Tall tales surround every sports team, not just the Patriots, and imbue every game a team plays. You know the prominent ones in the Cy-Hawk Series: Iowa State is the “little brother” and the game marks the Cyclones’ “Super Bowl.”

Whether you buy into those tales is a different story, but it’s impossible to deny their existence — especially this week, when Iowa will take on Iowa State in Ames on Saturday.

“It’s definitely important, Iowa State, in-state rivalry, it’s definitely a big one,” Iowa junior cornerback Greg Mabin said. “It’s their biggest game of the year every season; we just have to go out there and take that trophy back.”

But this time around, while it may well be the biggest game of the year for the Cyclones, it could be the biggest game of Iowa’s season, too.

Under head coach Kirk Ferentz, the Hawks have only seven wins to the Cyclones’ 10. Since head coach Paul Rhoads took over in Ames in 2009, Iowa has gone 3-3 and has lost three out of the last four contests, the most recent being a 20-17 defeat in Kinnick Stadium last season.

To an outsider, a 3-3 record in a rivalry game may not seem so bad. After all, it’s hard for an annual football game to be a good rivalry game if one team gets the best of the other year after year.

(Think Notre Dame against Navy. At a certain point, the aircraft carrier just sinks.)

But considering the Cyclones are 29-49 under Rhoads and 17-33 over the last four years, that makes Iowa’s record of late in the Cy-Hawk Series look a whole lot worse.

To be fair, the Hawks haven’t been much better the last four years, with only a 26-25 record coming into the contest, but they’ve still performed eons better overall than their neighbors a few hours to the west.

Which is the problem — recently, the Hawkeyes are having trouble getting over the Cy-Hawk hump, and if there’s one thing the traditionally Big 12 bottom-dwelling Cyclones know how to do, it’s be a thorn in the side of their in-state rival.

That sting has been especially painful recently.

In 2011, the Hawkeyes blew a 10-point first-half lead and failed to take advantage of two missed field goals, three fumbles, and 11 Iowa State penalties that totaled 84 yards en route to a heartbreaking 44-41 triple overtime loss in Ames.

In 2012, Iowa lost a painful 9-6 contest in Kinnick Stadium in which quarterback James Vandenberg had an 18.3 QB rating.

The Hawkeyes survived a 14-point push in the fourth quarter on their way to a 27-21 road victory in 2013 but suffered the aforementioned loss last season because of unimpressive play, capped by a Cole Netten field goal as time expired to end the contest.

Of course, Iowa fans remember Ferentz’s infamous decision to ice Netten, who missed the ensuing field goal, which didn’t count. Netten drilled the attempt that counted to give the Cyclones the victory and right to take the Cy-Hawk Trophy back to Ames.

“You end up losing on a last-second field goal, and it’s kind of like a shock,” said quarterback C.J. Beathard, who, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will play in his first game against Iowa State Saturday. “[It’s] like, ‘Dang it, we actually just lost that game.’ It’s tough. Any loss is tough, but an in-state rivalry game like that makes it even tougher.”

And while the unrest surrounding the Iowa football program coming into this season has subsided to a degree — at least momentarily — because of a 31-14 opening win over Illinois State on Sept. 5, it might rear its head again if things go south in Ames Saturday.

Given that the two student bodies hate each other — anyone who walks down Melrose Avenue in a Cyclone T-shirt on any game day, regardless of the opponent, will hear a four-letter word followed by “State” plenty of times — it’s crucial Iowa finds a way to win this contest. It could come in an ugly fashion, but the bottom line is simple: A win over Iowa State is a win over Iowa State.

“You can sense [the game’s importance]. Obviously, losing last year, they’ve had bragging rights all year, and I think everyone on this team, on this campus, everyone here, wants to win that game,” Beathard said. “Whether it be students out there, they want to brag to their friends from Iowa State.
“But us, as a football team, we’re just looking at this as our next opponent.”

Although it may sound like Beathard is playing down the contest, the quarterback’s words ring true for Ferentz and Company. Earlier this week, the 17-year head coach at Iowa said improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 is paramount.

Last week, Iowa did most things well. Although not everything was perfect, Iowa’s offense and defense were where they needed to be to beat Illinois State, but this week, the head coach knows his team is going to have to be much better. Don’t forget that in the span of seven days, the Hawkeyes are going from playing an FCS program to an FBS school that gives them fits seemingly every season.

“If we want to win the football game, we’re going to have to improve,” Ferentz said. “There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about that one.”

For what it’s worth, history is not on Ferentz’s side going from game one to game two against the Cyclones. On occasions when the Cy-Hawk game has taken place during the second week of the Hawkeye season, Iowa is 3-4 in the Ferentz era. From 2009-2012, the game was in Week 2, and the opponents split those meetings.

However, Ferentz-led teams that don’t play Iowa State in the second week have a record of 8-1 in their second game.

Granted, Iowa may have played lesser opponents and waited to face their first big test the following week against the Cyclones, or it could be a coincidence. Either way, this week is a test for Iowa, no matter what.