NIU Loses Opener

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- After watching the scout team slice up his inexperienced defense in practice this week, Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads told his offensive staff they'd better find a way light up the scoreboard against Northern Illinois.

It turns out the kids were better than Rhoads thought.

Senior Alexander Robinson rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns and the Cyclones new-look defense more than held its own as Iowa State beat the Huskies 27-10 on Thursday night.

Austen Arnaud added 265 yards passing and a TD run for Iowa State (1-0), which raced out to a 17-0 halftime lead. Iowa State's offense stalled much of the second half, but a defense with eight new starters held the Huskies (0-1) to just 249 yards of offense and, for one game at least, made a believer out of Rhoads.

"If you would have told me that we that were going to do that, I would have called you a flat-out liar," Rhoads said of holding Northern Illinois under 250 yards.

Robinson's 63-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter put the Cyclones ahead 14-0. Northern Illinois pulled within 17-10 midway through the fourth quarter, but Robinson's 5-yard touchdown run with 5:05 left put the game out of reach.

Quarterback DeMarcus Grady threw three interceptions for Northern Illinois, which fell to 4-10 against the Big 12.

The Cyclones looked set to cruise to an easy and encouraging win against the preseason favorites in the MAC's West division, but the Huskies sprung to life early in the second half.

Northern Illinois quickly drove to Iowa State's 2-yard line on their first series of the third quarter, but the Cyclones held the Huskies to a 19-yard field goal that made it 17-3.

In his first career start, Iowa State sophomore Jake Knott forced a fumble and had two interceptions, the first one bailing the Cyclones out deep in their own territory late in the third quarter.

Daniel Kuehl's shanked punt gave the Huskies a short field, though, and Grady's 1-yard touchdown plunge with 8:51 left made it 17-10.

The Cyclones put the pesky Huskies away on their next drive.

A personal foul on a failed third-down conversion gave Iowa State new life, and Robinson scored his second touchdown on the next play.

Knott's second pick set up Grant Mahoney's 23-yard field goal with 2:37 left.

"They had us scrambling a little bit early in the game. We never really settled down until the third quarter," Northern Illinois coach Jerry Kill said. "Give them credit for not letting us make a play. We need to find some people to step up and make them."

Kill had three choices at quarterback, and few knew Grady had won the job until he trotted onto the field.

Grady showed promise running the ball, with 54 yards on 14 carries, but he was just 14-of-29 passing for 93 yards.

Chad Spann had 80 yards rushing for the Huskies.

Iowa State safety Zac Sandvig, in for the suspended David Sims, picked off Grady to open the second quarter. On the next play, Robinson ran through a massive hole up the middle and shook off a few late tackles to make it 14-0 on the third-longest of Robinson's career.

Arnaud, who spent the offseason tweaking his throwing motion, was 27-of-36 passing but threw a pair of interceptions.

"He was inconsistent. I think he made a number of throws he didn't make a year ago, meaning accurate," Rhoads said. "He made good decisions out there on the field, and then he made some blunders that looked like they were really bad tosses."

Though it was only the opener, this was a crucial win for the Cyclones given how tough their schedule looks to be. Iowa State plays four preseason top 10 teams, starting with next week's trip to No. 9 Iowa.

The rival Hawkeyes figure to be a much tougher test than the Huskies.

"We got through this game with a win and we're proud of that, but it does not solidify our season at all," Arnaud said.