Spring is in the air, and that means only one thing to Cyclone football fans — Spring Scrimmage.

The annual game is set to begin Saturday at 3 p.m. with no specific length of time set for the actual game itself.

“We’re going to play a normal type of game,” said coach Paul Rhoads. “We’re going to play four 12-minute quarters. We could run the clock at some point, probably in the second half for sure or in the fourth quarter.”

Rhoads and his staff say they are taking every advantage of the three scrimmages the NCAA allows each team to have during spring practice. For the players, this is the final opportunity to showcase what strides they have made individually and as a team heading into the summer workouts.

Rhoads said he is planning to have the first team offense play with the second team defense and vise versa so that, on the field, both units’ first teams will match up against one another.

The overall goal is to “gain something significant” out the spring game. That doesn’t include starting positions because Rhoads has adamantly stated that all positions are up for grabs regardless of what happens on the field Saturday.

“I don’t think we can declare all of these positions done,” Rhoads said. “The fundamentals of the game are where I will be looking the hardest. I want to see if [the players] take the opportunity to go out there with some eyes on them and take the right angle to the ball on tackling and things like that.”

One highlight of the spring game will be the revealing of the new spread offense, instituted by new offensive coordinator, Tom Herman. There are still many parts of the new offensive scheme that all the players — from quarterback Austen Arnaud to the offensive line — need to learn in order for the high-paced attack to mold into complete form. But fans attending can expect to see a well-conditioned team and a new spark of energy at Jack Trice Stadium.

“It’s all on us,” said Arnaud. “We’re going to go out there everyday. That’s how we have to be, just have a relentless work ethic to get us prepared [for next season].”

“Guys love coach Rhoads, and we love the new system … Guys are just happy to be there every day. Guys are excited to play football.”

Normally the spring game is not scheduled on the same weekend as Veishea, but Rhoads wanted to incorporate the game into arguably the most lively weekend of the year at Iowa State.

“It was [on the same weekend] before when I was here growing up in central Iowa and coming up to campus,” Rhoads said. “I came up to campus when I was a senior and took part in Veishea and the activities. I think it’s important to be involved with the university at this type of level…

“We want the campus to feel that we’re involved with that, just as how we want them to feel that they’re involved with us.”

Both offensively and defensively, the Cyclones plan to take each play as if it were a game-day atmosphere. One part of the annual Spring Scrimmage that most fans enjoy is the look at what could lie ahead for the next season, especially when a new coaching staff has been thrown into the mix, but don’t expect a polished team looking like the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.

“We all are adapting, and you try to learn it as quickly as possible,” Arnaud said. “It’s definitely a challenge, but we welcome that challenge because that’s where we need to be.”