.
Iowa State’s upset hopes, dim at halftime as the Cyclones were down, 26-11, were crushed in the last eight minutes of the third quarter as Tagge directed masterful drives of 74, 59 and 64 yards. The Cyclones sandwiched in one score during that explosive stretch, but were completely out of it at 47-14 heading into the final quarter.
The Cornhuskers hiked the counted to 54-17 late in the fourth quarter before the Cyclones struck for a pair of consolation touchdowns against the Nebraska reserves.
It was a record accomplishment in several areas as the Big Red Machine hikes its seaosn mark to 8-0-1 and its Big Eight record to 5-0. It was the 16th game without a loss for Nebraska, matching the previous high in the Devaney era during the 1963 and 1964 seasons.
Joe Orduna was only No. 3 in the Cornhusker rushing column Saturday, but his 69 yards boosted him to No. 1 in the Devaney era with a career total of 1,797 yards. He moved past Harry Wilson’s old mark of 1,736 on his third carry as the Cornhuskers were beginning their second long touchdown march.
The potency of the rushing game was underscored as Kinney rambled for 116 yards in 19 trips to climb to No. 6 on the Devaney-era rushing chart (1,116 yards) and Schneiss bulled for 92 yards on 14 carries to crack the top 10 with 819 yards.
The Cornhuskers established their domination early afrer Ed Periard had recovered an Iowa State fumble on the Nebraska 27 in the opening minute.
Tagge marched the club 74 yards in 18 plays, throwing just three passes, and came right back to direct a 14-play, 66-yard march to produce a 12-0 lead. There was 1:33 left lin the opening quarter and Iowa State had run just six plays at that point.
The Cornhuskers put it all on the line next Saturday in Lincoln (vs. Kansas State).