The Hawkeyes are coming to town, and a win would mean so much to everyone involved in ISU athletics, including the players on the team who were raised in the state of Iowa.

“As a native Iowa kid, you see this game from when you were little, when this week comes up it’s a different feeling,” Cyclone receiver and Indianola native Todd Blythe said. “In the little towns in Iowa, everybody is either an Iowa or an Iowa State fan. You can’t sit on the fence in this state.”

Cyclone quarterback Bret Meyer proved Blythe wrong, and rode the fence as a kid growing up watching the rivalry.

“I was kind of neutral either way. When the game came on I liked watching individual players play, I didn’t really have a favorite either way,” Meyer said. “Atlantic is kind of 50-50 on either Iowa or Iowa State. Sometimes I even have Iowa fans that say they root for me, even though they probably don’t.”

Though it’s a big game for both teams, the rivalry not a factor in recruiting.

“I don’t think you can base your decision on the game; obviously you want to go to a winning program and that’s going to factor in,” Blythe said.

“As far as making a decision by who wins this game, I don’t think a whole lot of guys would make a decision based on that, but this game definitely has an impact on recruiting.”

Blythe said because when he committed to Iowa State, the Cyclones had won five straight against Iowa.

“I had offers from both schools and really got a chance to go in deep and see a lot of things that people don’t get to see,” Blythe said. “I was fortunate on that aspect — I really got to know the coaches on both sides really well and obviously I came here in the end.”

Many players personally know the athletes on the other side of the field of an in-state rivalry game, and that can make the game even more emotional.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Adam Carper is a Clarinda native who was recruited by both schools and got to know a lot of the Iowa players while going through camps and seeing them around the area.

“You will see those guys throughout the next year, and whoever wins will for sure give the other guy some flack during the offseason,” he said. “It makes it more enjoyable, more of a challenge. It gives you bragging rights for the year. It’s just like playing against your archrival from high school.”

The fans are a huge part of the rivalry, and this year, in Bret Meyer’s case, the Iowa fans — or one in particular — have been more involved than normal.

“One kid from Iowa sent me an e-mail and predicted what my stats were going to be. They weren’t good,” Meyer said. “He told me to enjoy the bench by the fourth quarter. He’s got a lot of time on his hands, obviously.”

The rivalry also affects the coaches of the two teams, who have a history of their own. ISU coach Dan McCarney and Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz coached together on Hayden Fry’s staff at Iowa.

The two coaches have developed quite a friendship over the years, but face each other as rivals every year.

“Kirk Ferentz is a great friend of mine,” McCarney said. “I miss the social times that we used to have together. It’s hard to do that in our jobs right now.

“Regardless of the outcome of the game on Saturday, I’m still going to be honored to have Kirk as a friend and I’m going to look forward to the next time that I get a chance to see him.”