The 1999 Cyclone football season opened last night with a bang.

In fact, Iowa State’s contest against the Sycamores of Indiana State opened with the same bang.

It took the Cyclones just two minutes and two plays from scrimmage to get on the board for the first time in ’99, en route to a decisive 33-7 victory.

“We’re real happy with the win,” McCarney said. “Obviously we have a lot of work to do in the next nine days, but I saw a lot of things I liked.”

After a 45-yard, J.J. Moses return of the opening kickoff and a Darren Davis three-yard dive, starting quarterback Sage Rosenfels took over.

The athletic junior faked a handoff to Davis before tucking the ball and scampering for a 52-yard touchdown.

Rosenfels was far from the only weapon the Cyclones would look to on a night when seemingly everyone would torment the Indiana State defense.

“We’re real happy with the depth at running back and on the offensive line,” McCarney said.

After a wobbly extra point and a pair of Sycamore punts, it was Derrick Walker’s turn to quarterback the Cyclones to their second TD.

Amidst several carries by Walker and Davis, Ennis Haywood also emerged to make an auspicious ’99 debut.

“He’s an excellent back,” McCarney said. “He keeps getting better and better.”

On five carries, Haywood ran for 38 yards, including a 12-yard TD plunge in which he ran over four Sycamores.

Mike McKnight’s second and final PAT-attempt was off-target, limiting the Cyclones to a 13-0 lead.

Indiana State moved the ball to the ISU 34-yard line on their next possession before failing to convert on fourth down.

Next, it was Davis’ turn to shine.

The senior leader picked up 57 yards on just four carries to power ISU to a 19-point lead. The extra point, this time by Steffen Nass, pushed the lead to 20 points.

“Darren’s a great back,” Haywood said of his mentor. “I know I have to make the best of my opportunities when I get in.”

When it was all said and done, the Cyclones utilized more than a dozen offensive weapons to pile up 551 yards for the lopsided win.

It wasn’t just the ISU offense that took advantage of the undersized, overmatched Sycamore squad, however.

The Cyclone “D” stopped Indiana State’s option for the majority of the game, limiting the Sycamores to just 143 yards through the first three quarters.

“We only gave up seven points, which is pretty good to any team,” McCarney said. “We were sloppy at times, but we got turnovers and that’s something we’ve really stressed. Hopefully, this will set the tempo for the season.”

The Sycamores finally managed to break through in the fourth quarter, putting together a seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive to get on the board for the first time.

In the end, Indiana State managed 231 total yards with only 18 of those coming through the air.

Linebackers Eric Weiford and Jesse Beckom led the way with seven and six tackles, respectively.

James Reed powered the line from his tackle position, managing five tackles and forcing a fumble in the first half.

In the secondary, Jamarcus Powers picked up six tackles and Jeff Waters and Doug Densmore each made athletic interceptions to shut down Sycamore drives.

On offense, Haywood and Davis traded series, as did Walker and Rosenfels, for the majority of the game.

When Davis went down early in the second half with a cramp, though, Haywood picked up the slack, piling up 172 total yards on the night.

In his abbreviated evening, Davis managed 112 yards on just 13 carries.

Among the other Cyclone threats on the evening were Rosenfels and Walker, who rushed for 51 and 21 yards, respectively.

Tailback Michael Wagner and fullback DeCarlos Anderson each also came on strong in limited action in the fourth quarter, averaging 7.7 yards on nine combined carries. Wagner, however, went down with a dislocated shoulder and will miss at least a couple of weeks.

Senior fullback Hez Jackson was also given the first carries of his career, picking up 11 yards and his first TD.

Through the air, Rosenfels completed eight of 10 passes for 92 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown strike to Moses in the third quarter.

Moses, the Cyclones’ leading receiver, finished the game with 72 receiving yards. Haywood was second on the team with 29 yards on two receptions.

Walker completed both of his pass attempts for 25 yards.

“[Our quarterbacks] did a real nice job,” McCarney said. “There was no real disruption when either came in. They both did a great job moving the ball.”

For Indiana State, the nightmare didn’t end with the 26-point blowout. Standout senior defensive end Shannon Jackson went down with 6:04 left in the first half and lay on the field unconscious for 15 minutes before being carted away in an ambulance.

After the game, Jackson had regained consciousness and was recovering from a concussion.

All in all, the Cyclones’ first effort of ’99 answered a lot of questions about the team, but left several still hanging.

Both quarterbacks demonstrated great athletic ability in running the ball and looked great in their few attempts against a soft Sycamore secondary, but weren’t tested as they will be in the weeks ahead.

The bigger, meaner defense the Cyclones have advertised showed up for three quarters, but softened up a little in the waning moments.

The biggest question remaining, though, is on special teams, where McKnight and Nass each missed an extra point and Nass also launched a pair of kickoffs out of bounds.

“You guys saw what we’ve seen for 28 practices:” McCarney said, “Complete inconsistency by the kicking game. We have to get that going to have a winning season.”

The Cyclones hammered their 1AA opponents just as expected and will look to do the same against a slightly better Iowa team in nine days.