AMES -- The Iowa State Cyclones entered their 2008 campaign full of uncertainty.

They exited week one confident of a couple things, at the very least.

First, after a sound, 44-17 defeat of South Dakota State, the Cyclones can safely expect an injection of youthful exuberance for the foreseeable future. And, secondly, a few members of the Cyclones' defensive front seven might warrant a look as kick returners.

Two true freshmen -- Sedrick Johnson and Darius Darks -- caught scoring strikes, and the Cyclones intercepted five passes to overwhelm their FCS foe.

"I was very pleased -- it was something to build on," said Chizik, whose Cyclones racked up a school-record 202 interception-return yards.

In a game that featured big plays aplenty, the Cyclones -- who averaged a paltry 18.2 points per game in 2007 -- showed eye-opening explosiveness as the game wore on.

"We started off a little rocky," said quarterback Austen Arnaud, "but once we got rolling …"

The Jackrabbits (0-1) played Thursday in front of one of the biggest crowds -- 46,617 -- to watch any sport in SDSU's history. It was the FCS program's first game against a major-conference Division I school since 1963.

As a result, the visitors' quarterback, Ryan Berry, played like he was hyperventilating, aiding the Cyclones' efforts with four first-half interceptions.

Of course, for the Cyclones, the sting of last September's loss to Northern Iowa lingered throughout the offseason.

So, when presented with an opportunity, the hosts stepped on the Jackrabbits' necks in the second quarter.

"I was very, very proud of our defense today," Chizik said. "How are we gonna be better than last year? Getting turnovers."

Youth, as it turns out, served Iowa State well.

Underclassmen energized Iowa State from the outset. Sophomore tailback Alexander Robinson rushed for 62 of his eventual 78 yards in the first half. Fellow underclassmen Austin Alburtis and Devin McDowell reeled in early interceptions, setting up scores that staked the hosts to a 34-3 lead before three quarters were through. And, freshman cornerback Leonard Johnson produced six tackles.

"You saw a little glimpse of what we'll see from those (young) guys down the road," Chizik noted.

Chizik promised prior to kickoff that no fewer than six true freshmen would see the field against SDSU, ranked No. 19 in the Championship Subdivision. He lived up to his promise, throwing a host of young men into the fire.

And, with those youngsters spearheading the attack, the Cyclones (1-0) essentially put the Jackrabbits on the spit.

The freshman orientation was a resounding success, all around. On special teams, true freshman kicker Grant Mahoney of Marion split the uprights on the first three field goal attempts of his career. And Johnson wrestled away a 14-yard scoring strike from Phillip Bates shortly before halftime.

The only concern for Chizik? He also saw his squad turn the ball over three times during the contest's first 17 minutes. But perhaps that's nit-picking, considering the Cyclones were only favored by 11 points.

"It was sloppy at times -- obviously, in these opening games there's some sloppiness you need to eliminate in game two," said Chizik, whose team, it should be noted, never punted Thursday. "But there were things we can build on."

Chizik has joked that his new pregame ritual this season involved a voodoo doll. Perhaps it was appropriate, then, that SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier looked so tortured as the final seconds ticked off the game clock.

Chizik has been there. But, if Thursday was any indication, perhaps he won't relive those anxious moments quite as often in 2008.

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com

South Dakota St. 0 0 3 14 ï½ 17

Iowa State 10 10 14 10 ï½ 44

First quarter

ISU ï½ Arnaud 1 run (G. Mahoney kick), 11:30.

Drive: Eight plays, 69 yards, 3:30.

Key play: A. Robinson 18 run to the 1 yardline on second-and-10

ISU ï½ FG Mahoney 35, 2:42.

Drive: Four plays, 8 yards, 1:53.

Key play: Iowa State defensive lineman Kurtis Taylor intercepts screen pass, returns 48 yards to SDSU 26

Second quarter

ISU ï½ FG Mahoney 36, 6:55

Drive: Five plays, 22 yards, 2:34

Key play: Iowa State linebacker Michael Bibbs intercepts pass, returns 53 yards to SDSU 41

ISU ï½ S. Johnson 14 pass from P. Bates, 4:16

Drive: One play, 14 yards, 0:06.

Key play: Iowa State's Austin Alburtis intercepts pass, returns 61 yards to SDSU 14

Third quarter

SDSU ï½ FG P. Reifenrath 35, 9:00

Drive: Twelve plays, 56 yards, 6:00

Key play: J. Harris 13 reception on third-and-4

ISU ï½ Darks 18 pass from Arnaud (Mahoney kick), 4:56

Drive: Eleven plays, 60 yards, 4:56

ISU ï½ D. Schmidgall 37 interception return (Mahoney kick), 2:14

Fourth quarter

ISU ï½ FG Mahoney 30, 10:59

Drive: Ten plays, 60 yards, 3:49

Key play: H. Jones 26 pass from Bates on third-and-6

SDSU ï½ Minett 3 run (pass failed), 7:24

Drive: Ten plays, 65 yards, 3:31

Key play: Minett 7 run on third-and-15

ISU ï½ Jason Harris 68 run (Mahoney kick), 6:29

Drive: Two plays, 68 yards, :25

SDSU ï½ J. Harris 76 runn (Gant pass from Berry), 6:07

Drive: One play, 86 yards, :16

TEAM STATISTICS

SDSU ISU

First downs 18 20

Rushes-yards 25-180 42-229

Passing 170 159

Comp-Att-Int 23-37-5 13-19-0

Return yards 156 321

Punts-avg. 3-51.0 0-0.0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-3

Penalties-yards 5-30 6-64

Time of possession 30:33 29:27

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE ï½ Minett 22-111, Monke 1-1, Berry 1-minus 8.

IOWA STATE ï½ Harris 8-78, Robinson 15-74, Bates 9-55, Scales 7-19, Arnaud 2-4

Passing

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE ï½ Berry 23-37-5, 170

IOWA STATE ï½ Arnaud 8-11-0, 98, Bates 5-8-0, 61

Receiving

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE ï½ J. Harris 7-64, Steffen 5-52, Fox 5-33, Minett 5-15, Greving 1-6

IOWA STATE ï½ Sumrall 4-35, Catlett 2-25, H. Jones 1-27, C. Franklin 1-24, Darks 1-18, Johnson 1-14, Bykowski 1-8, Zitek 1-7, A. Robinson 1-1

Tackles (Solos-Ass.-Total)

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE ï½ Domino 6-2-8, Batten 5-2-7, Campbell 4-3-7, Kjerstad 3-4-7, Rogers 4-1-5, Kool 4-0-4, Brodie 2-2-4, Fischer 3-0-3, Nobiling 3-0-3, Fritz 3-0-3, Jackson 1-2-3, Thompson 1-2-3, Parnell 0-3-3, Berry 2-0-2, Johnson 2-0-2, Miranda 1-1-2, Steffen 1-0-1, Schroeder 1-0-1, Gant 1-0-1, Bender 1-0-1, Simet 0-1-1, Matthews 0-1-1

IOWA STATE ï½ Bibbs 7-2-9, L. Johnson 2-4-6, Smith 5-0-5, Raven 2-3-5, Hunley 3-1-4, Schmidgall 2-2-4, Taylor 1-3-4, Benton 3-0-3, Banks 2-1-3, Sandvig 2-1-3, Singleton 2-0-2, A. Bell 2-0-2, N. Frere 2-0-2, O'Connell 2-0-2, Tate 1-1-2, C. Bell 1-0-1, Hamilton 1-0-1, Black 1-0-1, Na. Frere 1-0-1, T. Ferguson 0-1-1, E. Ferguson 0-1-1, C. Lyle 0-1-1.

Sacks

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE ï½ none.

IOWA STATE ï½ Ni. Frere 1-8

"Check out behind-the-scenes ISU-SDSU info at Beaton's Blog, online at wcfcourier.com/blogs/beaton "