Sep 4, 2015 at 2:56a ET
Sep 4, 2015 at 2:56a ET
AMES, Iowa (AP) Hardly anyone outside of the state will pay much attention to the Northern Iowa-Iowa State game.
Yet it's an opener with big ramifications for both programs.
Cyclones coach Paul Rhoads enters his seventh season in Ames under great scrutiny after back-to-back 3-9 and 2-10 seasons; including two straight defeats to FCS opponents on opening day.
A third such loss - on a night when the Cyclones will host their largest crowd in school history - could doom Rhoads' tenure at Iowa State.