Iowa State's latest clash with teams from this conference occurred in 1995 when the Cyclones downed Ohio 36-21. All 13 earlier games have been played in a 1962-95 time span, and the last five all have been contested at Jack Trice Stadium. Lynch guided Ball State to four consecutive victories to close the 1997 campaign and has the team in contention for the Mid-American's West Division title. The Cardinals fought it out with Southeastern Conference member South Carolina on Sept. 5 at Columbia, S.C., before falling 38-20 and have sought improvement on the road. Iowa State has a big-play passing offense, coupled with the running talents of TB Darren Davis, and a chance to get on the scoreboard quickly.
Newcomers continue to jell defensively as evidenced by holding Iowa to nine points.
Davis has rushed for 1,318 yards on 277 carries over his last 11 tilts for 119.8 yards per game. Iowa State, home of the first digital computer in the 1950s, is one of the elite, Research I university designees by the Carnegie Foundation. The Cyclones had a 90 percent renewal on season tickets from 1997 to 1998. This is CU's only regular season bout with a team from the Big West Conference in 1998. Arslanian is the son of former Colorado State head coach Sark Arslanian and well-acquainted with Colorado.