“We had guys puking in buckets before the game, at the hotel, at halftime. To extend that kind of effort is just fabulous, and I couldn't be prouder of our football team.''

— Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads, in noting how several Cyclones played Saturday in spite of the flu

“After you make a big play like that on special teams, the defense is kind of vulnerable. We hit them with that deep pass, and Jake Williams made a great catch in the end zone for us.”

— Punter Mike Brandtner, who gained 20 yards on a fake punt on the play before the Cyclones scored a 47-yard scoring pass

“They're smoking down the field, heading for pay dirt and there's no question they're going in. We take a timeout to rally the troops. Defensively, we bowed up right there. We got the stop, and then Jerome, Jake and the rest of the offense executed. — Rhoads, on pivotal possessions in which Iowa State stopped Nebraska from scoring with an interception and followed it with the game-winning touchdown drive

“He's a great player. We had some lineup problems — (guard Ben) Lamaak was sick — and we had some guys get hurt. We just had to keep rotating bodies on him to try to slow him down a little bit.”

— Center Reggie Stephens, on playing against Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh

“Nah, I think he was ready to get off the field.

— Stephens, on whether Suh said anything to him after the game

“We were pretty aggressive today, and we tried to get after them. We didn't let them have very many big plays today, and that was the big thing.”

— Linebacker Jesse Smith, on the defense's play