Across the street from Iowa's Kinnick Stadium is the massive UI Hospital and Clinics. It was there that Bob Elliott spent 32 days fighting a life-threatening blood disease. It was there that Elliott, a former Hawkeye defensive back and coach, laid helplessly, wondering if he'd ever coach again, if he'd ever stalk the sidelines he could see through his hospital window.

Now, nearly two years and a dangerous bone marrow transplant later, the answer is yes. Elliott is fully recovered from polycythemia vera, a disease where the body creates an excess of blood, which leads to severe clotting and potentially leukemia.

And on Saturday he'll make his return to Kinnick -- as the opponent.

Elliott, the former Iowa player, 13-year assistant coach, and son of one-time Hawkeye athletics director Bump Elliott, is now an assistant at archrival Iowa State. There he has teamed up with long-time friend Dan McCarney, a man who called Elliott each of the 32 days he was in the hospital, in hopes of rebuilding the Iowa State program. So far in 2000, the Cyclones are 2-0, with Elliott's special teams blocking five kicks.

"This is all very emotional for me, it's an emotional week," Elliott said. "I've watched a lot of film on Iowa in the past, but this is a bit unusual. Yet I need to keep that in check because just like the players, emotion can effect your ability to perform and too many people rely on me not to perform."

	“	It was the most miserable year in my life. By the end of the season, I was a wreck. ”
		— Iowa State coach Bob Elliott

Just prior to the 1998 season, Elliott discovered that the previously dormant disease had become active. But the prognosis didn't stop Elliott, who saw doctors at the Mayo Clinic and developed a program for him to continue coaching with the disease.

Elliott would undergo daily chemotherapy treatments and injections, yet there he'd be at work every day. Few within the program knew of the disease, but many could sense something was wrong. Elliott would often get so drained by the end of the day, he would be forced to take naps in his office. Worse yet, the team was amidst its worst season in two decades and head coach Hayden Fry had contracted cancer.

"It was the most miserable year in my life," Elliott said. "By the end of the season, I was a wreck."

Fry retired at the end of the season and there had long been speculation that Elliott was the top candidate to replace him. But with a long fight against the disease ahead of him, Elliott had to remove his name from the list. Yet it was Elliott who helped bridge the gap between the old and new staffs when Kirk Ferentz was hired.

"I commuted for the better part of three weeks after taking the job and Bob in effect ran the program while I was gone," said Ferentz, who took over at Iowa after serving as an assistant head coach and offensive line coach with the Baltimore Ravens. "We spoke on the phone every day. I couldn't have made it without his assistance. People talk about must-win games and this, but Bob fought a bigger must-win game in fighting for his life. And now he's back doing what he loves to do."

Elliott said he has little emotion about missing out on Iowa's head coaching post.

"I never say, 'What If.' I don't dwell on it," Elliott said. "I never have. Everything turns out certain ways for a reason. Not one thing that has happened to me because of this disease has been bad. I'm thankful for what's happened. Everything turned out positive."

That especially includes Elliott's position as associate head coach with the Cyclones. It was offered at a time when Elliott was doubtful if he would ever coach again, as many programs were weary of his health.

"People were not very receptive, I'm sure a lot of them doubted that I could do this," Elliott said. "I learned that it's one thing to have a lot of friends and another thing to bet your future on them.

"Dan knew more than most since we are very close and he had seen me at my lowest. He knew my progress, so I think he could judge that better than others."

	“	I never say, 'What if?' I don't dwell on it. I never have. Everything turns out certain ways for a reason. Not one thing that has happened to me because of this disease has been bad. I'm thankful for what's happened. Everything turned out positive ”
		— Iowa State coach Bob Elliott

When ISU secondary coach Paul Rhodes took a position at Pittsburgh this past spring, McCarney had Elliott in mind, making him secondary coach, special teams coordinator and associate head coach. Since the move, special teams, once an Iowa State weakness, is now a strength. Iowa State has blocked five kicks in two games and is averaging 15 yards a punt return.

"As far as I was concerned, there was no risk whatsoever with him," said McCarney, Elliott's roommate when the two played at Iowa. "I didn't need to talk to his doctors or anyone else. We had talked on different occasions and were absolutely ecstatic to hire him."

Elliott, an Iowa administrator at the time, said it was difficult to tell his alma mater and longtime employer his intentions to leave for the Cyclones. But he had no choice.

"Everyone there is a great friend of mine and has been behind me the whole way," Elliott said. "I always thank them for that. And it was hard to leave Iowa City, I was comfortable and settled there with my family. But I considered it an admission of defeat to the disease if I wouldn't have taken this opportunity."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com.