When former offensive tackle Bill Marsau committed to Iowa State, he didn’t realize that his decision would turn the tide in the recruiting battle between Iowa and Iowa State.

A ISU starter in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, Marsau was the only in-state recruit who chose the Cyclones over the Hawkeyes when Dan McCarney took the job as head coach at Iowa State in 1995.

Marsau, from Hudson, who is now in veterinary school at Iowa State, said academics played a big part in his decision, but coach McCarney’s enthusiasm attracted him as well.

“McCarney got me really excited and I was really excited to turn the program around here at Iowa State,” Marsau said.

“I was aware that I was kind of going against the grain.

“It has to start somewhere when you’re trying to turn a program around.”

Marsau was a part of the 1998 team that ended a 15-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes.

The Cyclones haven’t lost to Iowa since, taking the last four contests from the Hawkeyes. McCarney said his recent success hasn’t been because of anything he’s done differently.

“I haven’t changed my coaching style in terms of what we do to prepare for this game,” McCarney said. “It’s just that I’ve got better players doing it now.”

McCarney said it was a long process to get his team to the competitive level it’s at today.

Besides trying to convince in-state talent to come to Ames, he went all over to recruit – Texas, Florida and California.

Believing that Iowa State could someday challenge as the best team in the state was also a big factor, McCarney said.

“I just never lost faith and I knew we’d get to a point where we could line up and play against anybody in the country,” he said.

Slowly but surely, the recruiting battles for prep players in Iowa evened out.

The 2002 Iowa State roster includes 66 players from the state of Iowa. That number includes half of the Cyclone starters.

Guys like Jordan Carstens, Tyson Smith, Lane Danielsen and Zach Butler are all products of Iowa.

Conversely, the Hawkeyes’ 2002 roster has 40 players from inside the state.

“Now both schools are getting good players in the state of Iowa – the way it should be and the way I think it’ll always be,” McCarney said.

“We were able to develop a good recruiting base out of the state of Iowa.”

ISU receiver Jack Whitver, a Grinnell native, said there was never a question about where he would go to school.

Whitver was a former walk-on who eventually became a scholarship player. The junior had 272 receiving yards last season.

“I was always an Iowa State fan,” Whitver said.

“My parents brought me to every single game here, so I’ve loved Iowa State my whole life.”

Lane Danielsen, another former walk-on from Dike, said the mood about the intrastate rivalry around his part of the state could be summed up in one word – disinterested.

“When I grew up it was like `the Iowa-Iowa State game? Big deal, Iowa’s going to kill them,'” Danielsen said. “But now you see that it does mean a lot more. Not only to us, but to the fans around the state.”

Other Cyclones spent their younger days in Hawkeye country and grew up rooting against the team they now play for.

Enter Nick Linder, who grew up in Iowa City.

“I was always going to Hawkeye games,” Linder said.

“I was always that guy yelling stuff at the other teams and that’s going to be me Saturday.”

Luke Vander Sanden, an offensive lineman who broke his ankle during practice early in August, is a little ahead of schedule in his comeback, McCarney said.

“He’s off crutches and he’s out of the cast,” McCarney said. “He’s doing real well.”

He was expected to miss at least six weeks.