When the Cyclones and Longhorns square off Saturday in another Big 12 Conference showdown, both teams will focus on establishing the running game.

After rushing for 53 yards against Oklahoma on Oct. 12, Texas (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) was held to a meager 46 yards in last Saturday’s win over Kansas State. Iowa State (6-2, 3-1) was also stifled by the Sooner defense, managing just 17 rushing yards in its blowout loss.

ISU head coach Dan McCarney called his team’s running game “very average.”

“We have got to get our running game going, we just have to,” McCarney said. “We can’t go through the next five weeks and hand it off a few times, get whacked in the face and then expect to win.”

History supports that statement as well.

In five years under head coach Mack Brown, the Longhorns are 37-0 when outrushing an opponent.

In games against Big 12 competition, the Cyclones are fifth in the conference in rushing offense with a 178 yards per game average. Texas has played two teams — Oklahoma and Kansas State — in the top five nationally in rushing defense, causing the Longhorns to come in last in the conference in rushing offense.

In the three conference games, the Longhorns have averaged 81 yards per game.

Sophomore running back Cedric Benson, who has been hampered by a sore toe recently, averages 105 yards per game. The preseason All-American pick racked up 208 yards against North Carolina earlier this season.

If the Cyclones are to have success in their running game, they’ll have to do it against one of the nation’s best defenses.

The Longhorns are second nationally in pass defense and third in total defense.

“They go 325 here and 315 here, and they’ve got two NFL guys on the edge out there,” McCarney said, gesturing. “Both [linebackers] are outstanding. You don’t see any undersized overachievers when you watch Texas — they’re oversized achievers.”

McCarney said the Longhorns specialize in their blitz packages because they have the ability to rush the quarterback from all directions. He said the Longhorn defense is tough to prepare for because they can give opposing teams many different looks and most have been effective for them.

Since Oklahoma had so much success putting pressure on Wallace, McCarney expects much of the same against Texas. The Sooners were able to get to Wallace on a regular basis, forcing him into the worst performance of his career at Iowa State.

Wallace’s passing average plummeted to 230 yards per game after going 4-of-22 for 43 yards through the air against Oklahoma.

The senior was also picked off three times, but Brown said it doesn’t take long to remember the numbers Wallace posted prior to the Sooner shutdown.

“You go back and study Seneca Wallace and you see why he was a number one Heisman candidate going into last week,” Brown said. “I’m sure he’ll try to get that started again this week because he’s got tremendous confidence.”

While Benson is a concern to the Cyclones, the Longhorn receiving corps poses an even greater threat, at least to McCarney. Roy Williams, B.J. Johnson and Sloan Thomas combine to form what many preseason magazines called the best trio of receivers in the country. Under the leadership of quarterback Chris Simms, the three juniors have teamed up to catch 63 passes for 990 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

“About the time you see people double-teaming [Williams], and people are trying to take him out of the game, then here comes Johnson and he’s wide open, he’s one-on-one or he’s making big, athletic catches,” McCarney said. “They’re loaded and they’ve got great talent and depth.”

Williams and Thomas have also been bothered by hamstring injuries this season, but ISU linebacker Matt Word isn’t taking anything for granted Saturday.

“You see them on ESPN all the time and they’re real talented receivers,” Word said.

“We know it’s a big challenge, but we’ve got a real good defense and we’re capable of going out there, executing and stopping those guys.”