Going from deafening cheers to deafening boos in just one week can send a young player’s head into chaos.

With the Cy-Hawk Trophy on the line, and adoration from the 70,000-plus in attendance at Iowa City focused on the No. 9 Hawkeyes, the Cyclones must overcome the crowd, recent history and themselves to return to Ames victorious after Saturday’s game.

“I think every area is a concern because they’re so good,” said coach Paul Rhoads. “I give them the edge every direction you turn, and we’re going to have to play mistake-free football.”

The statistics read like an obituary after last season’s 35-3 loss to the Hawkeyes in Ames.

Six turnovers, nine penalties, just 79 yards through the air for returning quarterback Austen Arnaud, and another year without a touchdown. Of special note to Hawkeye fans is the fact Iowa State hasn’t put the ball in the end zone in this rivalry since Sept. 16, 2006, a string of 14 straight quarters.

“Kinnick Stadium is a hard place to play. The sideline is as small as any place you’ll play,” Rhoads said. “The crowd in the front two rows are right there to take part in your adjustments, and often help you out at times with that process,” he said joking. “It’s a difficult environment, and it’s another thing that you have to prepare your kids for and try to keep them focused.”

Besides the infamous touchdown drought is the fact Iowa State hasn’t beaten the Hawks at Kinnick since 2002, when Seneca Wallace went wild on the black and gold and erased a 17-point halftime deficit.

Rhoads is a different coach, and this is an entirely different program, but it will take more than name changes to derail the Hawkeyes’ post-season fantasies. The Cyclones have to put it together for 60 minutes in just their second game of the year.

“Our D-line has been beat up a little bit over the years, and their offensive line is extremely well coached, as is their whole football team,” Rhoads said.

“Their defensive front four, I’d have to watch a lot of game film to see four better than those guys; they are tremendous. Our offensive line has a big, big challenge ahead of them.”

Defending the potent offense the Hawkeyes run on the field will be quite the task for defensive coordinator Wally Burnham and his young front seven.

With a heavy helping of running backs Adam Robinson and Jewel Hampton, and quarterback Ricky Stanzi tossing the ball around to his speedy wideouts Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Marvin McNutt, there is plenty to prepare for.

“We’ve gone about this week in a workman’s way, and we’re trying to stay focused and not play the game before Saturday,” Burnham said. “We got to try and play within ourselves.”

Iowa had plenty of success early against week-one opponent Eastern Illinois, dominating both sides of the ball in a 37-7 victory. Robinson went 109 yards for three touchdowns on the ground, Stanzi was an efficient 18-for-23 passing for 229 yards, opening up plenty of opportunity for the play-action pass. The Cyclones were fully aware of this in practice this week.

“Iowa runs that so well, and they get you to bite up on run and then throw it over the top of your head,” said sophomore linebacker Jake Knott. “We’ll have to be ready for that the whole game.”

While Iowa State’s inexperienced linebacking corps came up big against Northern Illinois on Sept. 2, facing an offense as sharp as the Hawkeyes could be dangerous. Burnham is hoping their youth doesn’t cost the Cyclones too many big plays, but knows they’ll be as ready as they can be come Saturday afternoon.

“We’re gonna find out. Every day is a new day for them, and they’ve reacted pretty well in practice, so that’s what we’ve got to go on,” Burnham said. “I think they’ll respond just as well as they can do at this point.”

The Cyclone defense can prevent the Hawkeyes from scoring, but likely won’t be able to break the touchdown-less streak themselves. Iowa State’s experienced backfield and offensive line will have to do plenty of heavy lifting themselves against one of the best defenses in the country.

“Most teams’ answer for stopping the run game is packing it in there, having all your linebackers between the tight ends and having an extra safety in there. Iowa doesn’t have to do that,” Rhoads said.

Arnaud went 10-for-22 with four interceptions and only 79 yards in 2009, and Alexander Robinson’s late consistency was the only bright spot for an abysmal offensive attack. The Hawkeyes return letter winners at every position on defense and only show some inexperience at cornerback.

The defensive line is anchored by All-American Adrian Clayborn, a disruptive force who is already listed as a potential top-10 NFL draft pick next spring. Rhoads is fully aware of the 6-foot-4-inch, 285-pound senior’s existence, and imitating him in practice hasn’t been the easiest task.

“I don’t have any first-round draft picks on our football team, so I can’t simulate that. We’ll just have to be strapped up and ready to go Saturday afternoon,” Rhoads said.

When Saturday’s game comes to an end, a small trophy will have been raised by one team, and the two Bowl Subdivision schools in the state of Iowa will fight over bragging rights, but it still reads as a single game in the win and loss column.

“The truth is, you could say, that going into every game, it’s magnified because we turned it over six times last year. You turn it over six times, you don’t give yourself a chance to win,” Rhoads said.

Rhoads has enforced this view to his team all week, and likely all off-season. But when the players hit the field and the state gets divided in half Saturday, it may feel like more pressure than usual.

“They got their feet wet, they got one game’s worth of experience, and I’d rather go into this one with that than none,” Rhoads said.

Iowa holds the edge over Iowa State 38-19 all-time, although Iowa State has won 7 of the last 12 meetings. The Hawkeyes have a 22-12 mark against the Cyclones in Iowa City.

Tickets for Kinnick’s 70,585 seats are all sold out.