Iowa State and Colorado have participated in some pretty wild contests in the Dan McCarney era.

The games have followed a certain pattern all three years, one which Iowa State will try to break when the two teams face off at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday.

The story began in 1995, McCarney’s first season as head coach of the Cyclones.

Ninth-rated Colorado ventured into then Cyclone Stadium to face off with the 2-4 Cyclones and star running back Troy Davis.

The game’s first half went as expected, as the Buffaloes jumped out to a 27-10 lead. The big play of the half occurred with only 54 seconds left, as Colorado safety Donnell Leomiti returned an ISU fumble 25 yards for a touchdown to give the Buffs the 17-point advantage going into the locker room.

The second half, however, was another story altogether.

Freshman quarterback Todd Bandhauer, who had replaced the injured Todd Doxzon late in the second, led the Cyclone attack in the second half along with Davis, who would go on to rush for over 2,000 yards and be named All-American.

ISU started the half in style when Matt Straight blocked a CU punt for a safety.

Jaime Kohl followed a few minutes later with a field goal, and the deficit was cut to 27-15.

After a quick Colorado series, the Cyclones took over possession; back then, that meant giving the ball to Troy Davis.

The school’s all-time leading rusher responded as he always did, rushing for touchdowns of 27 and then 45 yards within five minutes of play, and the Cyclones suddenly found themselves in the lead, 28-27.

The crowd of 34,669 began to feel the Cyclones could pull off their biggest upset since they beat Nebraska in the Marv Seiler Bowl.

However, it was not to be. The Buffs showed they were the superior team by scoring 22 unanswered points to overtake the upset-minded ‘Clones, 50-28.

Davis ended the game with 203 yards on 33 carries, including three touchdowns.

The next season brought more frustration and heartache when the Cardinal and Gold traveled to Boulder for a rematch of the shoot-out of the year before.

Iowa State, 2-6, went in to Folsom Field coming off a string of four heartbreaking defeats which they led in the second half before they succumbed to the opponents.

That, combined with the fact that Colorado had only one loss on the year and was on a five game winning streak, seemed to spell doom for ISU.

During the first quarter, the Buffs connected on two passes from Koy Detmer from 11 and 77 yards that went for scores, while the Cyclones countered with two Jaime Kohl field goals.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter to make it 21-13 Colorado at the half.

Like the year before, Iowa State came out of the locker room firing, scoring on its first two possessions.

First, it was a 17-yard touchdown pass from Doxzon to Tyrone Watley that cut the Buffs’ advantage to 21-20 with only two-and-a-half minutes gone in the quarter.

With seven and a half minutes left in the quarter, ISU struck again when Davis dove over the goal line from a yard away. When Doxzon and Watley hooked up again for the two-point conversion, the Cyclones had the lead, 28-21.

Like the year prior, it was here that Colorado took over behind the arm of Koy Detmer and the legs of Herchell Troutman.

Less than three minutes after ISU took the lead, Colorado tied it up when Troutman scored from a yard out.

The game remained deadlocked until Troutman scored again, this time from four yards away, to give the Buffs the lead, 35-28.

Detmer and his talented receiver corps then put the game out of reach, as they connected for scores of 25 and 42 yards, the last coming with less than six minutes left.

ISU added two late scores to give Colorado a scare, but the 49-42 score gave little solace to the Cyclones, who for the fifth week in a row fell to defeat after leading late in the game.

Troy Davis again stood out, rushing for 228 yards on 35 carries with two scores, while Detmer tore up the ISU secondary to the tune of 401 yards and five touchdowns.

Last year was certainly a down year for both teams, as the Cyclones entered the Nov. 8 contest with a record of 1-7, while Colorado was having its worst season in recent memory with a mark of 4-4.

The game began in familiar fashion as the Cyclones jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead behind a 27-yard TD toss from Bandhauer to Daman Green and a five-yard run by Darren Davis.

Colorado added a field goal as the first quarter came to a close with ISU up 14-3.

Troutman continued to be a nemesis for the Cyclones by scoring from five yards out to bring Colorado to within striking distance at 14-10.

However, Bandhauer led the troops on a 14-play, 65-yard drive that culminated in his second touchdown pass of the day, this one going to Watley from seven yards out.

Then came another turning point, one which seemed to say that this was going to be Iowa State’s day.

As Colorado was driving for a score that would have again cut the gap, Dustin Avey stymied the Buffs drive by picking off a pass and returning it 94 yards for a Cyclone score that gave ISU a 28-10 half-time lead.

Colorado quickly drove down the field for a score when Marcus Stiggers ran it in from 21 yards, and the ‘here we go again’ feeling came over Jack Trice Stadium like a hovering storm cloud.

However, the Cyclones recovered quarterback John Hessler’s errant pitch at the Colorado 11. Two plays later, Watley and Bandhauer connected again from seven yards, and the lead again seemed safe at 35-17 with 8:20 left in the third quarter.

Then came the barrage that ISU fans and players alike have become accustomed to.

The Buffs scored three touchdowns in the span of nine minutes to take the lead, but when Jeremy Aldrich missed the extra point attempt, the advantage was only two at 37-35.

The Cyclones countered with a 14-play, 68-yard drive to take a lead on a Jaime Kohl field goal with under three minutes to play.

After a big kickoff return and a fourth-and-10 conversion, the Buffs drove down, Dwayne Cherrington dove over from a yard out, and another Colorado-Iowa State tilt ended in heartbreak for the Cyclones and their fans.