The off-season jitters are gone, after 60 minutes of football and a 27-10 win over Northern Illinois on Thursday night, but the Cyclones didn’t chalk up the victory without a struggle.

Touting a young defense that still had lots of improvements to make and an experienced offense that was ready to blow up the scoreboard, things went the other way.

“If you had told me we were going to do that, I would have flat out called you a liar,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads. “The last couple days, I was very nervous. They played hard, which I hope will begin to become a trademark of our program.”

In their first start in Cyclone uniforms, linebackers A.J. Klein and Jake Knott combined for 24 tackles, and Knott even picked off two NIU passes.

The linebacking corps had been the question mark leading up to game day, and whether the new faces would step in for ISU star Jesse Smith, and his 12 tackles per game from 2009. Through one game, they answered the question.

“I just played, I don’t even care how many tackles I get as long as we win,” said Klein, who finished with 15 for the game. “Everything slowed down as the game went on, but it was fast to start. I felt more comfortable, and made some better reads.”

Northern Illinois finished with 156 rushing yards, a statistic typically associated with a struggling defense. The Huskies averaged 195 rushing yards per game in 2009, and as dangerous as running back Chad Spann looked early, the Cyclones were pleased with the end defensive result.

“Our front seven on defense probably exceeded expectations going into the first game,” Rhoads said. “I’m very pleased with how we matched up with their physical offensive line.”

Holding a 17-0 lead and not allowing a third down conversion going into halftime, Cyclone fans were feeling comfortable in their tailgating warmth. Unfortunately, the offense didn’t show up to start the second half like most of the tailgaters did.

Northern Illinois put on 10 straight points to make the stands at Jack Trice Stadium quiet and a little nervous, but the defense held tough, and a pair of late scores put the game on ice.

Capitalizing on some errant passing and an NIU offensive line that was bullied for much of the game, the Cyclone defense pressured Huskie quarterback DeMarcus Grady into three interceptions and less than 50 percent passing on opening night. Grady also ran the ball 14 times for 54 yards and a touchdown.

“We take great pride in our football conditioning, and I told them after the game, I thought this one was a draw. Northern Illinois came to play for 60 minutes,” Rhoads said.

Iowa State’s quarterback Austen Arnaud wasn’t without his foibles, and even though the Ames native kept his completion percentage up on a 27-of-36 night, he was picked off twice and only reached the end zone on the ground.

Northern Illinois’ linebackers weren’t as productive at keeping the Cyclone attack at bay, as ISU running back Alexander Robinson took 19 carries for 97 yards and two scores, including a 63 yard scamper in the second quarter.

“Austen made some good decisions, then he made some blunders out there on the field that were really bad tosses. We’ve got to make better decisions as an offensive staff,” Rhoads said.

The experienced Cyclone secondary chipped in on the effort, aided by West Des Moines graduate Zac Sandvig’s pick off Grady in the first half, as he was stepping in for suspended safety David Sims. Iowa State only allowed Northern Illinois’ top receiver to bring in four balls for 21 yards, keeping things on lock-down most of the night.

“Zac is a smart football player. This is a game that was difficult for our safeties because of all the movement they did. Zac and Mike O’Connell got that done all night,” Rhoads said.

Even the ISU defensive line had to join the effort to save the sputtering Cyclone offense, and a defense that only logged 16 sacks in 2009 registered only one on the evening, but made life uncomfortable for Grady and the Huskie backfield.

“It’s always nice to get one, especially because that [offensive] tackle was a good tackle, so I had to make sure I succeed with it,” said defensive end Patrick Neal, who picked up the sack in the fourth quarter.

Mistakes were a cause for concern for the micro-managing Rhoads post-game, with five penalties and three turnovers the main culprits. Missed tackles have been a point of emphasis from day one as well, and even with all his production in his first start, sophomore A.J. Klein couldn’t be positive about his performance without grading the tackling.

“Overall we were pretty good, but we have a lot of things to improve on. We had way too many missed tackles tonight, and that’s what we’ve gotta do for next week,” Klein said.

The Cyclones will have a week and a half to get over Northern Illinois and get healthy and re-motivated for the rival Iowa Hawkeyes.

Attendance for Thursday’s game was officially 43,116. The next home game at Jack Trice will be a Sept. 25 fixture against Northern Iowa.