ISU football coach Gene Chizik has now been through his first game at Iowa State. In the next two weeks, he will begin another new chapter in his coaching career: his first attempt at the mythical state title.

The state championship is competed for between the University of Northern Iowa Panthers, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Cyclones every year, depending on scheduling.

Iowa State, which has taken the title three times this decade, plays both the other schools back-to-back this year and starts its trek through the in-state rivalries with the Panthers (1-0) on Saturday.

Chizik said the team has to get better before they start this quest this weekend with the UNI Panthers.

“There is an urgency to do their jobs better than they have, and it starts with me,” Chizik said. “I haven’t seen Northern Iowa in person, but my guess is they’ll come out here and look exactly like us.”

Iowa State is looking to make Iowa a Cyclone state once again, after losing the title they earned in 2005 to the Hawkeyes, when they dropped a game in Iowa City 27-17 last year.

ISU senior defensive tackle Bryce Braaksma, of Sheldon, said the players from Iowa know there are many more people watching them when they play Iowa and Northern Iowa.

“You know a lot more guys on the other teams,” Braaksma said. “I think you definitely have a little bit more juice for the game if you’re an in-state guy.”

Iowa State owns a considerable series advantage over the Panthers, but Iowa owns just as big of a lead over the Cyclones, especially after a more than decade-long win streak the Hawkeyes put together in the ’80s and ’90s.

Even though Iowa State is a Bowl Subdivision team (formerly I-A) and UNI is a Championship Subdivision team (formerly I-AA), UNI coach Mark Farley said in a press release that he is expecting no less effort out of the Cyclones, even though they are in a power conference in the division above his team.

“They’re representing their league, as well as their own football team,” Farley said. “I expect them to treat us as they would any opponent in the Big 12, from the players to the coaches.”

Appalachian State, who beat Northern Iowa 21-14 in the 2005 FCS title game, has caused a heightened sense of focus of all BCS schools when they face FCS opponents, because of their defeat of No. 5 Michigan last Saturday.

Farley’s team took the Cyclones to the limit last season, with kicker Brian Wingert just missing a 51-yard field goal to win the game, after Bret Meyer’s pass to Jon Davis capped a furious comeback for the Cyclones to take the lead, 28-27.

Junior running back J.J. Bass said the Cyclones are definitely not going to overlook the Panthers.

“They are coming in here ready, and they won last week,” Bass said.

“We’re just going to treat them like any other game, and we’re going to prepare for them like it’s Texas.”