Updated at 9:50 p.m. CST Dec. 27

SHREVEPORT, La. — When Iowa State meets up with the Miami of Ohio RedHawks on Tuesday night, senior defensive back Ellis Hobbs will have traveled a complete circle with the Cyclones. In 2001, Hobbs was a freshman on the Cyclone squad that fell to Alabama 14-13 in the Independence Bowl.

“We played a heck of a ball game that day and came up a point short,” Hobbs said. “This time, we’re going to try to make sure none of those calls affect the game and we take our own destiny in our own hands.”

Hobbs grew up three hours from Shreveport in the Dallas suburb of DeSoto. He said Iowa State playing in the Independence Bowl gives it a chance to make things right.

“It feels real nice any time you come out of a situation we did and try to make amends,” Hobbs said.

While Hobbs is ending his career with the Cyclones, quarterback Bret Meyer’s career is just beginning. The third team freshman all-American is just getting a taste of postseason success and said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“[This is] where I expected to be from day one,” Meyer said. “When I committed, they were winning games and going to bowl games, but I just vowed to not let [a season like 2003’s 2-10 campaign] happen again.”

Meyer threw for 1,812 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season and has been a target of defenses as a rookie.

“We know that defensive coordinators always lick their chops when they see a freshman out there,” ISU head coach Dan McCarney said. “Bret’s going to get a lot of heat and we know that.”

Looking to put a hurt on Meyer will be the Miami defense, which has 38 sacks on the season. Five of those came from defensive back Alphonso Hodge. For his career, the senior has eight sacks and 139 tackles.

“[Meyer] doesn’t have a lot of experience, and we’re going to try to rattle him,” Hodge said. “[If we do], it’ll slow down the tempo of the game and their offense, and that will be better for our offense.”

Lighting up the offense for Miami has been Pittsburgh Steeler Ben Roethlisberger’s replacement, Josh Betts. Betts threw for 3,255 yards and 22 touchdowns while averaging 271.2 yards per game.

The ISU defense has held six of its 11 opponents to fewer than 200 yards in the air and has forced 24 turnovers this season. Betts said that will be in the back of his head.

“It’s a scary team with how many turnovers they’ve forced,” he said.

Leading the Cyclone defense has been Hobbs, who has four interceptions and 67 tackles. He said that, from a personal standpoint, a Cyclone win would be the perfect way to send him and his senior counterparts off and build on this moment for next year.

“It would leave a good taste in my mouth, but I want to return the favor for them,” Hobbs said. “[This will] propel them in to next season, and they can use it as motivation to the new freshmen what it took [to get here], and this is what it’s going to take to get back again.”