WVU heads to Iowa State Saturday to stop the Cyclones.

WRITTEN BY MORGANTOWN MAGAZINE STAFF

The Mountaineers will be in Ames, Iowa, this weekend, facing the Iowa State Cyclones. Since the Mountaineers first encountered the Cyclones in 2012, they’ve kept a good record, currently standing at 6–4. Saturday’s game, which is ISU’s homecoming, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Eastern time—2:30 Central. The game airs on ESPN+.

Get ready for the game with a little team trivia:

• Iowa State University of Science and Technology was originally established as Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm in 1858.
• The Chicago Tribune lamented after an 1895 football loss that Northwestern University might as well have tried to play against an Iowa cyclone—and the name stuck.
• A cyclone being hard to dress, ISU’s costumed mascot is Cy the Cardinal, a cardinal-like bird created in 1954 that sports the team’s colors of cardinal and gold.
• Jack Trice Stadium is named in honor of the first African American athlete in Iowa State history, who died in 1923 from injuries sustained in his first and only college football game.

West Virginia fans visiting Ames for the game will find blocks of boutiques and casual eateries downtown. Art lovers take note: ISU holds one of the largest university public art collections, with more than 2,500 pieces on display indoors and outdoors—keep your eyes open for interesting sculptures in gardens and courtyards across campus. 

Before the game in Ames, hit any of the flat, open parking lots surrounding the stadium for tailgate fun. If you’re tailgating here at home, try this recipe River Birch Cafe created to share with Morgantown magazine readers back in 2018. The yellow bell peppers and red tomatoes give this pasta salad the Cyclones’ gold and burnt cardinal colors.

Cyclone Pasta Salad

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Ingredients

  

• 2 pounds rotini or penne
• 8 ounces cherry tomatoes quartered
• 1 medium cucumber diced
• 2 yellow bell peppers diced
• ½ cup cilantro chopped
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups Italian dressing
• 3 ounces feta cheese crumbled

Instructions

 

• Boil pasta according to directions on the box.
• While it’s cooking, mix all other ingredients except dressing and cheese in a large bowl.
• Drain pasta and, when it’s cooled, combine with mixed ingredients, stirring dressing and cheese in last.
• Refrigerate at least one hour to meld flavors; adjust salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Makenna Spangler contributed to this story.

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