If this is the season for exorcising the ghosts of its past, Iowa State has another one to take care of Saturday.

The 21st-ranked Cyclones take on No. 12 Kansas State in its homecoming game at 6 p.m.

The game, upon which Big 12 North Division title implications rest, will be televised nationally by TBS.

The Wildcats have won the last eight meetings against Iowa State since a 27-23 ISU win in 1993.

“Most of that domination starts up front in the offensive and defensive lines where they’ve just out-toughed us, out-hit us and out-physicaled us,” ISU head coach Dan McCarney said. “You see that when you turn the tape on and watch it from recent years, which we have.”

ISU defensive lineman Jordan Carstens, who is third on the team with five sacks this season, said the production has continued to this season.

“You see them playing some pretty good Big 12 opponents and just driving them off the ball, gaining six or seven yards a rush and then dumping it through the air for another 15,” Carstens said.

The line surge is just one part of a dangerous Wildcat offense led by running back Darren Sproles and quarterback Ell Roberson.

Sproles, just a sophomore, has had five straight 100-yard games and averages 6.4 yards per carry. He has 10 touchdowns to go along with his 969 yards this season.

Roberson racked up 178 rushing yards against Colorado earlier this season and averages 184 yards of total offense per game.

He was 9-of-14 for 157 yards through the air in last weekend’s 64-0 pummeling of Kansas.

Kansas State averages 44.8 points per game, ranking third nationally.

“We go in that defensive conference room and we put up formations, plays, tendencies and all those things. We almost ran out of board space this week,” McCarney said. “There’s that much offense.”

But if the Wildcats’ offense is good, their defense is outstanding.

They have one of the nation’s best defensive units, ranking first in scoring defense, fourth in rush defense and third in total defense. They lead the Big 12 in all three categories.

In the last four games, Kansas State has held its opponents to an average of 41 rushing yards per game. And for the season, the Wildcats have only given up 2.1 yards per rush and just four rushing touchdowns.

That’s not good news for the Cyclones, who ran for only 75 yards against Oklahoma and Texas combined, teams that are ranked below Kansas State statistically.

Last week, Michael Wagner, Brian Thompson and Seneca Wallace combined for 177 yards against Missouri.

“There is no weakness on their defense,” McCarney said. “Their statistics are unbelievably ridiculous against the run, as they are against the pass. Hopefully there are some opportunities for us to throw it, but it’s going to be real hard.”

Kansas State is third in the conference against the pass, with opponents averaging 178 yards per game.

KSU cornerback Terence Newman leads the Wildcat secondary with four interceptions and 11 pass breakups this season.

McCarney said Newman is as good at his position as he has seen in the last two years. “Their coverage has been every bit as good as their pressure up front, and that’s the thing that we’ve got to try to defeat,” he said.

Wallace, who is coming off a 425-yard passing performance in the win over Missouri, is a concern for Kansas State coach Bill Snyder.

Snyder said Wallace has improved since last year, when he had 129 yards and an interception against his team.

“Seneca was always an accurate passer and his confidence level has risen to the point where it can be scary sometimes,” Snyder said.

“I remember last year, he had these unbelievable numbers like 22 straight completions and that’s against a tremendous defensive football team. Then you look at him last week against Missouri, he’s a 60 percent thrower, and that’s pretty good this day and age and this conference.”