Michael Moreno didn’t get much sleep after last season’s dual against Iowa.

In Iowa’s 27-9 dual win at Hilton Coliseum last season, Moreno was pinned by eventual national runner-up Derek St. John in 4:38 of the 157-pound match. Even though Moreno admitted to typically losing sleep the nights of duals, this one was different.

“It was also a lot of embarrassment and disappointment after last year’s meet, but I remember I went home and I didn’t even go to sleep that night,” Moreno said. “I was in bed ’til like 3 [a.m.], then I called one of my teammates and he was up still, so we just went to McDonald’s.”

Moreno, who’s now 6-0 at 165 pounds, will be leading Iowa State (0-1) against No. 3 Iowa (5-0) on Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has continued its dominance in the rivalry, which is part of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series, with eight straight dual victories.

ISU coach Kevin Jackson said the biggest difference in Moreno from last year is his overall commitment to wrestling.

“That has to happen for everyone in that you’re 100 percent committed on the mat, off the mat, in the classroom,” Jackson said. “[Moreno] just has more confidence, he believes in himself and it’s showing in practice.

“How you train every single day is going to be how you perform.”

The Cyclones have not performed well out of the gate with a sluggish performance in a 22-13 loss to Old Dominion last Sunday. Jackson admitted fault for pushing his wrestlers too hard in the practices leading up to that dual.

Ryak Finch was one of the wrestlers feeling the pressure. The 125-pounder took third place at the Harold Nichols Open — which he has won the last two seasons — before losing to Old Dominion’s Jerome Robinson in a closely contested match.

For this dual, Finch will be facing two-time national champion and current No. 1 Matt McDonough, against whom he put up a fight in a 6-0 loss in last season’s dual.

“He goes hard, that’s what he does,” Finch said of McDonough, who is 105-4 as a Hawkeye. “He’s known for going hard and that’s going to be something I’m ready for.”

Finch said he has been working on better handling the bottom position with assistant coach Troy Nickerson, who was a dominant rider as a four-time All-American at Cornell. Last season, McDonough rode Finch for 2:44.

Another marquee match will be at 133 pounds, where true freshman John Meeks will face the second top-five opponent — No. 3 Tony Ramos — of his young collegiate career.

After losing to No. 4 Joe Colon of Northern Iowa in a 5-4 decision in the 133-pound title bout of the Harold Nichols Open, Meeks admitted to having jitters in his dual loss last Sunday. However, Jackson said a win against Ramos would be a big confidence boost for Meeks.

“[A win] would put him back to the mindframe that he already has — he’s a winner, he’s a champion,” Jackson said of Meeks. “I think he got caught up in the moment a little bit … but I don’t worry about him.”

Jackson said Meeks, who went undefeated in four years at Des Moines Roosevelt High School, was not given a redshirt because he believes he is the best wrestler at 133 pounds who can compete at the highest level this season.

Kyven Gadson will be one of the favored Cyclones, ranked No. 15 at 197 pounds by InterMat.

Gadson wrestled for the Hawkeye Kids Club as a kid, but said getting a win as a Cyclone in Carver-Hawkeye is near the top of his aspired goals.

“Just go out there, win first and then dominate second and hopefully go out there and get a big win,” Gadson said of his game plan. “I always like to pin people, so that wouldn’t be too bad.”

Gadson’s projected opponent will either be Tomas Lira, Nathan Burak or Jeremey Fahler — all of whom are unranked.

The Cyclones and Hawkeyes will kick off their dual at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Admission is $15 for adults and the dual will be shown on Mediacom MC22.