The ISU defense made a statement Saturday night against Northern Iowa.

A unit that had been criticized for allowing 24 points and 231 rushing yards per game had a breakout game against the Panthers.

The Cyclones (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) had two interceptions returned for touchdowns, forced five turnovers and held Northern Iowa (1-2) to 320 total yards of offense in a 27-0 shutout win.

“I think we played really well,” said ISU linebacker A.J. Klein. “We have to do that with every team that we play, not just UNI. That’s one good step for us this year, and hopefully we can repeat that in the future.”

The ISU defense was led by a trio of sophomores.

Linebacker Jake Knott had 11 tackles, his third interception of the season and forced a fumble in the final minutes to preserve the Cyclone shutout.

Klein had just five tackles — his first game this season without double figures — but he also recovered a fumble and had an interception. Klein returned his interception 25 yards into the end zone for the Cyclones’ second defensive touchdown of the night.

The first came from defensive back Jeremy Reeves, whose 95-yard score came early in the third quarter on an under-thrown pass from UNI quarterback Zach Davis.

“We practiced hard this week. Last week wasn’t all that good, but this week we had a good preparation, working real hard and it paid off,” Reeves said.

Reeves’ score came with the score at 13-0 in favor of Iowa State. After the two defensive scores, Iowa State had a 27-0 lead it would hold on to until the game’s end.

In the first half, the UNI offense was stifled to just 108 yards, including just 48 yards on the ground. Coming into the game, the Panthers were No. 11 in the Championship Subdivision, averaging 238 rushing yards per game.

The Panthers ended with 146 yards on the ground.

The ISU offense struggled to score points throughout, but the ISU defense was up to the challenge.

“It’s always good when we can score points and help out the offense,” Klein said. “It shouldn’t be a week-to-week thing. It should be all the time that we strive to keep that zero on the board.”

The shutout was the Cyclones’ first since shutting out Northern Iowa 23-0 in 2004.

The two interceptions in the third quarter and a UNI fumble late in the fourth helped seal the deal for the ISU offense.

“We were in the right spot at the right time, doing what the coaches told us to do,” Knott said. “That just paid off in the end with a couple of big pick-sixes and some caused fumbles.”

ISU coach Paul Rhoads said defensive shows like the Cyclones’ on Saturday is a trademark of defensive coordinator Wally Burnham.

In Burnham’s first season in 2009, the ISU defense forced 32 turnovers, including eight in a 9-7 win at Nebraska.

“That’s all coach Burnham’s philosophy,” Knott said. “He knows where to put us, he knows the scheme, he’s telling us where to go so we’re in the right spot at the right time and we just have to make a play.”

Knott leads the team with three interceptions in 2010, but Klein’s two interceptions have created the most buzz.

The Kimberly, Wisc., native had a 69-yard interception return last week against Kansas State.

Saturday’s score made him the first ISU defender with two defensive scores in one season since Brent Curvey did it in 2004.

Iowa State’s five takeaways and zero turnovers Saturday pushed it to plus-2 in turnover margin for the season.

“We need to keep it up,” Klein said about creating turnovers. “It’s only going to help the team. It’s going to help the offense to get the ball more, and it really falls to our shoulders to play with the effort to make plays like this happen.”

Klein and Knott have been the heart of the young ISU defense.

Not only have the two combined to force seven turnovers, they’ve been two of the unit’s most consistent performers.

Klein was tied for seventh nationally with 12 tackles per game coming into Saturday while Knott was getting eight tackles per game.

“I think we have a chemistry,” Klein said. “It’s apparent on the field, everybody can see us talking and stuff a lot, but I think it goes beyond that. We know what each other is thinking at the time and I think we have that bond that linebackers need to have as quarterbacks of the defense.”

The defense also accounted for three sacks Saturday.

The pressure on the UNI quarterbacks was one of the major factors leading to the UNI turnovers.

“The D-line did a great job getting pressure, allowed us to get three interceptions tonight,” Klein said. “Can’t say enough about the D-line. They did an outstanding job and have to keep it up for next week.”

Moving forward, the ISU defense now must prepare for the brunt of Big 12 play.

The schedule ahead includes five teams in the top 50 in terms of scoring offense — Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, Texas and Texas Tech.

“It’s very exciting because it just feels like everybody knows each other and everybody always communicates, we always talk and this past week was great practice,” Reeves said. “We were talking, we were communicating and we were working with each other watching film, and we came out with a win.

“It brings a lot of excitement to the team, but again tomorrow we’ve got to come back and get ready for Texas Tech.”