Light gleamed off the Telephone Trophy as it sat next to Iowa State’s practice turf Monday. The sun had long fallen below the horizon, but artificial lights illuminated the prize at stake in this weekend’s Iowa State-Missouri football game.

The trophy, which the Cyclones have kept in Ames the last three years, hasn’t just been at practice this week. It’s been following the ISU players around everywhere.

“That trophy is with us at practice, every meeting … every time I talk to the team it’s right beside me,” ISU head football coach Dan McCarney said. “It will travel with us to the hotel on Friday night and will be back here on Saturday. Hopefully we can hang on to it.”

Standing in the Cyclones’ way are the Missouri Tigers and freshman phenom quarterback Brad Smith. Smith has shown an ability to pass and throw effectively this season and currently ranks seventh nationally in total offense with 295 yards per game. He’s also the sixth-best rusher in the Big 12 statistically, with a 97-yard average.

Last week, Smith led the Tigers to a 36-12 victory over Kansas with 135 yards passing and two touchdowns. He also busted off a 75-yard touchdown run en route to 117 rushing yards for the day.

McCarney called Smith the best freshman quarterback in the nation, and said the 18-year-old does it with his maturity level. He said it’s amazing what Smith can do at his age against teams as good as Oklahoma. Smith recorded 391 yards of total offense against the Sooners on Oct. 5.

“Unfortunately for us and the rest of the league, he’s only a redshirt freshman,” McCarney said. “I wish he was going out with Seneca [Wallace] this year.”

Iowa State will focus on corralling Smith when he breaks free from the pocket, McCarney said. The eighth-year coach said although Smith has good size at 6-foot-3, he’s very elusive.

“If you go in there and you’re out of control and you’re not tackling with a good base, you’ll not only miss him, he’ll make you look silly,” McCarney said.

Iowa State will counter with Wallace, who rebounded from the worst performance of his career with 226 passing yards against a stingy Texas defense last week. The senior is third in the conference in passing efficiency.

McCarney said the comparisons made between Wallace and Smith are accurate.

“They both can run, they both can throw, they both have real good athleticism and they’re both tough guys,” McCarney said. “That’s something that gets overlooked at the quarterback position, because Ithink Seneca is one of the toughest kids on our football team, and there’s no doubt Smith is for their football team … I think there are a lot of similarities.”

However, Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel disagrees. He said Wallace has made a name for himself and his quarterback is just trying to get his face on the map.

“I’ve got a rookie that’s trying to get better each week and Seneca Wallace is a seasoned veteran that’s proven himself and just gotten better and better,” Pinkel said.

Pinkel, in his second year at Missouri’s helm, said the Cyclones are very well-coached. He said Wallace remains a major concern of his team. “He presents huge problems and we’re going to do the best we can to try and contain him,” Pinkel said. “You’re not going to ever stop the guy, but you want to limit as much damage as you can.”

In addition to figuring out Wallace, Missouri might also have to overcome the loss of running back Zack Abron. Normally a starter, Abron sat out last week’s game with a knee injury and his return is questionable against Iowa State. He is not listed on the Missouri depth chart. But even without Abron, Missouri rolled up 267 yards on the ground against Kansas, with senior tailback T.J. Leon filling in. McCarney said the Tiger receiving corps can also pose big problems, especially multi-sport athlete Justin Gage.

“Boy is he going to play a long time after this year and his Missouri career,” McCarney said. “He better stick with football. I’m sure he’s a good basketball player too, but he is special as a wide receiver.”

Besides the concerns that Smith, Gage and the rest of the Missouri players present, McCarney is also hoping his offense can improve from recent performances. On Tuesday, he announced that redshirt freshman Brian Thompson will see more action at tailback to try and resurrect the struggling ground game. McCarney said he hopes the position change will result in more points than in recent games.