The last time Iowa met Arizona on the gridiron, Hayden Fry was on his way out as Iowa’s head football coach, and St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire had just broken Roger Maris’ single-season home-run record.

On Saturday, 11 years to the day since the two teams last met, a pair of Fry protégés will be at the helms as the long-distance rivalry is renewed. And just as McGwire’s record is now shattered and figuratively branded with an asterisk, the rivalry between Arizona and Iowa looks nothing like it did in 1998.

Arizona embarrassed Iowa, 35-11, that year on its way to a 12-1 campaign and a Holiday Bowl victory over Nebraska. The Hawkeyes managed only 28 yards on the ground against the Wildcats and finished 3-8 in a season remembered as Fry’s disheartening exit after a legendary career.

Now, 11 years later, Kirk Ferentz is the established coach leading a wary Iowa team against both a confident and young Arizona squad and a budding coach who knows plenty about Iowa football.

Mike Stoops, now the head man at Arizona, played defensive back for Iowa in the early 1980s. He twice earned first team All-Big Ten honors in 1983 and ’84 and was an All-American in 1984. He then returned to serve as a graduate and volunteer assistant coach under Fry from 1986-91.

“I have not reminisced much about it,” Stoops said. “But maybe when I get in the stadium that is when it will hit [me] the most.”

Just as Ferentz struggled in his fledgling years taking over for Fry, Stoops posted three losing seasons in his first four years in Tuscon after taking control in 2004.

Stoops now leads one of the hottest teams in the country into Kinnick Stadium after winning four in a row dating to last season, including an impressive bowl win over BYU.

Although the Hawkeyes likely knew a fair amount more heading into games against Northern Iowa and Iowa State, on Tuesday Ferentz drew comparisons between Arizona and another team he knows quite well.

“If you asked [Iowa defensive coordinator] Norm [Parker], he would say [the Wildcats] look a little bit like us last year,” Ferentz said. “That’s how he would describe it.”

That would seem to be a fair comparison. Arizona is dedicated to running the ball and relying on what looks to be a tough defense to keep them in games — a formula Iowa used in 2008 to finish 9-4 and earn a January bowl bid.

Like Iowa a year ago, the Wildcats are dealing with uncertainty at quarterback after losing four-year starter Willie Tuitama. Matt Scott will start on Saturday against the Hawkeyes, but he has been inconsistent under center.

The sophomore has thrown only one touchdown against two interceptions, but he has proven to be a threat to pull the ball down and run — he has notched 131 yards on the ground in two games.

Perhaps Arizona’s biggest similarity to the 2008 Hawkeyes is on defense. The Wildcats return a host of talented, veteran starters who held offensive-minded Central Michigan to just six points.

Junior running back Nic Grigsby has 325 yards rushing and three touchdowns in Arizona’s first two games, and is averaging 8.6 yards a carry. However, after two weeks chasing spread offenses, Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer is excited to play a “conventional” running team.

“It’ll feel like I’m actually doing something out there on Saturday,” Angerer said. “It’ll definitely be a good test and a good opportunity.”