Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller hopes the cheers return to Memorial Stadium during Saturday's Big 12 opener against Iowa State.

The 25th-ranked Cornhuskers (3-1) were booed in the fourth quarter last week as they struggled to win 41-40 against a Ball State team that came in as a 23-point underdog.

Keller said he and his teammates know what the fans want, and no one feels worse than the players when they fail to deliver.

"There is a standard of performance at the University of Nebraska that is going to be held up high no matter what," Keller said. "You try to exceed or meet the expectations you put on yourself as a football team, and you hope that sits well with your fans."

Just winning isn't good enough for Nebraska fans. They review how victories look. The more lopsided they are, the better. Losses? None is good.

Though the Huskers haven't won a conference title since 1999 -- and they have lost no fewer than four games in a season since 2003 -- the Big Red faithful have long memories. They still yearn for the days Tom Osborne was stringing together nine-win seasons and bringing home national championships in the 1990s.

So here comes Iowa State (1-3), which, like Ball State, appears outmanned on paper. The Cyclones are three-touchdown underdogs, but they showed improvement on offense last week in a 36-35 loss at Toledo.

Nebraska linebacker Steve Octavien, who apologized this week for ripping fans for booing, said he would like to think the crowd will be there to energize Huskers.

"We are just as good as the crowd, so if the crowd is very loud and they are pumped up, that is when it becomes a lot of fun," Octavien said. "When the crowd is booing and stuff, it is very difficult to go out there and play. I am pretty sure you can imagine how hard it is when the fans you love are booing."

With Southern California on the early schedule, no one expected the Huskers to be better than 3-1 at this point.

The Huskers blew out Nevada in the opener and had to work hard to beat Wake Forest 20-17 on the road. Though the Trojans came to Lincoln ranked No. 1, concerns arose in the 49-31 loss because USC was able to move at will on the ground. Then came the one-point win over Ball State, which racked up 610 total yards.

Coach Bill Callahan said afterward that any win is a good win in this age of parity. The comment didn't sit well with fans. But Callahan didn't back away from it this week, saying looks don't matter to him. While fans were stewing, he said, he and his players engaged in a postgame locker room celebration after beating Ball State.

That doesn't mean Callahan isn't concerned about the Huskers' problems on defense.

"This is the truth: We work so long, hard and furious, there's not a lot of down time to sit around and have a pity party if you're not doing well," Callahan said.

Iowa State has had little to celebrate since 2005. Gene Chizik took over for the fired Dan McCarney this year, and the Cyclones lost to Kent State and I-AA Northern Iowa. The 15-13 win over rival Iowa was a bright spot, but last week the Cyclones blew an 11-point lead in the final 5:25 and lost 36-35 to Toledo.

ISU beat Nebraska in Ames, Iowa, in 2002 and 2004 but hasn't won in Lincoln since 1977.

"It's time to really start cracking the whip," Cyclones linebacker Alvin Bowen said. "The Big 12 is very physical. Not to say the first four games we played weren't that physical, but the Big 12 is a different deal. What better way to start it off than with Nebraska."

Keller said the start of Big 12 play represents a fresh start for the Huskers.

"We're not satisfied," he said, "but we are happy with 3-1. I think I speak for a lot of people in this program."