I don’t know where U of I fans get their sense of superiority.

Sure, they have a Heisman Trophy winner and BCS bowl birth to their credit, but this notion that they are so much better than the ISU program is a bunch of hooey.

That’s especially true this week.

U of I fans are so confident their team will wallop the Cyclones, they make it seem like the game shouldn’t be played at all.

Where does this confidence come from? Honestly, I don’t know.

For many years, Iowa State was the little brother to the Hawkeyes – cute, harmless and around just to be toyed with.

Just as in my family, the little brother has grown up – my younger brother joined the Army and put yours truly flat on his back during a friendly wrestling match a couple weekends ago. True story.

Iowa State has won six of its last eight games against Iowa.

The national media hails U of I coach Kirk Ferentz as the second coming, proclaiming his every move brilliant and sometimes divinely inspired.

But look closely. He’s only won two of the seven games against ISU coach Dan McCarney.

Now, I’m not going to say that McCarney owns Ferentz . OK, I will.

Here’s a fun fact: Since Ferentz took over in 1999, no other coach has beaten him more than our own Coach Mac.

Second place: Ohio State. The Buckeyes have had a national championship in that time. That’s some pretty lofty company.

Hawkeye fans like to roll their eyes when talk turns to Bret Meyer and Todd Blythe. Yeah, they’re okay, Hawk fans say, dismissing the tandem as irrelevant.

Those eyes will go from rolling to bulging out of their heads as Meyer and the rest of the ISU offense rides the Hawkeye defense up and down the field.

There is no way a defense led by Adam “I’ve been beaten down the field so I’m just going to grab on and get a pass interference penalty called against me” Shada and Charles “Papa Smurf” Godfrey will be able to stop Meyer and company’s offensive attack.

If Iowa State loads the field with receivers – and the team has enough talent to do it – things could get really ugly for the Hawks.

On the other side of the ball, the Hawks better pray Drew Tate is healthy enough to play.

Jason Manson at quarterback would only hasten the disaster that is to come. Manson can’t pass, and if he’s in the game, all Iowa State has to do is crowd the box to stop Iowa’s rushing attack.

This game starting to sound a little one-sided to you? Yeah, me too.

So keep dreaming Hawkeye fans, as we Cyclones laugh all the way back to Ames. The Cy-Hawk Trophy likes it here better anyway.

Grant Wall is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Fort Dodge