The necklace with a cross was given to Iowa State football player Lane Danielsen nearly a year ago on the day before his mother’s funeral, and he wore it constantly until last Nov. 24.

"The Iowa game is always a big one for us, and I caught six passes against them last season,’’ Danielsen said.

One of the catches resulted in Iowa State’s first touchdown en route to a 14-0 halftime lead. The Cyclones won, 17-14, for their fourth consecutive victory in the series.

But it turned out to be somewhat of a bittersweet game for Danielsen, a 6-foot, 197-pound wide receiver from the small northeast Iowa town of Dike

The necklace he wore so proudly for seven months in memory of his mother, Sonia Derrick, somehow fell from his neck and was lost.

"My mother died May 14 following an auto accident, and my grandparents gave me the necklace,’’ Danielsen explained.

"I never took it off. But, on the day of the Iowa game, I had the necklace under my shoulder pads, and it broke. I think I lost it on the field. I went out there the day after the game, but couldn’t find it.

"I don’t know if it was meant to be or what.’’

However, Danielsen still has the memory of the necklace and, of course, his mother.

"I think of her a lot,’’ he said.

"Dike is 10 miles west of Cedar Falls and has a population of about 1,000,’’ he said. "To be honest with you, I don’t know of anybody else from the town who has ever played Division I football.’’

Danielsen came to Iowa State without a football scholarship, but knew he had a good chance to get one.

"Out of high school, I narrowed my choice of universities to Iowa State and Northern Iowa,’’ he said. "At Iowa State, I was what was known as a ‘recruited walk-on.’

"I came here with the understanding that I’d be treated as any player and that I’d be given the opportunity to get a scholarship in my first year—which is what happened.’’

He was the Cyclones’ leading pass receiver as a redshirt sophomore last season with 49 catches for 694 yards and four touchdowns.

He and the Iowa State’s other players now are busy with spring practice, which ends with an intrasquad game Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.

It all starts with an Aug. 24 game against Florida State in the Eddie Robinson Classic at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The 13-game regular-season schedule also includes a game against Nebraska in Ames and road assignments against Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas State and Colorado.

There might have been years when mention of such a fierce schedule would produce the word "Why?’’ from more than a few Cyclones.

Not anymore.

"I look forward to it,’’ Danielsen said. "We’re going to be a lot better team next season, and our schedule is going to be tougher. To get the respect we want, we’ve got to beat those guys. We like to play good teams.

"Coach Mac (Dan McCarney) talks to us a lot about it. He says, ‘If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.’ We want to play against the best competition we can.’’

Florida State, too?

"It’s one of those ‘name’ teams teams you grow up hearing about all the time, and you hope you someday get the opportunity to play them,’’ Danielsen said.

"We’ve got to show up for every play and play our best game if we want to beat them.’’

In spring practice, Danielsen said he’s had these goals—to improve his route-running and releases off the line and to become more of a vocal leader.

"I’m not a break-out guy any longer,’’ he said. "I want to help out our younger guys.’’

Wallace is aware that he is being mentioned as someone who could develop into a Heisman candidate.

But he also knows the talk is just that—talk.

"It sounds good, but it’s still all about going out there and winning ballgames,’’ he said. "I could be a Heisman candidate going into our first game, but it we’d blow it against Florida State, you’d probably never hear from me again.’’

Iowa State , which is well aware of the recognition a Heisman candidate can bring a school, plans to promote Wallace for the award that goes to collegiate football’s best player.

"We’ll give it our best effort,’’ said Tom Kroeschell, Iowa State’s associate athletic director in charge of media relations. "We plan to promote Seneca with such things as a video, a website, mailings and anything else we can do.’’

Kroeschell pointed out that the Heisman Trophy isn’t the only postseason award available to collegiate players.

"There’s a plethora of other awards,’’ he said.

McCarney called Wallace "one of the most exciting players in college football. He had a great 2001 season—better than any of us could have hoped for, considering he was a first-year starter.’’

Cyclone running back Troy Davis finished second in the 1996 Heisman balloting and fifth in 1995. However, Davis—who led the nation in rushing both seasons—played for teams that had records of only 3-8 and 2-9.