The team Paul Rhoads inherited in January had combined for five wins in 2007 and 2008.

Already in 2009 they’ve matched that total, putting them one win from bowl eligibility and in second place in the Big 12 North.

“You don’t start the season hoping for three wins or five wins,” Rhoads said. “The goals of a football program should be to be in a bowl game every single year.

“Right now we’re not talking about it one bit. We’re talking about Texas A&M and we’re talking about this next game. Any lost sight of that would be completely foolish.”

But keeping with the popular “one game at a time” attitude may be difficult for a program that hasn’t seen a bowl game since 2005.

After being picked by many at the beginning of the season to finish at the bottom of the Big 12 North, the Cyclones have rattled off two Big 12 wins already — last week against Nebraska and two weeks ago against Baylor — after just getting three in the previous two years combined.

Iowa State has lost its other two conference games against Kansas State and Kansas by a combined total of just six points.

“A lot of people weren’t really expecting much out of us this year,” said junior wideout Jake Williams . “We all trusted in each other and I think that’s the big reason why we’re where we’re at.”

Another likely reason for the surprising success comes from the experience the Cyclones put on the field each Saturday.

Fourteen of Iowa State’s 22 starters against Nebraska has experience as starters during 2009, while three other saw significant playing time.

“When you have a more mature team, they have more experience on the field,” said defensive end Patrick Neal. “They’ve seen more things happen, so they know the right thing to do.”

Neal, a sophomore, and fellow left end Roosevelt Maggitt have been asked to fill in for another 2008 starter that went down with a knee injury earlier this season, Rashawn Parker.

The Cyclones have improved in several categories in 2009, fielding a defense that allows just 20.9 points per game, down drastically from last year’s total of 35.6 points per game.

Iowa State also has the Big 12’s leading rusher, Alexander Robinson, and the league’s most proficient ground game at 205 yards per game.

Aside from those stats, the Cyclones have also ended several losing streaks that plagued them coming into the season, such as a 17-game road losing streak snapped at Kent State in week three, an 11-game Big 12 losing streak snapped against Baylor two weeks ago and the big one — winning in Lincoln for the first time since 1977 last week against Nebraska.

“All of that is history, and it’s great history, but that will do nothing for us as we move forward to face Texas A&M,” Rhoads said, keeping his focus on the next week.

Rhoads has said several times this season, particularly after the losses to Kansas State and Kansas, that his team needed to learn how to win.

In the victory over Baylor, the offense seemed out of sync at times in the second half, but the defense held Baylor to just 364 yards and three points until the Bears scored with just a few second left in the game.

Then, in the Nebraska game, the offense struggled to move the ball at all against the stout Nebraska defense, but the ISU defense forced eight turnovers, including four inside the Iowa State five-yard line.

Rhoads said earlier this week that his team’s confidence continues to grow, as it has since the beginning of the season and throughout even the toughest weeks.

“We had a more confident football team after we lost to Kansas State. We had a more confident football team after we lost to Kansas,” Rhoads said. “I think that’s a sign of the improvement and the growth that we’re making, overall, as a program.”

The looming bowl eligibility, though, remains the carrot dangling in front of the hungry program’s nose.

For so many seniors and redshirt juniors, Rhoads is the third coach in their time at Iowa State, and none of these players have tasted post-season football — some current seniors would have been redshirted during the 2005 season.

“We have one more win to be bowl eligible, but that isn’t our goal. Our goal is to win four more,” said senior nose guard Nate Frere.

So where has the turnaround come from, allowing this team to even think about being bowl eligible after a 2–10 mark in 2008?

Rhoads argues, again, that it has been his team learning how to win.

“They prepare as [well] as any football team I’ve been around in my 21 years of coaching,” Rhoads said. “I’ve been around some pretty good teams in those years.

“They are learning how to win, but it’s an ongoing process.”