Iowa State’s offense shredded Ball State like a block of fresh Provolone.

The Cyclone defense stood up to the Cardinals like an impenetrable wall.

The ISU Special Teams even managed to dominate the frail squad of 60 from Muncie, Indiana.

In fact, the Iowa State football team hasn’t so completely decimated an opponent since…

Well, last Saturday.

In what is becoming a trend for Coach Dan McCarney’s team, the Cyclones obliterated another opponent, this time the Ball State Cardinals, 38-0 this weekend.

Iowa State’s first shutout victory since a 14-0 win over West Texas State in 1984 comes on the heels of an equally impressive win over intrastate rival, Iowa, last Saturday, 27-9.

The shutout was also the first registered against Ball State in 124 games. The Cardinals were last held to zero points by Bowling Green in 1987.

Defensive Coordinator John Skladany was very pleased with his crew’s effort and especially with the goose egg.

“It’s as big a thrill as you can imagine,” Skladany said. “It’s through everybody’s efforts that we get this accomplished.”

McCarney was equally impressed with the defense.

“It’s hard to get shutouts,” he said. “In major college football, you don’t see many of them. It’s a tremendous accomplishment by all our defensive coaches and players.”

The Cardinals entered the contest with a trio of highly-touted tailbacks, but left with a total of only 79 yards rushing.

The premier back for Ball State, LeAndre Moore, came into the game with 150 yards on the season, but only managed to add 19 to that total against the Cyclones.

In his first two games of the season, Moore was taken down for a loss on only one occasion. Against the Cyclones, he suffered 14 yards in losses and finished the day with a meager 1.6 yard per carry average.

Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Reggie Hayward sees a lot of improvement from last season’s squad.

“They hit us with some big plays,” Hayward said, “but a good defense bounces back. That’s what we didn’t have last year.”

Ball State had a pair of opportunities to put points on the board, but failed to do so on both occasions.

With a 1st-and-10 at the Cyclone 39 yard line and a couple of minutes remaining in the first half, tailback James Terrell broke into the clear inside the Cyclone 10 but dropped a perfectly thrown ball by quarterback Clay Walters.

Late in the game, Ball State had one final chance to pick up some points when Adrian Reese returned a Carl Gomez punt to inside the Cyclone 20 yard line. However, a penalty, a tackle for loss, a sack and a fumble later, the Cardinals were forced to punt from the ISU 41.

“I thought at times we bent a little, but we didn’t break,” Skladany said. “We had some crucial third down stops and we ended some drives that they got going.”

The bright spot on the offensive side of the ball was again Darren Davis.

The elusive tailback collected 200 rushing yards, 91 receiving yards and three touchdowns on the day, all three to lead the team.

Davis capped the first series of the game with a six-yard touchdown scamper after managing 42 of the 68 Cyclone yards on the drive.

After several defensive stops and a Jamie Kohl field goal, Davis caught a Todd Bandhauer pass out of the backfield, skated through a wall of defenders and ran 65 yards to another score, increasing the Cyclone lead to 17-0 after the PAT.

“Darren’s a great running back,” Bandhauer said. “It’s a pleasure and privilege to play on the same field as that guy.”

Apparently, it’s also a pleasure to watch him work.

“I have to carry out my fakes,” Bandhauer said, “so I try not to watch him too much, but sometimes you can’t help yourself.”

Davis finished the first half with 142 rushing yards and gained the majority of his second-half yardage in the third quarter, including a one-yard touchdown carry with 5:44 remaining.

In the fourth, backup tailbacks Ennis Haywood and J.J. Moses got most of the carries and took advantage of their opportunities.

Moses carried six times for 35 yards and Haywood had five rushes for 81 yards, including one 56-yard breakaway on which Ennis was hauled down right at the goal line.

“If I would have heard him,” Haywood said, “I would have tried to dive or something, but I thought it was smooth sailing.”

Bandhauer put the finishing touches on that drive with a one-yard sneak to make the score 31-0, but Haywood would get his touchdown on the next possession, a nine-yard carry with five minutes remaining.

“I knew once I got the ball that I had to seize the moment,” Haywood said.

McCarney was also pleased with the play of his backups.

“[Darren] could have gone back in the game if we needed him, but we wanted to let the people in the stands see number two [Haywood], because we see him every day in practice and he’s a pretty good football player.”

After the game, though, everyone was talking about Darren.

“He’s a sensational player,” McCarney said. “He’ll make as good a catch as you’ll see in college football, he makes people miss, he gets extra yards, he’s a tremendous open field runner and he’s a great receiver. He could even be a great punt and kick returner, but we have to give him a drink of water once in a while.”

“This is Darren’s year,” Haywood said. “He’s in good shape this year, so we just give it to him and let him go at it.”

So far, in two of their three games, that’s exactly what he and the rest of the Cyclones have done.