Iowa State and Iowa don’t play each other in football for more than three weeks, but Butler’s emotions are boiling now just like they do in the week of This State’s Big Game.

And Florida State, not Iowa (not yet anyway), is the opponent he’s getting emotional about.

Butler is Iowa State’s senior center. He’s from Iowa City. He’s never played on a Cyclone team that lost to Iowa. He’s the son of Dave Butler, who lettered as a Hawkeye football player in 1974 and 1975.

"We’re getting ready to play Florida State in the Eddie Robinson Classic, we’re playing in Arrowhead Stadium, there’s going to be 30,000 Cyclone fans there, and we’re going to be jacked up,’’ Butler said Tuesday.

"This is a big deal. It’s the first game of the year, and emotions are going to be running high.’’

There are 11 players from Florida on Iowa State’s roster, and Butler said he’s planning to do everything he can to make Saturday night’s game against heavily-favored and third-ranked Florida State a success for them.

"The Florida kids come up here and find out what type of deal the Iowa game is for us Iowa kids,’’ he explained. "They’ve lived in Iowa for one, two, maybe five years or whatever. They know what it means to us Iowa kids to play in that game.

"They know what it means to lay it on the line for your state. So, when I get the opportunity to do the same thing for the Florida guys I’m going to make sure I do the best I can to lay it on the line for them because they’ve done it for me the last four years—and we’re going to do it again this year.

"Saturday’s game is a big deal. If you’re from Florida, you’re at center stage, you’re on national television, you’re playing a team you probably grew up watching and everybody in Florida is going to be watching the game. They want to lay it on the line, and I’m going to do the same thing for them.’’

For Iowa State’s offense to be successful against Florida State, Butler said, "We have to be patient, stay with our game plan, out-hustle them and out blue-collar them. We have to go from quarter one to quarter four as hard and as fast as we can.’’

"Growing up in central Iowa (he’s from Bagley), I was an Iowa State fan,’’ Carstens said. "I knew who Bowden was, but I wouldn’t say I was a real fan.’’

However, Carstens said he’s well aware that Bowden is "a great coach, has a great history, a great record at Florida State—and it’s going to be interesting to see what he can do going head-to-head against Coach Mac (Iowa State’s Dan McCarney).’’

Bowden is tied for second place with Bear Bryant with 323 victories on the all-time Division I-A list. A victory Saturday night would leave Bowden alone behind only Joe Paterno (327). Bowden is in his 27^th season at Florida State.

Carstens admitted he’s "been trying to prepare mentally’’ for the Florida State game ever since he learned the Cyclones were going to play in the Eddie Robinson Classic.

Carstens said a key for Iowa State’s defense will be to stop Florida State’s running game.

"If we can stop the run, then play the kind of pass defense we’ve been able to play in the past, we’ll be all right against them.’’

"I don’t care if you’re an Iowa State fan or not, when somebody has been down as long as this place has been down in football and you start rising up, it’s hard not to cheer for us,’’ McCarney said.

Then he added with a smile: "I know it’s hard for some people in this state to cheer for us.

"But around the country, on a national scale, when good things are happening to a place that’s been down a long time it’s hard not to feel good about it, and I think that’s one of the reasons we got this opportunity.’’