Before the season started, the ISU football team was predicted to win just two of its 12 games.

After notching multiple victories against the seven ranked teams on the schedule — the most ranked teams faced in ISU history — though, the Cyclones (6-6, 3-6 Big 12) will be playing Rutgers on Dec. 30 in the Pinstripe Bowl, which will be their second bowl trip in three years.

“I’m thrilled for these kids who’ve laid it out there on the field week in and week out, put themselves in a position to get this reward,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads. “Now [we] prepare to go out there and try to get our seventh victory of the season.”

Iowa State has never played Rutgers (8-4, 4-3 Big East) in its history, making this first matchup tricky in terms of preparation and knowing what to expect.

“There are a lot of unknowns, and those unknowns create a lot of challenges,” said linebacker Jake Knott. “With those challenges, we’re just going to have to put in the extra work and get ready for a team like Rutgers because we don’t know very much about them.”

Even though the players will be unfamiliar with the Scarlet Knights, Rhoads has experience against them having faced them as a defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh.

“I have great respect for their football program having gone against them for eight years, and seven of those years, Greg [Schiano] was the head football coach,” Rhoads said. “He does a fantastic with that program – getting the kids to believe, getting them to play unbelievably hard.”

The Cyclones battled injuries throughout the season, hindering their performance at times while having to make accommodations on short notice. However, the 27-day gap between their final regular season game — a 30-23 loss to Kansas State — and the bowl will provide an invaluable advantage.

“The way I see it is everybody’s going to be feeling fresh,” said left tackle Kelechi Osemele. “Everybody’s going to be feeling good and flying around, so it’s going to be fun.”

A potential disadvantage for Iowa State is the proximity of Rutgers’ football facilities to Yankee Stadium — which sit less than 50 miles apart from its stadium in Piscataway, N.J.

“I’m not real excited about that,” Rhoads said. “That’s very much an advantage to them. We have a chance to be outnumbered. I believe they’re going to be practicing at home, so [there are] several points already favored to a Rutgers advantage.”

Rutgers has also already played at Yankee Stadium this season, having beaten Army 27-12 there on Nov. 12.

While most bowls are played in the southern part of the country where warmer weather is prevalent, some concern has been raised about playing in the cold, open-air atmosphere of New York. That concern, though, is moot for the ISU seniors.

“We’ve been in some pretty bad weather, so we’re used to it,” said wide receiver Darius Darks. “Especially the upperclassmen, we’ve seen colder weather than what we’ve seen so far. I remember in 2008, the game against Missouri, it was probably in the high-20s, so we’ve played in some cold weather.”

For those seniors, regardless, playing in their second bowl game in the past three years having survived a coaching change following a two-win season is a rewarding experience in and of itself.

“It means a lot because of the trials and tribulations you go through, it’s good to know that with a good coaching staff and some good leadership that you can get a lot of things done,” Osemele said. “It’s a goal that we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season, so we feel good about going back [to a bowl] and getting it done.”

Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CST on Dec. 30 with the game being shown on ESPN.

“Coach Rhoads came in, changed the program around, he’s been a great coach early at Iowa State,” said nose tackle Stephen Ruempolhamer. “I believe he’s going to do better things than what we’re doing right now and I think that’s great.”