It is a rivalry that had been brought back to life after a 43-year hiatus.

The Iowa State-Iowa football game was played 24 times between 1894 and 1934, before being discontinued.

It remained unplayed until 1977, and has been going forward at full speed ever since.

The rivalry has seen its share of ups and downs on both sides, with prolonged win streaks defining the series.

Only three times has a team failed to score a repeat victory after winning the previous season. In that time, Iowa holds an edge, winning 15 consecutive games from 1983-97. The Cyclones have win streaks of five and three games, most recently sweeping the 1998-2002 contests.

“It’s competitive now,” ISU coach Dan McCarney said of the rivalry. “I remember the first couple of years it was an OK game. I remember Tim Dwight catching a 60 some yard touchdown pass and I didn’t know if there was enough room on the scoreboard for all the points they were going to put up against us.

“And then we got things turned around and had some success for five years and Kirk has come back and won the last two.”

The rivalry has evolved into a battle of equals, with both teams having a chance year-in and year-out to come away with a win.

The Cyclones have secured bowl appearances in four of the last five seasons, winning two of those postseason games.

In six seasons with Iowa, coach Kirk Ferentz has been to four bowl games, winning three of them.

The Hawkeyes played USC in the 2003 Orange Bowl, finishing eighth in the season’s final rankings. They won the 2004 Outback Bowl and 2005 Capital One Bowl, beating Florida and LSU, respectively.

“Both schools are having success and Kirk’s taken it to a tremendous level with three top 10 finishes and coming in here ranked in the top 10,” McCarney said. “We’ve won six of our last seven [games] and both schools are bowl champions.”

Friendly Rivalry

When McCarney and Ferentz look across the field at each other, they will be looking at more then opposing coaches. The two coached with each other while at Iowa, McCarney leading the defensive line and Ferentz heading the offensive line.

The two coached together from 1981-89 — nine seasons together on the same sideline. Both left after the 1989 season, with McCarney taking the defensive coordinator job at Wisconsin, while Ferentz became head coach at Maine.

“Before the game, after the game, nobody will ever take away our experiences and respect we have for one another,” McCarney said. “But during that game there isn’t any coach or team or program that I would enjoy a victory over more, because I know the national prominence they brought to Iowa and the stature and the reputation and the success they’ve had.”

McCarney has the edge on his former teammate, going 4-2 against Ferentz.

Greatest Games

Each Iowa State-Iowa game is special in its own way, but some stand out over others. There have been 28 meetings since the series was restarted in 1977, with Iowa State winning nine of those games. Here are the best games since ‘77:

10. 1981 — The Cyclones won their second consecutive game over Iowa, 23-12. It was the last time Iowa State would win against Iowa in Ames until 1999.

9. 2004 — After a 2-10 season in 2003 and a 40-21 drubbing at the hands of the Hawks, Iowa State held their own before falling 17-10. Even though they lost, Iowa State would turn their season around, winning five of its last six games, including an Independence Bowl win over Miami of Ohio.

8. 2000 — Iowa State scored all three touchdowns on runs, as they beat the Hawkeyes 24-14. Quarterback Sage Rosenfels rushed for two scores and receiver J.J. Moses ran for a 58-yard score. Rosenfels received Big 12 Player of the Week honors for his game, where he also threw for 228 yards.

7. 2001 — The annual game was scheduled for Sept. 15, but was postponed until Nov. 24 after the attacks of Sept. 11.

Seneca Wallace threw for 228 yards and a score, as the Cyclones came away with a 17-14 win. Redshirt freshman kicker Tony Yelk nailed a 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to put Iowa State on top.

6. 1995 — Iowa State lost 27-10, but it was the first peg in a rebuilding process that would bring success to the ISU football program. 1995 was McCarney’s first at the Cyclone helm. Iowa State would win three games that season, but would bring home a bowl championship just five years later.

5. 1982 — It was a final taste of the good, as the 1982 Iowa State-Iowa matchup was the last the Cyclones would win until 1998. Iowa State took a 19-7 decision from the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, then failed to win the rivalry game for the next 15 years.

4. 1999 — His brother, Troy, nearly won the Heisman Trophy, but Darren Davis saved his best performances for Iowa State’s biggest rivalry games. The running back ran for 235 yards and a score, five yards more then the entire Iowa offense could muster. The win was the Cyclones’ second straight in the in-state game, the first time they had done that since 1982. The game was the first for Kirk Ferentz as Iowa’s head coach.

3. 1977 — Even though Iowa State didn’t win, this game marked the renewal of the rivalry. The Cyclones lost the game 12-10, but it marked the beginning of a rivalry that would overtake the state.

2. 1998 — For the first time since 1982, the ISU football team took home the Cy-Hawk Trophy. After scoring less than three minutes into the game, the Cyclones lead wire-to-wire. Running back Darren Davis rushed for 244 yards and a score. Iowa was held to just 42 yards rushing and three rushing first downs.

1. 2002 — Trailing at halftime in Iowa City, Cyclone quarterback Seneca Wallace engineered a second half comeback, with the Cyclones winning 36-31. It was ISU’s fifth consecutive win over the Hawkeyes and the last time a team has won at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.