For Iowa State and Iowa, what happened in Week 1 stays in Week 1 as Cy-Hawk game nears

AMES — Iowa State cruised to a season-opening, 42-10, win last Saturday over an average FCS foe.

Iowa sweated out a defense-driven, 7-3, win a couple hours earlier over one of the best FCS teams.

So both in-state rivals are 1-0. One looked good, the other didn’t. All of which means Saturday’s 3 p.m. Cy-Hawk game between the Cyclones and Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium will be …

“None of that stuff matters,” ISU defensive coordinator Jon Heacock said regarding how first-week fortunes relate to this week’s potential triumphs or travails. “When you play in a rivalry game, the film you’re watching is not the team that you’re playing. I think my veteran — my years as a coach — I’ve kind of learned that in the process.”

So the element of surprise, either good or bad, reigns supreme. The unexpected becomes the norm for at least 60 minutes of football. Amid the deafening noise and the bickering fan bases, patterns emerge and trends take shape.

Recognizing and capitalizing off of them takes skill, patience and discipline — all attributes the Hawkeyes have showcased while reeling off six straight Cy-Hawk wins and enjoying a plus-nine turnover edge in the past five triumphs.

“We’re playing a team that not only as a team, but as a program has had great success,” said Cyclone head coach Matt Campbell, who has beaten every team ISU plays on an annual basis except for Iowa. “From our end, we love playing in these games. You love being a part of it, you love coaching in it and what a great challenge to see where we are as a 2022 football team.”

In Week 1, the Cyclones’ new starting quarterback, Hunter Dekkers, played with poise and panache, attacking Southeast Missouri State’s defense from sideline-to-sideline, with screens and deep balls.

But how will the strong-armed sophomore from West Sioux look when facing a Hawkeye defense that intercepted ISU’s winningest all-time quarterback, Brock Purdy, five times in the past two meetings?

No one knows — but he’s pleased to simply have a chance to prove himself.

“It’s been a dream,” Dekkers said after his four-touchdown performance in the season opener. “Just to start a college football game is something I’ve dreamed of.”

Now it’s time for start No. 2. And even though he and several other in-state players grew up following the Cy-Hawk rivalry, few Cyclones have ever played in Kinnick.

The 2020 game was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2018 most of ISU’s seniors were backups or special teams players when the two teams played in Iowa City.

Even sixth-year senior O’Rien Vance will make his Kinnick Stadium debut. He was backing up Mike Rose at Mike linebacker at the time.

“It was a fun experience,” the former Cedar Rapids Washington standout said of the atmosphere, but not the outcome, that day. “Kinnick, even growing up as a kid just hearing about it, it was always chaotic and everyone talks about it being one of the hardest places to play. Going there that year and actually witnessing it for myself, it is a hard place to play in, but this being my first chance to go there and play, I just can’t wait for the opportunity.”

Las Vegas oddsmakers have essentially made Kinnick the projected difference in the game. Iowa is a 3.5-point favorite, which means every big play and glaring gaffe likely will impact the outcome. What happened last week will become a distant memory, unless elements repeat, forming patterns and trends that stem from habits and preparation.

It’s a simple, yet hard equation: Play clean football and probably win.

“Just have poise, play under control and just don’t beat ourselves,” ISU’s two-time first team All-Big 12 wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson said.

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