The ISU-Nebraska weekend is here and Cyclone fans will be brimming with confidence that their team will be able to slay the mighty Huskers and finally lay claim to the Big 12 North title that has eluded them for so long.

Nebraska fans will laugh at “little” Iowa State and how cute it is that the team thinks it can compete with the storied Nebraska tradition – though the Huskers have been less than formidable in recent years.

Fans on both sides want to win this game. Players want to win this game. Coaches do too. Everyone involved has an increased sense of urgency this weekend.

Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said the date has been looming on the calendar since before the season, adding to the hype.

“From the very start they said this is a game that will impact the North, so we will be very focused and we’re excited about the challenge,” Callahan said. “They know how to attack.”

ISU coach Dan McCarney said the Cyclones definitely have placed a target on Nebraska and will go all out to win.

“Anytime that you can beat a team that is respected by everyone in the country and had such great success for years and years and years, anytime that you get a chance to beat Nebraska, it’s a statement game for your program,” McCarney said.

Still, many Husker fans say Iowa State is just a tiny speck compared to the almighty Kingdom of Osborne.

Cyclone fans demand equality and “put Huskers in their place” by pointing out how mediocre they have been lately (conveniently overlooking the Cyclones own 30-32 record the past five seasons).

So are or aren’t the Cyclones rivals with the Huskers? It’s obvious only a dictionary can solve this dilemma, so let’s have a look.

Rival (noun):

1. One of two or more striving to reach or obtain something that only one can possess.

Check. The Big 12 North championship. Both Iowa State and Nebraska are pursuing that this year.

2. One that equals another in desired qualities.

Uh-oh. Let’s crunch some numbers.

All-time series? Iowa State is 17-81-2. Ouch.

Nebraska has four AP national titles, 12 if you count all the organizations that used to bestow such a title. And Iowa State? Well, let’s check out what has to be done to make this a rivalry.

Rivalry (noun):

1. The act of competing or emulating.

2. The state or condition of being a rival.

Whew. Good on both of those.

So, maybe the Cyclones aren’t quite rivals with Nebraska yet. Check that; they’re not equal rivals yet in a historical sense, but I think the series officially qualifies as a rivalry and is on the verge of taking another step if the Cyclones can deliver the goods.

Maybe Iowa State-Nebraska hasn’t been one of the rivalries over the years that gives college football its distinct flavor and tradition.

There is no “Telephone Trophy,” “Old Oaken Bucket” or “Floyd of Rosedale” here, but Iowa State is making an effort, splitting the last four games with the almighty Huskers.

If the Cyclones strike a crippling blow in Ames on Saturday, and then make it stand up by taking the North crown for their own, watch out.

Nebraska fans will still have that cockiness, that swagger that any Iowa-born hates, but notice will be served that they will finally, 110 years after the first game, have a border rival to the east.

It won’t erase 110 years of humiliation, but Husker fans, at least the few that can actually see over all those BCS crystal football trophies, will have the same little voice in the back of their heads that Iowa fans do that makes them scared, even if just a little bit, of the game against Iowa State each year.

So, in an effort to channel the spirit of Marvelous Marv Seiler. let’s take a look back at a select few games in the ISU-Nebraska series.

1977 – Iowa State 24, Nebraska 21

This was the last Cyclone victory in Lincoln. Iowa State will return to Memorial Stadium next year, 30 years later and try and prove that game wasn’t a fluke. Just for the record, since that time we’ve had five presidents, four different Nintendo systems and 10 different variations of the ISU football helmet.

2002 – Iowa State 36, Nebraska 14

Seneca Wallace had 270 yards and three touchdowns as the Cyclones forced five Husker turnovers and routed Nebraska to snap a losing streak to the Huskers 10 years after the famous Marvelous Marv Seiler game.

Sadly, Iowa State could not use the win as a springboard and would go into a 6-20 tailspin in its next 26 games.

2005 – Iowa State 20, Nebraska 27 (2OT, in Lincoln)

Iowa State didn’t win the game, but it proved it was narrowing the gap with the Huskers. This game was the closest margin Iowa State had lost by since its previous victory in Memorial Stadium in 1977.

1992 – Iowa State 19, Nebraska 10

The Marvelous Marv game.

Iowa State had lost 14 consecutive games to the Huskers and was no match for the No. 7 Huskers coming into the game.

The Cyclones were desperately trying to fight off the label of laughingstock and had a quarterback controversy, if only because no one was good enough to keep the Cyclones afloat.

Iowa State clawed to a shocking 12-10 halftime lead. But it wasn’t until the 11-minute mark that the unthinkable happened.

Marv Seiler, quarterback du jour for the Cyclones, ran an option on first down from the ISU 20-yard line, and the next thing ISU fans knew, Seiler had taken the ball 78 yards to the 2-yard line setting up, an ISU touchdown and a 19-10 victory for the Cyclones.

That game permanently cemented Seiler in Cyclone lore and gave ISU fans something to cheer about in a dark time.

Here’s hoping this one’s just as historic.