The ISU football team gave fans a glimpse of the future at Saturday’s spring game at Jack Trice Stadium.

The Cardinal team escaped with a 35-30 victory over the White team after a stop in the final seconds. The White team was spotted a 16-0 lead before the game even started.

“I know it’s just an intrasquad scrimmage, but we got a lot done,” ISU head coach Dan McCarney said. “We got a lot of good snaps and good evaluation, and I thought the effort on both sides was very strong. The White team was playing to win, and it was very competitive.”

The Cyclones now have five months to work out the kinks showed in Saturday’s game. The Cyclones start the 2001 season hosting Northern Iowa Sept. 8.

One of the more important position battles this spring has been at quarterback, and both competitors didn’t disappoint.

Freshman Cris Love, second string on the depth chart, finished 9 for 20, passing for 150 yards and a touchdown.

The Cardinal team was led by junior-college transfer Seneca Wallace, whose mobility and arm strength have been a popular topic of conversation with Cyclone fans.

Wallace completed seven of 11 attempts for 124 yards, including a 53-yard bullet to Lane Danielsen. Wallace’s running skills were also on display with a flashy 35-yard touchdown run, in which he dodged numerous defenders before exploding down the sideline to the end zone.

“I think you saw the ability and the potential out there [about Seneca],” McCarney said. “He’s got a strong arm and accuracy, he’s got real good feet and good speed, yet he’s got a lot of room for improvement. He still hasn’t done it against a No. 1 Big 12 defense that’s coming after you with all the stunts and blitzes.”

It was Wallace’s first taste of Division 1 competition after two stellar years on the junior-college level.

“It went pretty well,” Wallace said. “I just wanted to relax and put on a show if I could. I’d been having some hamstring problems the last couple of days, but I felt fine, and that long run was good for me.”

One area that McCarney recognizes as needing work is on the defensive side of the ball.

The Cyclones have been hurt by injuries to eight players, including four defensive starters.

“We need to get back the eight guys that didn’t play today, four starters on defense,” McCarney said. “We didn’t run any blitzes today, just played one front. We’re not ready yet defensively for the Big 12. We’re not physical enough.”

The Cyclones showed tremendous depth at the running back position. The Cyclones played most of the game without their top two tailbacks in Ennis Haywood and Michael Wagner, so that meant JaMaine Billups and Hiawatha Rutland saw a lot of action and made the most of it.

Rutland rushed for 82 yards and two scores while splitting time between the two teams. Billups totaled 56 yards and scored twice. Haywood was sick and Wagner was suffering from a sprained ankle

“You could see our depth at running back with Rutland and Billups and the job those guys did,” McCarney said. “Billups has to be on the field, and that’s a good problem to have to solve. It’s a real good feeling knowing that Wagner and Haywood are still coming.”

Billups got going right away, running the opening kickoff back 23 yards to midfield. Billups started the same way as he ended last season when he clinched the Cyclones’ Insight.com bowl victory with a punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“I just took everything I learned last year and this spring and put it all together,” Billups said. “That first return was beautiful … special teams have got to work on that because it’s been a while since we’ve had a long return like that.”