I hear it all the time.

Kirk Ferentz, Ken O’Keefe, and Norm Parker don’t change their philosophies.

But I understand why. They like to keep things simple.

What you see is what you get. And more often than not, what you get usually works pretty darn well. Just look at the 2002, 2003, or 2004 seasons — even the latter portion of 2008.

During those years, one thing stood out. The Hawkeyes were at their best when it took its opening drive and scored a touchdown.

Setting that tone wasn’t evident in 2006 and 2007 — seasons fans around Iowa City want to forget.

But they didn’t.

I know there’s this mantra around the program, and fans repeat it all the time: The Hawkeyes gradually get better as the season progresses.

It’s not a bad thing. Coaches always stress how they want teams to be better at season’s end and continue to make improvements every week. I get that.

But after watching Iowa barely get by Northern Iowa last weekend, and given the recent history with matchups against Iowa State, I’m concerned.

Not about whether the Hawkeyes will win the game, though. Aside from Iowa State players and coaches, overconfident Cyclone fans and some pessimistic Hawkeye fans, I don’t think anyone can say with a straight face that Iowa State will win this weekend in Ames.

My concern goes back to putting teams away.

Yes, Iowa has won four of the last six meetings, but the only win the Hawkeyes received after dominating from start to finish was in 2003, when they snapped a five-game losing streak to their in-state foe.

There’s no problem with saying you want to get better as the season goes on, but usually when I hear Iowa players saying, “This is our year,” they normally don’t say that unless they truly believe Iowa can win every game.

The panic attack some Hawkeye fans annually prepare themselves for came a week early this fall.

Let’s face it, if the score isn’t more than 24-7 at halftime, Hawkeye fans in both Jack Trice Stadium and on the Iowa City Pedestrian Mall will be nervous for the rest of the game.

But even if Iowa prevails, they’ll wonder whether the Hawkeyes are actually good enough to win the Big Ten.

Iowa faced a similar instance the last time it visited Jack Trice Stadium two years ago — Iowa State had a new head coach, and the Hawkeyes should have dominated.

But they didn’t dominate. The Cyclones won with five field goals.

Now, once again, Iowa State has a new head coach in Paul Rhoads, and the Hawkeyes have a chance to make up for what it failed to do in 2007.

It may only be Week Two, but if I go by the team’s cliché rationale of “one game at a time,” then I’ll be even more trite: There’s no time like the present for Iowa to make a statement.

This is one of those weekends where Hawkeye fans want a 55-0 beat-down. They won’t tolerate 17-5 with a fourth-quarter punt return or 17-16 with two blocked field goals in the final seconds.

Really, it’s that simple.