When it comes to his Iowa Hawkeyes, Dr. Ralph Woodard rarely experiences conflicting emotions.

Saturday night will bring an exception to that rule.

The 1945 Fort Dodge High School graduate and his wife of 59 years, fellow FDHS alum Martha Jo (Pray) Woodard, have more than just a passing interest in the unbeaten Hawks' game at Michigan State. While Woodard's heart will be with the University of Iowa program he suited up for some 50 years ago this weekend, he also holds a soft spot for the green and white.

After all, the Spartans' starting quarterback - sophomore Kirk Cousins - is Woodard's grandson.

''It's going to be hard for us,'' admitted Woodard, who currently lives with Martha in Okoboji. ''I'm a die-hard Hawkeye and black and gold through and through, but when you have a grandson playing for the other team...''

Woodard paused for a moment.

''We'll be rooting him on, of course. As grandparents, first and foremost, you just want to make sure he doesn't get hurt.''

After an all-state prep football career with the Dodgers, Woodard played end for Dr. Eddie Anderson at Iowa from 1945-49, where he carried a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and was a Nile Kinnick scholarship winner. He returned to Fort Dodge in 1959 and was a practicing physician and surgeon here for 36 years, raising three children with Martha: Debbie, Maryann and Tom.

Maryann, who graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High in 1975, also attended the University of Iowa and obtained a degree in nursing. She later met her future husband, Don Cousins, at a church in Chicago, and the couple eventually married at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Dodge.

They moved to Holland, Mich. - Don's home state - and raised their family there, which included athletically-gifted son Kirk.

''Kirk went to a lot of Hawkeye football games growing up,'' said Woodard, who is now 82 years old. ''He was at Homecoming almost every year. He had the Iowa shirts, hats and everything else. My brother (Dick, also a former Dodger and Hawkeye standout who played professionally with the New York Giants) lived in Davenport when Kirk was little and always got the (Cousins) family tickets.

''Kirk was a good quarterback in high school and had quite a few offers. I had an inkling that he wanted to play at Kinnick Stadium, and he did visit (Iowa). He liked Kirk Ferentz a lot, but they talked about him being a preferred walk-on when he already had scholarship choices on the table from a dozen schools.

''I remember he asked me at the time, 'grandpa, what do you think?' I told him he had to take what he could get. So he stayed close to home and picked Michigan State.''

Like his grandfather, Cousins is the true definition of a student-athlete. He is in the pre-med program at MSU and - true to family form - currently sports a 4.0 grade point average.

On the field, Cousins has completed 64 percent of his passes for 1,283 yards and nine touchdowns in his first season as a starter for the Spartans, who are currently 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten.

''He's a good player, and just a terrific young man,'' Woodard said. ''We go to almost all of the Hawkeye games, but we try to make it to (East Lansing) and see him when we can, too. We've been there once this year, and were there (in 2008) when (Iowa and MSU squared off).''

Woodard, who was inducted into FDSH's athletic Hall of Fame in 1990, lived with Martha, Debbie, Maryann and Don on Dodge Circle when the children were in school.

''We had opportunities to move all over Iowa and the midwest, but Fort Dodge was home to us,'' Woodard said. ''Both of our parents were still alive and here in town, and with three kids, it was great to raise our family around them.''

As a Dodger, Woodard played for Forest Marquis and Ben Duea (football) and J.A. McKinstry (basketball and baseball). Fred Cooper was the FDHS athletic director at the time.

While at Iowa, Woodard was joined on the gridiron by fellow Fort Dodge grads Ray Carlson, Art Johnson, and Ralph's brother Dick.

Woodard graduated from the U of I in 1950 and Iowa Medical School in 1954. Upon his return to Fort Dodge, Woodard served as president of Trinity Regional Hospital, where he was chief of surgery. He was a physician and surgeon at the Fort Dodge Medical Center until his retirement in 1995.

Ralph and Martha currently live on the lake at Arnolds Park, and they winter in Tuscon, Ariz.

Woodard didn't offer any predictions regarding Saturday night's game, which is for the Big Ten lead.

''I suppose optimistically-speaking, you could say it's going to be a win-win for us,'' Woodard said. ''Again, we just hope Kirk and the players from both teams get through it without any injuries.

''It's definitely (a small-world scenario) for us.''

Contact Eric Pratt at (515) 573-2141, or by e-mail at sports@messengernews.net