Cyclones Set to Rumble with Rebels

The Iowa State Cyclones (1-0) will take on the UNLV Rebels at 6 p.m. Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. The game will not be televised, but will be broadcast on the Cyclones Radio Network.

THE BASICS
Iowa State, coming off a thrilling 45-43 three-overtime season-opening win over Toledo in which QB Bret Meyer ran and passed for five touchdowns, plays host to a UNLV team led by a QB that made an auspicious debut in a 54-10 rout of Idaho State in Las Vegas ... Meyer rolled up 304 yards of total offense against Toledo and threw consecutive TD passes for WR Todd Blythe in the second and third overtimes as the Cyclones notched their first overtime win after five losses ... UNLV quarterback Rocky Hinds, a much anticipated USC transfer and 6-5, 220-pound sophomore, completed 24-of-42 passes for 322 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter ... he also ran for 42 yards and a score ... Hinds is one of several transfers who are expected to make this season a far cry from last year's 2-9 campaign that saw the Rebels finish 1-7 in the Mountain West Conference ... ISU is 13-6 in its last 19 games, with only two defeats occurring in regulation ... last season marked the 13th time in 114 years of Iowa State football that a Cyclone team has won at least seven games in a season ... Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney, the Dean of Big 12 coaches in his 12th season, has coached five of those seven-win teams ... Saturday's game is MAC's 131st game as the winningest football mentor (53 wins) in school history ... McCarney is the ninth-longest tenured coach in Division I-A ... Meyer demonstrated his versatility against a Toledo team that finished the 2005 season ranked 26th on the final AP poll ... the junior, a member of the Maxwell Award watch list, ran for three touchdowns and passed for two others to pace Iowa State ... his TD passes came on consecutive overtime pass plays to WR Todd Blythe ... Meyer's two-point conversion dash in the third overtime set up the Iowa State victory ... Meyer already ranks second in total offense (5,560), fourth in career passing yards (5,036) and third in touchdown passes (31) ... Meyer set a school record for consecutive passes without an interception (155) last season, a streak that started in the first quarter of the Missouri game (Oct. 15) and ended in the third quarter of the Kansas game (Nov. 26), a span of over 22 quarters ... the previous record was 141 attempts, by Todd Bandhauer in 1997 ... Blythe ranked second among the nation's receivers last season, averaging 19.61 yards per catch ... of Blythe's school-record 20 career TD grabs, 17 have come from Meyer, also an ISU record for touchdown passing tandems ... Iowa State's defense was among the best in school history last season, allowing a school record low of 102.7 yards per game ... only four starters (DT Brent "Big Play" Curvey, DE Shawn Moorehead, SLB Adam Carper and CB DeAndre Jackson) return from a unit that allowed a school-record low of 10 rushing touchdowns.

CARDINAL RULES
Fresh off a thrilling season-opening win over Toledo, Iowa State fans are gearing up for the inaugural CARDINAL RULES game set for ISU's next gridiron contest, a 6 p.m., Sept. 9, kickoff against UNLV in Jack Trice Stadium. Cyclone fans are urged to participate in the Cardinal Rules promotion by wearing cardinal-colored apparel to the night game against the Rebels. Cardinal Rules shirts that list the top 10 rules of being a Cyclone fan, are available at outlets in Iowa.

"We want a sea of cardinal to greet UNLV when the Rebels come onto our field," Iowa State assistant athletics director for marketing Mary Pink said. "We've had some fun with this, including getting from fans the top 10 reasons to be a Cyclone fan. We want everyone to know where they can pick up a T-shirt and be ready Sept. 9."

The athletics department asked fans for their input earlier this summer in putting together the top 10 list.

The top 10:

10. Buy seats to every home game...sitting optional.

9. Always refer to Iowa as "The Cyclone State".

8. Know all the words to the ISU Fight Song. Repeat often.

7. Vow to Pack the Jack!

6. Love thy tailgate neighbor.

5. Yell like hell!

4. Wear something bold in Cardinal and Gold!

3. Eat, sleep and breathe Cyclone Football.

2. Arrive early. Stay late. Cheer loud!

1. Be loud and be proud to be a Cyclone!

Retailers that will be or are currently selling the shirts are: Campus Book Store in Ames, www.CycloneFanatic.com, Dogtown in Ames, Gordman's in Des Moines, Waterloo, Sioux City, West Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Council Bluffs, Intensitee, The Iowa State University Book Store in Ames, Scheels All Sports, The Sports Page of Ames, The Stadium in Des Moines and Clive, Strawberry Patch in Ames, and T-Galaxy in Ames.

For more information check the Cardinal Rules Link

http://www.trademark.iastate.edu/cgrules/

2005 REVIEW: ISU NETS FIFTH BOWL IN SIX YEARS
Iowa State's defense and the continued improvement of the Cyclone offense led by sophomore quarterback Bret Meyer helped ISU erase an 0-3 Big 12 start for the second straight season and earn the school's fifth bowl berth in the last six seasons under head coach Dan McCarney ... the season included a 23-3 win over No. 8 Iowa, the sixth Iowa State win over its intrastate rival in the last eight seasons ... three of ISU's losses came in overtime ... the Cyclones ruined Homecoming at Texas A&M with a 42-14 win over the Aggies and beat Kansas State in Ames (45-17) for the first time since 1983 ... Iowa State's last victory was a memorable 30-16 win over No. 22 Colorado (ISU's first victory in Ames over the Buffaloes since 1983) ... Iowa State lost to No. 14 TCU, 27-24 in the Houston Bowl ... Meyer fininshed the season with 2,876 passing yards, second in school history ... wide receiver Todd Blythe finished the season as the third 1,000-yard single-season pass catcher in Iowa State history ... Blythe and center Scott Stephenson were tabbed first-team all-conference performers by the Big 12 coaches ... but the story of the 2005 Cyclones was defense ... led by all-Big 12 defensive tackle Brent "Big Play" Curvey and all-conference nose guard Nick Leaders, the Cyclones allowed opponents an all-time defensive low of 102.7 rushing yards per game and just 10 rushing touchdowns ... the yardage total was nearly 40 yards under the the school record of 139.2 set in 2004 ... Iowa State allowed a school-record low 2.98 yards per rush ... linebacker Tim Dobbins, cornerback LaMarcus Hicks and free safety Steve Paris also earned all-Big 12 honors.

UNLV AND HEAD COACH MIKE SANFORD
UNLV head coach Mike Sanford coached at USC (1989-96), Notre Dame (1997-98), the San Diego Chargers (1999-2001) before serving as offensive coordinator at Stanford (2002) and as offensive coordinator and runningbacks coach under Urban Meyer (2003-04) ... the Utes were 21-2 over those two seasons and crashed the BCS with a Fiesta Bowl berth in 2004 ... this is his second season at UNLV and the first was trying as the Rebels were 2-9 overall and 1-7, last in the Mountain West Conference ... this year's team bears little resemblance to the 2005 UNLV unit ... led by USC transfer quarterback Rocky Hinds, UNLV thrashed Idaho State, 54-10 Saturday in Las Vegas ... Hinds, one of the nation's top-rated quarterbacks as a prep at Los Angeles-St. Bernard High School, despite missing his 2003 senior season with a torn right knee ligament ... he attended USC in 2004 and then transferred ... College Football News rated the 6-5, 220-pound sophomore the top transfer player in the nation ... he didn't disapoint in his collegiate debut, Hind completed 15-of-26 passes for 165 yards and rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown -- in the first half ... he left the game having hit on 24-of-42 passes for 322 yards ... freshman WR Ryan Wolfe caught six passes for 160 yards (UNLV freshman record) ... UNLV tallied a total of 506 yards total offense while holding Idaho State to 350 yards ... junior college defensive end Jeremy Geathers, a sophomore, had two sacks and a 67-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

THEY ONLY COME OUT AT NIGHT
Iowa State is 15-6 all-time at night in Jack Trice Stadium, and 11-3 since the start of the 1999 season ... ISU is playing a home night game in consecutive contests for only the second time in school history (first two games of 1999 season):

Date Opponent Result Attendance TV

Oct. 20, 1984 No. 2 Oklahoma (H) L, 10-12 50,977 ESPN

Sept.10, 1988 Tulane W, 30-13 41,780

Sept. 9, 1989 Ohio W, 28-3 41,614

Sept. 2, 1993 Northern Illinois W, 54-10 35,706

Aug. 31, 1995 Ohio W, 36-21 32,817

Sept. 7, 1996 Wyoming L, 38-41 (ot) 44,511 Big 12

Aug. 30, 1997 Oklahoma State L, 14-21 43,841 Big 12

Sept. 2, 1999 Indiana State W, 33-7 33,936

Sept. 11, 1999 Iowa W, 17-10 50,402 FSN

Oct. 28, 2000 Missouri W, 39-20 46,599

Sept. 8, 2001 Northern Iowa W, 41-0 47,092

Nov. 10, 2001 No. 21 Colorado L, 27-40 39,024 FSN

Sept. 7, 2002 Tennessee Tech W, 58-6 40,155

Sept. 21, 2002 Troy State W, 42-12 44,896

Oct. 12, 2002 Texas Tech (H) W, 31-17 51,842 TBS

Aug. 30, 2003 Northern Iowa W, 17-10 48,088

Oct. 4, 2003 No. 1 Oklahoma L, 7-53 49,670 TBS

Oct. 9, 2004 Texas A&M (H) L, 3-34 44,307 FSN PPV

Sept. 3, 2005 Illinois State W, 32-21 44,058

Nov. 12, 2005 No. 22 Colorado W, 30-16 49,292 FSN

Aug. 31, 2006 Toledo W, 45-43 (3ot) 42,531 Mediacom

IOWA STATE IS 3-0 vs. UNLV
Iowa State is 26-11 all-time against the Mountain West Conference, including a 27-24 loss to league champion TCU in last year's Houston Bowl ... against UNLV, ISU TB Troy Davis rushed for a then-school record 302 yards on 36 carries and a school record five touchdowns to lead Iowa State to a 57-30 victory over UNLV in 1995 in Ames ... ISU TB Darren Davis rushed for 208 yards on 37 carries and two TDs, while the Iowa State defense held UNLV to eight yards rushing and 106 total yards in a 24-0 shutout in 1999 in Vegas ... in 2000, ISU QB Sage Rosenfels passed for 286 yards and two touchdowns and Iowa State added three scores in a span of 2 1/2 minutes to break open the game en route to a 37-22 win over the Rebels at Jack Trice Stadium.

THIS DATE IN HISTORY; ISU BEAT UNLV IN 2000
A different transfer quarterback from USC, Jason Thomas brought UNLV to Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 9, 2000 ... leading 7-6 late in the first quarter, Iowa State converted a fumble, an interceptions and a blocked punt into two tuchdowns and a field goal to break open the game as the Insight.com Bowl-bound Cyclones beat the Rebels, 37-22.

MEYER AMONG MOST EFFICIENT ISU QB's...
Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer has developed into one of the most efficient quarterbacks in Iowa State history with 31 career TD passes to 16 interceptions:

RUMBLE, YOUNG MAN, RUMBLE
Iowa State junior FB Ryan Kock scored 13 touchdowns on only 54 carries last season ... Kock set an ISU single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a fullback with his touchdown in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State ... the previous record was nine, set by Tom Watkins in 1960 ... Watkins scored a total of 10 touchdowns that year, with the 10th being on an interception return ... Kock was ninth on ISU's single-season rushing touchdown list (all positions).

GO LONG!
Iowa State junior WR Todd Blythe has proven to be a deep threat for the Cyclone offense, utilizing his 6-5 frame and leaping ability to pluck balls away from opposing defensive backs ... it was Blythe's catches on consecutive passes from Bret Meyer in the second and third overtimes that led to the Cyclones' 45-43 win over Toledo in triple overtime, the school's first-ever overtime win (1-5) ... not only does Blythe own ISU's career mark for TD receptions (20), but in 2005 he was second in the nation in yards per catch among receivers with four or more catches per game.

TURNOVER MARGIN A KEY TO VICTORY
Coach McCarney has put a premium on increasing the number of turnovers forced by his defense ... last season, the Cyclones turned five Iowa turnovers into 23 points ... Iowa State converted five Oklahoma State turnovers into 14 points ... when Iowa State has finished the season ahead in turnover margin and points off turnovers margin, the Cyclones have posted a winning record (2000, 2001, 2004, 2005).

TRADITION OF BALL SECURITY
Counting lost fumbles by the whole team, ISU is tied for seventh in Division I-A in fewest fumbles lost since the start of the 1999 season and leads the Big 12 Conference by a wide margin.

NO PARTICULAR PLACE TO GO
Iowa State's rush defense allowed 102.7 ypg last season, the best among post-WWII Cyclone squads ... the ISU defense allowed Toledo just 45 yards rushing on 27 carries last weekend.

PICK A LITTLE
Bret Meyer's 2005 interception-free streak reached a school-record 155 attempts before a third-quarter pick at Kansas ... Meyer's stretch spanned over 22 full quarters and parts of six games ... the previous school record was 141 attempts, set by Todd Bandhauer in 1997 ... this was the first time since the inception of the Big Six Conference in 1928 that ISU has gone four consecutive games (OSU, A&M, KSU, CU) without throwing an interception.

TAKING MY BALL AND GOING HOME
The Iowa State defense made 22 interceptions in 2005, leading the conference and ranking tied for third nationally ... the 22 picks were ISU's most since 1976 ... the defense's 35 takeaways were the most in nearly a quarter-century.

IOWA STATE'S 2006 TEAM CAPTAINS
The Cyclones have four captains for the 2005 season: Junior quarterback Bret Meyer, senior wide receiver Austin Flynn, senior defensive tackle Brent Curvey and senior defensive back DeAndre Jackson.

McCARNEY'S CYCLONES IN THE NFL
An indicator of Iowa State's continued improvement under Dan McCarney is the number of ISU student-athletes who have gone on to the professional ranks ... ISU's NFL players at the start of training camp are all McCarney products: Jordan Carstens (DL, Carolina), Reggie Hayward (DE, Jacksonville), Ellis Hobbs (DB, New England), James Reed (DL, Kansas City Chiefs), Sage Rosenfels (QB, Houston), Oliver Ross (OL, Arizona), Seneca Wallace (QB, Seattle), Tony Yelk (PK, Atlanta), Tim Dobbins (LB, San Diego), LaMarcus Hicks (DB, Detroit), Landon Schrage (DS, Baltimore), Steve Paris (S, Baltimore), Nick Leaders (NG, Baltimore).

WATCH LIST MANIA
Several of Iowa State's players have been recognized as ranking among the nation's best at their respective positions:

Bret Meyer, QB Maxwell Award; Davey O'Brien Award

Scott Stephenson C Rimington Award; Lombardi Trophy

Brent Curvey DT Outland Trophy/Nagurski Award; Lombardi Trophy

TOUGH SCHEDULE
Based on 2005 records, Iowa State's 2006 football schedule is the second toughest nationally:

1. Duke .639 (92-52)

2. IOWA STATE .633 (93-54)

3. Northwestern .624 (88-53)

4. Florida .620 (88-54)

5. Cincinnati .610 (86-55)

6. Michigan .607 (85-55)

7. Colorado .606 (86-56)

8. Arizona .603 (85-56)

Iowa State and North Carolina face the most 2005 bowl teams in 2006:

1. IOWA STATE 9

North Carolina 9

3. East Carolina 8

Maryland 8

Duke 8

Colorado 8

CULBERTSON CONSISTENT
Iowa State placekicker Bret Culbertson has been a consistent performer ... he has been successful on all 54 of his PAT attempts, including four against Toledo and is set to break the school record for the longest streak of consecutive successful PAT tries:

1. Jeff Shudak, 56, 1989-90

2. Bret Culbertson, 54, 2004-

3. Tom Goedjen, 50, 1972-74

4. Ty Stewart, 44, 1991-93

5. Reggie Shoemake, 39, 1970-71

Culbertson hit on his first field-goal attempt of the year, a 39-yarder against Toledo ... the 6-6 junior is 18-of-21 lifetime inside 40 yards ... when you add in his extra-point efforts, Culbertson is 75 of 81 (.923) as Iowa State's kicker.

Players Mentioned

Todd Blythe

Todd Blythe

Bret Culbertson

Bret Culbertson

Brent Curvey

Brent Curvey

Tim Dobbins

Austin Flynn

Austin Flynn

LaMarcus Hicks

DeAndre Jackson

DeAndre Jackson

Ryan Kock

Ryan Kock

Nick Leaders

Bret Meyer

Bret Meyer

Shawn Moorehead

Shawn Moorehead

Landon Schrage

Scott Stephenson

Scott Stephenson

Tony Yelk

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