ISU head football coach Dan McCarney is worried.

Despite a strong showing last week in a 38-31 loss to then No. 3 Florida State, McCarney is uneasy with the idea of playing Kansas on Saturday.

“It’s an unsettling feeling, because we know nothing about what we anticipate seeing out here,” McCarney said.

“[Kansas knows] a lot about us. They have the TV tape and obviously watched the game. . They see our problems, our weaknesses, our strengths, our personnel . and we have absolutely nothing on them.”

However, Iowa State might have an edge. The Cyclones downed Kansas 49-7 last season, their largest margin of victory in a conference road win since they joined the Big Six in 1928.

“The score last year wasn’t really a true score,” ISU tight end Kyle Knock said. “We’re expecting the best out of them. It’s a Big 12 game and you can’t let down at all.”

Because Kansas has yet to play a game, McCarney said it is more difficult to prepare for them.

“We’re going to have to do a great job making adjustments early in the game based on what we see,” he said.

“But that’s what were paid to do, and I expect that from my staff.”

Mark Mangino is in his first year as Kansas head coach after working the past three seasons as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at the University of Oklahoma.

During his time at Oklahoma and as an assistant at Kansas State, Mangino led the Sooners and the Wildcats to a combined 101-30-1 record as well as a ranking in the top 25 nationally in eight of the 11 seasons at the two schools.

Kansas returns 33 lettermen, including eight starters, from last year’s team that went 3-8.

“We think we know who’s going to be in the lineup and we know a lot about their personnel,” McCarney said.

“What we don’t know is where they’re going to line up, and that’s the strong advantage Kansas has right now.”

The Jayhawks’ co-captains, offensive tackle Justin Sands and linebackers Leo Etienne and Greg Cole, are among the top players returning for Kansas.

Sands, who began his career as a defensive lineman, is a three-year letterwinner for the Jayhawks and will be expected to take on a leadership role.

He’ll be the only lineman to have started a collegiate game for Kansas when the Jayhawks take the field on Saturday.

Etienne is the top-returning tackler while Cole finished the 2001 season with 39 tackles.

“They’ve got plenty of players and good talent,” McCarney said.

On offense, the Jayhawks return four starters.

Tailback Reggie Duncan ran for 739 yards on 181 carries and three touchdowns a year ago, but barely beat out Clark Green for the No. 1 spot in preseason workouts.

Both backs are expected to see action.

“Reggie Duncan, we have tremendous respect for,” McCarney said.

Wide receiver Derick Mills could also factor into the offense. Mills average a team best 16.8 yards per reception a year ago.

“Mills we are very wary of. He’s got great feet,” McCarney said.

“He’s got some of the J.J. Moses in him with quickness in foot speed and of direction as a return guy.”

Despite Kansas’ 3-8 record of a year ago, McCarney and the rest of the Cyclones aren’t taking the Jayhawks lightly.

“I’m going to make sure that we don’t have any type of letdown, we just can’t afford it,” McCarney said. “We’ll get beat this week, we’ll get beat every week if we have a letdown.”