Nebraska's Marlon Lucky (5) vaults over Iowa State's Chris Brown as Jess Smith, right, gives chase. Lucky ran for a touchdown and passed for another in the Cornhuskers' 35-17 victory Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.

Lincoln, Neb. – A week after being jeered by the home fans, Nebraska’s defense played well enough to earn some cheers at Memorial Stadium.

Linebacker Bo Ruud returned an interception 93 yards for a touchdown to break open the game late in the third quarter, and the 25th-ranked Cornhuskers went on to a 35-17 victory over Iowa State on Saturday.

“We’ve been taking a lot of heat, but we’ve taken the mindset that we know what we’re capable of, and we’re trying to get better,” Ruud said a week after the Huskers barely held on for a 41-40 victory against Ball State.

“We just had a couple down weeks. We’ve got a lot of room to improve. That wasn’t even our best football.”

The Cyclones ran a school-record 102 plays from scrimmage and held a 20-minute possession advantage, but Nebraska still came away with the victory.

Ruud’s touchdown came after I-back Marlon Lucky passed for one score and ran for another. Sam Keller and Thomas Lawson also teamed up for two touchdowns as the Huskers (4-1, 1-0 Big 12) won their conference opener for the 11th time in 12 years.

The Cyclones are winless in eight road games since October 2005 and in 15 visits to Lincoln since 1977.

Nebraska gave the Cyclones every reason to believe they might end the futility.

Texas A&M 34, Baylor 10

College Station, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies rallied around their embattled coach and dominated their Big 12 opener.

Stephen McGee and Jorvorskie Lane each ran for over 100 yards and a touchdown amid the controversy over a secret newsletter swirling around coach Dennis Franchione.

Lane said the Aggies respected Franchione even more after he talked with them.

“Coach Fran came to us like a man and told us he made a stupid decision,” Lane said. “He’s human. He made a mistake, just like everybody in here.”

The Aggies’ performance on Saturday should make everyone feel a little better.

Oklahoma State 39, Sam Houston State 3

Stillwater, Okla. – Zac Robinson threw for 279 yards and two scores, and Perrish Cox returned a punt for a touchdown as Oklahoma State pulled away in the second half.

Adarius Bowman caught eight passes for 141 yards and a score, and the Cowboys’ defense held former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar without a touchdown pass for the first time in eight games. Bomar was playing his first game in the state since being dismissed from the Sooners prior to last season for violating NCAA rules.

Texas Tech 75, Northwestern State 7

Lubbock, Texas – Graham Harrell threw for 338 yards and five touchdowns, and Michael Crabtree tied a freshman record for touchdown receptions in a season.

Harrell hooked up with Crabtree for three scores, giving the receiver 14 to match the Division I freshman record in just five games.

Crabtree finished with eight receptions for 145 yards, 49 yards fewer than his nation-leading 194 yard average coming into the game.