The Iowa State defense will attempt to determine this weekend which is the lesser of two Ricky Williams’.

After holding Texas Tech tailback Ricky Williams, currently the nation’s leading rusher, to a sub-par outing last weekend, the Cyclone “D” will take aim at the Texas version on Saturday.

The Longhorns’ Williams is currently the second leading rusher in the nation with 736 yards. So far, he has averaged over six yards per carry, picked up 15 touchdowns and managed the nation’s third highest yards-per-game average.

After leading the nation’s running backs last year, the statistics are not surprising.

What has been surprising, though, is the fashion in which Williams has produced these stats this season.

Ricky managed 215 yards against perennial doormat New Mexico State in the Longhorns’ first contest and ran roughshod for over 300 yards last weekend against the lowly Rice Owls.

Against real competition, however, Williams has struggled.

In week two, against the Bruins of UCLA, Williams did emerge with 160 rushing yards. The majority of those yards, though, as well as his three rushing touchdowns, came against the Bruins’ third-string defense late in the fourth quarter.

In week three, against Kansas State, Ricky was shut down. He averaged less than two yards per carry and ended the game with only 43 total yards.

The Cyclone defense Williams will butt heads with on Saturday may not be a Kansas State-caliber unit, but it is far superior to the Aggies and Owls that he’s made mincemeat of so far this year.

One advantage Williams has this year is an offensive line that ranks among the best in the nation.

Experienced, physical and very large (averaging 310 pounds per man), the Longhorn linemen will be tough to overcome, but probably no more tough than the Red Raider line that James Reed and company beat most of the day last Saturday.

One thing the Longhorn line has that Texas Tech doesn’t, however, is senior leadership.

Jay Humphrey, the anchor of the line, is one of four starting seniors. The lone junior, Roger Roesler, is a returning starter.

As effective as Texas can tend to be on the ground, the passing game is somewhat more erratic.

With the loss of standout QB James Brown, the Longhorns are looking to senior Richard Walton and freshman Major Applewhite to step in and perform.

Applewhite has started the last two games for Texas and will likely be calling the signals on Saturday. Major is 36-for-65 so far, with 556 yards, three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

Applewhite has experienced targets in receivers Wane McGarity and Kwame Cavil and tight end Derek Lewis.

While the Texas offense may be tough on Iowa State this weekend, their defense seems to be paper thin, at best.

The Longhorn defenders return nine starters, which seems great until you realize how bad that defense was a year ago.

The Texas run defense was ranked 104th in the nation last year against the run and hasn’t fared much better in 1998. They have yet to see a tailback of Darren Davis’ ability this year and have already given up over 200 yards on the ground in each of their first four games.

Even the New Mexico State Aggies were able to run against Texas, piling up 233 yards and an impressive 5.3 yard average.

The anchors of the porous Longhorn defensive line are juniors Aaron Humphrey and Cedric Woodard, both honorable mention All-Big 12 selections a year ago. Humphrey has 182 tackles and 16.5 tackles for loss so far at Texas and Woodard managed 68 tackles, five tackles for loss and a sack from his DT position last season.

Sophomore Casey Hampton returns at the other tackle position after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last season. Before the injury, Hampton had emerged as a playmaker on the interior line.

The Longhorns return all three linebackers from 1997 and are led by middle-man Dusty Renfro, who piled up 116 tackles (eight for loss) and four sacks last year.

The Texas pass defense hasn’t been as suspect as the run defense but hasn’t exactly been stellar, either.

Led by returning starters Donald McCowen, Aaron Babino and Tony Holmes, the Longhorn secondary shut down Rice’s air attack last weekend.

Before that, they struggled against Kansas State, New Mexico State and especially UCLA. The Bruins exploited the Texas defensive backs to the tune of 373 passing yards and four passing touchdowns.

On special teams, the Longhorns have also lost a step.

With the departure of kicker Phil Dawson and punter Mark Schultis, both talented performers, the Longhorns will look to unproven replacements Kris Stockton (kicker) and Ryan Long (punter).

The Texas offense has the potential to put some points on the board against Iowa State on Saturday, but the defense will likely give away everything the offense earns.

Get ready for a shoot-out.