ISU’s Davis had one eye on gridiron, one on hurricane

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Sept. 16, 1999 | 10:28 a.m.

Forgive Iowa State running back Darren Davis if he has had something other than football on his mind this week.

The younger brother of 1996 Heisman Trophy runner-up and current New Orleans Saints running back Troy Davis, Darren was busy keeping track of the path of Hurricane Floyd, which for a while this week looked like it was headed toward his hometown of Miami.

"Luckily, it missed them," Davis said. "I was there when (Hurricane) Andrew hit and that was scary."

The 5-8, 190-pound Davis was a ninth grader when Hurricane Andrew destroyed much of southern Florida, including the town of Homestead, a 10-minute drive from the Davis home.

"Our house had some damage, but not as bad as a couple of others did in our area," Davis said. "A couple of windows broke and some of the roof was torn off. But it was nothing like what happened in Homestead."

Still, Davis said he'll never forget the fear and fury the night that Andrew hit.

"It just seemed like it was going to take your roof off and tear off all your doors," he said. "It was dark outside. You couldn't see anything. But you could hear it. It was scary.

"I was hiding in the closet for about two or three hours."

Now it's opposing defensive coordinators who'd like to hide in the closet when "Cyclone Darren" hits their town.

Davis seems well on his way to becoming the first back in Iowa State to history to record three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He has already gained 347 yards on just 51 carries (6.9 avg.) and scored two touchdowns, including 235 yards on 38 carries in the Cyclones' 17-10 win over in-state rival Iowa.

Even more remarkable is the fact that Davis has gone 511 carries and almost 19 games without losing a fumble. His last lost fumble came on Oct. 11, 1997 at Texas A&M.

If UNLV is going to increase its record to 3-0 on Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium, the Rebel defense is going to have to find a way to contain Davis.

"Oh, I think he's a great player," UNLV coach John Robinson, who has coached his share of great running backs over the years, said. "It's definitely going to be a big test for our defense."

Who does Robinson compare Davis to?

"He's an Emmitt Smith-type of runner," Robinson said. "He has good speed, not great speed. But he has great balance and can skid on you ... get hit and then skid away."

So what will UNLV's defense have to do to contain Davis?

"Just keep after him," Robinson said. "Don't give him too big a cutback lane and then just keep chasing him."

And hopefully not chase him very far.

Like UNLV, Davis and the Cyclones are riding high following a somewhat unexpected 2-0 start. Last Saturday's win over the Hawkeyes was the first by Iowa State at Jack Trice Stadium since 1981 and saw Cyclone fans tear down the goal posts afterward.

"It was very exciting," Davis said. "They're still out there celebrating."

Davis said the Cyclones have worked hard this week in practice to try to put that game behind them. And with back-to-back games against Big 12 powerhouses Kansas State and Nebraska kicking off a stretch of six consecutive games against 1998 bowl teams after Saturday night, Davis said the Cyclones are trying hard not to get caught looking ahead, too.

"That is a problem," Davis acknowledged. "We've stressed all week in practice not to look ahead. We'll take it one game at a time and go from there."

* REBEL NOTES: Phones continue to ring off the hook at the Thomas & Mack Center for tickets for Saturday night's home opener. School officials believe a crowd of 30,000 is a possibility even though it is going head-to-head with the Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad fight. ... UNLV's rush defense (197.5 yards per game) ranks seventh in the Mountain West Conference and a dismal 84th nationally. However, the Rebels are No. 1 in the MWC in scoring defense (13.5 ppg) and 27th nationally.