Whoever coined the term “Midwestern nice” has never been in the state of Iowa during the week of the Iowa State-Iowa football game. Neighborhoods and families across the state part like the red sea this week to show their allegiance to their favorite in-state school.

“There’s just nothing in this state that will be bigger than this rivalry,” said head coach Gene Chizik.

Chizik got his first dose of the rivalry last season when he picked up his first victory as a head coach with a 15-13 upset win over the Hawkeyes.

This time around will be different because it’s Chizik’s first trip to Iowa City.

Chizik isn’t daunted by Kinnick Stadium; he has coached in rivalries such as Auburn-Alabama and Texas-Oklahoma.

“I don’t think that I can get cussed at more than I’ve been cussed at other stadiums,” Chizik said.

The Cyclones have 42 players on their roster from the state of Iowa who have been around the rivalry their whole life.

Starting right guard Ben Lamaak is from Cedar Rapids, which is only a short drive from Iowa City.

“I grew up always hearing about Iowa. My brother actually graduated from Iowa so we kind of have a family rivalry,” Lamaak said. “I have a lot of friends that go there. A few guys that I played with in the Shrine Bowl play there.”

Reserve free safety Michael O’Connell went to high school in the middle of Hawkeye country, attending Iowa City Regina High School.

“Being from Iowa City I can give some insight to what the rivalry is all about,” O’Connell said. “Yeah I was (a Hawkeye fan), but obviously that’s changed.”

In theory this game is just as important as any other non-conference game, but a quick glance around Ames and the ISU campus and you’ll see the anticipation for the game.

“I was out on campus walking around and I saw that everyone was wearing their ‘Beat Iowa’ shirts,” defensive lineman Nate Frere said.

The excitement for the game has trickled into the locker room as well.

“They’re very excited about it, just like they are in Iowa City. If you can’t get fired up as a player for this right now then check your pulse,” Chizik said.

Once again Iowa is favored in the annual Cy-Hawk showdown, but if recent history has shown anything, it doesn’t matter who is favored coming into the big game. The Cyclones have won seven of the previous 10 meetings even though they have been the underdog in almost all of them.

Starting quarterback Austen Arnaud grew up in Ames and remembers attending almost every single Iowa State-Iowa game the last 13 or 14 years.

Arnaud said his favorite Iowa State-Iowa memory is when Seneca Wallace cq led Iowa State from behind to beat Iowa 36-31 at Kinnick Stadium in 2002.

A large fraction of the ISU roster is from Iowa, but an even larger number did not grow up in Iowa, and were not aware of the rivalry until they first set foot on campus.

“We just try and let them know the importance of the game, how big it is in the state of Iowa,” said running back Jason Scales.

Quarterback Phillip Bates will be forever enshrined in Iowa State folklore after his game-changing catch in last year’s win over the Hawkeyes, but being from Nebraska, he said he wasn’t really aware of the rivalry until last season.

He now believes that “it’s one of the best rivalries in the country.”