The Cyclones have started 2-0 for the second straight season and will have a chance to claim their second consecutive 3-0 start with a win against Western Illinois on Saturday.

However, the caliber of the Leathernecks (2-0) squad isn’t of the highest regard. The Leathernecks have won just 11 games during the past three seasons, finishing 2-9 last season.

Looking at the statistics, it would be easy for a team to get complacent going into a game with a sub-par Football Championship Series team. For coach Paul Rhoads and his team, that isn’t likely.

“I don’t sense a bit of complacency in our kids,” Rhoads said. “That’s fully judged after going through meetings the other day and how we went through practice [Sunday].”

Rhoads said the focus and energy from the team is what is keeping his Cyclones on track for the game against the Leathernecks, who have outscored their two opponents 50-32 so far this season.

While putting points on the board hasn’t been a problem for the Leathernecks, the Cyclones kept in-state rival Iowa without a touchdown on last Saturday.

“There’s a lot of similarities to the University of Iowa in how they do things,” Rhoads said. “It’s great, sound football. [Western Illinois is] well coached fundamentally and schematically, and their defense [has made] a number of key plays through two victories.”

Linebacker Jake Knott agreed with his coach in that the defense expects to see some of the same things they saw in their victory against Iowa.

“I think they’re a very good team. They run a pretty similar offense to what Iowa is running, and they do a great job of that also,” Knott said. 

As for defensive lineman Jake McDonough, he said the honor of playing was enough to keep him hungry from week to week.

“It’s quite a privilege to go out there … and you only get 12 games, so you take each one seriously,” McDonough said. “And this being my last season, every game is motivation for me to perform at the best of my ability.”

Strong safety Durrell Givens used metaphors to describe how he plans to stay out of the trap of complacency.

“You just have to stay hungry,” Givens said. “We want every win, so you can’t take your foot off the gas. And that’s what we plan on doing.”

One thing Rhoads and some of his players harped upon Monday morning was looking at the Leathernecks’ 2-0 record, rather than the caliber of the Football Championship Series school.

“We just want to get to 3-0, and that’s our main focus,” Givens said.

The Cyclones will kickoff their first evening game of the season at 7 p.m. Saturday.