Recent history shows there is no favorite in Saturday’s Cy-Hawk football game.

The Iowa football team is a 13.5-point favorite entering the rivalry game — a spread that Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz called delusional. Both teams will enter Kinnick Stadium with a 2-0 record, unproven teams and first-year starters at quarterback.

After supplanting 2007 regular Jake Christensen, Iowa sophomore quarterback Ricky Stanzi will make his second straight start. But like Iowa State’s quarterback shuffle, nothing has been decided.

“It’s not like we’re ready to crown [Stanzi] king or anything like that,” Ferentz said during his weekly press conference. “It’s kind of like our football team. We’ve played hard but we really haven’t done anything yet, either.”

Iowa out-scored Maine — football championship subdivision — and Florida International, 88-3, in their first two games of the season and drew votes in this week’s USA Today Top-25 coaches poll.

Iowa State, however, scored 40-plus points in its first two games for the first time since 1976. The Cyclones have won seven of the last 10 rivalry games against Iowa, but haven’t won in Iowa City since 2002.

Iowa State’s last road win came on Oct. 29, 2005, against Texas A&M.

“It’ll be tough,” coach Gene Chizik said on Monday. “No. 1, whether it will be a road game or not, first and foremost Iowa is playing great football right now … They are playing solid, physical, hard-nosed football. Great defense, running the football well, not turning the football over. They’re doing all of the things it takes to win.”

Iowa State has played 11 true freshmen and has 10 first-year starters. Sophomore Austen Arnaud will make his third straight start at quarterback.

The Ames-native said the true freshmen will have to adjust to the hostile atmosphere in their first road game.

“We’ve told ’em stories, but, I mean, they have no idea. They’re going out there in Kinnick and [have] 75,000 screaming against them,” Arnaud said, who will again split time with Phillip Bates. “It’s going to be one of those deals where we’re going to have to lock in, and focus, and concentrate with all the people heckling us out there.”

Chizik said Iowa State will have to play a “near-perfect game to win,” and that “we’re not a very good football team right now.”

Iowa State ranks first, however, out of all Div. I teams in turnovers gained — 10 — and 18th in scoring offense — 46 ppg. The Cyclones’ main concern is a defense that has allowed 423 rushing yards in two games, which is the result of poor tackling and elusive opponents.

Hawkeye runningback Shonn Greene has rushed for 251 yards on 34 carries.

“Iowa has got a very physical running game,” Chizik said. “Again, I’ll say it — if we play defensively against the run as we have in the first two game, we won’t fair very well.”

Iowa State has employed a mostly no-huddle offense so far this season, which relies on hand signals to communicate the play from the sidelines.

Offensive coordinator Robert McFarland said the coaching staff has been implementing the signaling system since last year. The play call is relayed to the field from McFarland, who is able to see the whole field from in the press box.

Bates said the system takes pressure off the quarterbacks.

“It’s one thing we know how to do. We’ve been doing it. You look over, look back, you don’t get a lot of confusion with it. And that’s pretty much it. It helps a lot,” he said.

Bates’ 38-yard catch set up the game-winning field goal in last year’s 15-13 win over Iowa. The 18-year-old said he still hears about last year’s catch.

“It was one of those plays that is hard to forget,” Bates said.