The ISU football team set the stage for a showdown with an intrastate rival by destroying another with a 45-0 rout of Northern Iowa Saturday night at Jack Trice Stadium.

The Cyclones (1-0) opened up a 31-0 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back. The Cyclones were heavy favorites going in and the game served as preparation for Saturday’s visit from Iowa (2-0).

“This is a very solid win,” Cyclone head coach Dan McCarney said. “It was very business like. Nothing flashy, but our kids had great focus and were ready to play. We got some questions answered tonight, and we know there’s all kind of room for improvement.”

Saturday’s contest marked the debut of several new starters, including junior college transfer Seneca Wallace at quarterback. Wallace carved up the Panther defense for 97 rushing yards and two scores.

Wallace’s first score came on a 27-yard scramble where he avoided a Panther blitz and scampered into the endzone. Later in the first quarter, Wallace bolted 60 yards down the sideline on an option keeper for his second touchdown.

“I’ve never played a Division 1 game, so I just wanted to come out and get a feel for it,” Wallace said. “I was nervous a little bit, but after the first couple of plays, I was fine. It felt great to get into the endzone.”

Wallace was a little shaky in the passing game, finishing 5-for-11 for 47 yards. Wallace showed off his strong arm on a few occasions, but didn’t find the mark.

Ennis Haywood, the 2000 leading rusher in the Big 12, got his senior campaign off to a good start with 107 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. The Cyclones totaled 337 yards in total offense.

Defensively, the Cyclone secondary wreaked havoc on Panther quarterback Tom Petrie. Petrie was picked off five times, as the Cyclones tallied six interceptions.

“The turnovers were a major difference in the game,” McCarney said. “I don’t care who you’re playing, when you get seven turnovers in a game, it gives you a chance to win the game. Anytime you get a shutout, you played good defense.”

The Cyclone defenders helped the offense out with big interception returns to set up good field position. Only one Cyclone scoring drive was over four minutes long. Only twice did Cyclone scoring drives start beyond the 50-yard line.

“We knew that Petrie was a young quarterback and hadn’t faced the type of pressure we were going to bring, so we knew we could force him to make some mistakes,” Cyclone defensive back Marc Timmons said.

Another area where the Cyclones shined was on special teams where Tony Yelk nailed a 47-yard field goal and handled the punting duties. Yelk was also a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points.

“I’m real proud of Tony Yelk,” McCarney said. “That’s a lot of responsibilities, kicking and punting. He’s got a strong leg and had a busy night.”

BoxScore

N. Iowa-Iowa St., Stats

No. Iowa 0 0 0 0 – 0

Iowa St. 17 21 7 0 – 45

First quarter

IS-FG Yelk 47, 12:02.

IS-Wallace 27 run (Yelk kick), 3:27.

IS-Wallace 60 run (Yelk kick), 1:33.

Second quarter

IS-Haywood 1 run (Yelk kick), 14:38.

IS-Wagner 13 run (Yelk kick), 11:50.

IS-Woodley 1 run (Yelk kick), :52.

Third quarter

IS-Haywood 3 run (Yelk kick), 10:53.

A-47,092.

                         NI ISU

First downs 18 16

Rushes-yards 41-183 45-249

Passing 116 88

Comp-Att-Int 10-30-6 9-18-0

Return Yards 46 129

Punts-Avg. 6-36 6-47

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties-Yards 7-57 6-65

Time of Possession 30:53 29:07

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-N. Iowa, Carter 15-82, Benge 13-40, Petrie 9-31, Joseph 2-24, Lyle 2-6. Iowa St., Haywood 20-107, Wallace 5-97, Wagner 9-29, Billups 5-19, Rutland 1-2, Woodley 1-1, Montgomery 1-1, Love 1-(minus 2), Scott 1-(minus 5).

PASSING-N. Iowa, Petrie 8-27-5-99, Jurgens 2-3-1-17. Iowa St., Wallace 5-11-0-47, Love 4-5-0-41, Scott 0-2-0-0.

RECEIVING-N. Iowa, Hannam 3-28, Soliday 2-50, Mays 2-18, Sandy 1-9, Seitz 1-8, Walter 1-3. Iowa St., Campbell 3-37, Banks 3-15, Danielsen 2-22, Montgomery 1-14.