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Iowa St.-Iowa Preview

Sep 7, 2010 - 11:02 PM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Editor

Iowa State (1-0) at No. 10 Iowa (1-0), 3:30 p.m. EDT

Few teams have found it easy to score in recent seasons against Iowa, which used one of the nation's top defenses to win 11 games - including the Orange Bowl - in 2009.

Perhaps no opponent has struggled more than Iowa State.

The Cyclones haven't scored a touchdown against the ninth-ranked Hawkeyes since 2006, a drought they'll hope to end as they try to pull off an upset in Iowa City on Saturday.

The nation's 10th-ranked defense helped power Iowa to a BCS bowl last year, and the Hawkeyes looked sharp again in last Saturday's 37-7 opening win over Eastern Illinois.

Iowa State certainly wasn't surprised to see the Hawkeyes hold Eastern Illinois to six first downs and 157 yards while improving to 14-2 at home since the start of 2008.

"They've got a front four that's as good as any front four in the country," second-year Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. "There's something to be said for doing something over and repeatedly and doing it really well. That's the University of Iowa."

Rhoads led the Cyclones to a win over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl last year, but he got a rude introduction to this rivalry as the Cyclones lost 35-3 at home Sept. 12.

Iowa, which tied for fifth nationally with 21 interceptions in 2009, picked off five passes - four by quarterback Austen Arnaud.

"I played terrible," Arnaud said this week. "It's something that I hope to not do again going into this year, but I can't think about it, let it hang over my head."

Arnaud also threw two interceptions in a 17-5 loss at Iowa on Sept. 13, 2008. The Cyclones have gone 14 consecutive quarters without a touchdown against the Hawkeyes, although they won 15-13 with five field goals Sept. 15, 2007.

Iowa State may also have problems with the Hawkeyes' offense, which is anticipating the return of touted running back Jewel Hampton. The sophomore, who scored seven touchdowns while backing up Shonn Greene in 2008, missed all of last year with a torn ACL and was suspended for the season opener.

Fellow sophomore Adam Robinson filled in against Eastern Illinois, carrying 24 times for 109 yards and three first-half touchdowns, and he may split carries with Hampton on Saturday.

"Certainly Adam played an excellent game the other day. That was a real highlight," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "Last time Jewel was on the field, he was really doing well, too. We are really optimistic. ... Hopefully at some point we'll have a good one-two combination."

The Hawkeyes are also happy that quarterback Ricky Stanzi remains healthy after going 18 for 23 for 229 yards and a touchdown last weekend. The senior, who's in his third year as a starter, briefly left the game with an apparent knee injury.

"Very fortunately it turned out to just be a little bit of a muscle or a soft tissue thing. It looked ugly from the sideline," said Ferentz, the reigning Big Ten coach of the year who signed a five-year extension through 2020 last week.

Ferentz hopes his team can induce another ugly performance from Iowa State's offense.

The Cyclones showed some flaws last Thursday during a 27-10 win over Northern Illinois, turning the ball over three times. Arnaud was picked off twice, although he was otherwise sharp while going 27 for 36 for 265 yards and running for a touchdown.

"He threw two bad interceptions, and they were bad decisions on his part and bad balls on his part," Rhoads said. "But he threw for 75 percent accuracy with 36 thrown balls, which is something he didn't do a year ago."

Senior Alexander Robinson anchored Iowa State's running game, carrying 19 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns. He was one of two opposing backs with a 100-yard game last year against Iowa, reaching that total on 19 carries.

The Cyclones have lost 36 straight road games against ranked opponents since a 33-31 win over then-No. 16 Oklahoma on Oct. 20, 1990.