After a tough loss to the Hawkeyes, sophomore quarterback Austen Arnaud said the team was feeling down in the locker room.

Then coach Gene Chizik came in and told the team, “Don’t let them beat you twice.”

The team seems to be taking the advice to heart, trying to put the Iowa game behind them quickly.

“That’s in the past; we can’t even think about that anymore,” said sophomore quarterback Phillip Bates.

Arnaud said the team has moved on.

“Guys were definitely down after the game, but I mean, we are back up … we are up tempo and upbeat,” Arnaud said.

Chizik expects the team to be back to normal come game time.

“18, 19, 20 [years old], you know? Those guys are resilient,” Chizik said. “They don’t live in the past a whole bunch. They don’t.”

Even if the Cyclones can ward off a Hawkeye hangover, however, they will still be facing a tough team in UNLV.

Far from the team Iowa State outmatched in 2005, this year’s Runnin’ Rebels have gotten off to a fast 2-1 start with their only loss coming against No. 20 Utah.

UNLV also pulled off one of the biggest upsets of last week, knocking off then-No. 15 Arizona State in overtime on a blocked field goal.

“I can’t say I was surprised,” Chizik said of UNLV’s win last week. “This day and age in college football, you know how it goes — anything can happen. They are a good football team. That was not a fluke.”

One of the things that makes the team good is their offense, led by sophomore quarterback Omar Clayton.

Clayton walked onto the team last season and quickly moved his way up the depth chart, becoming the starter by week eight.

“You kind of like to see those guys on your football team,” Chizik said of Clayton. “Those are the guys who worked for it.”

Clayton has more than just hard work to offer, however. He has lead the UNLV offense to 23.7 points per game against stiff early season competition with a quarterback rating of 133.7. He has thrown for 542 yards and six touchdowns this season.

He is also capable of making big plays with his feet.

“He is a very unique guy,” Chizik said. “He is a lot like Phillip and Austen. He can throw it; he is very athletic. They can get him on the perimeter, they have a lot of quarterback running game with him.”

The Runnin’ Rebels are not a one-man team however. Clayton has help from a stout defense.

“They are very aggressive,” Chizik said. “They have a very aggressive style. They are bringing safeties, they are bringing corners, they are dropping defensive linemen. They are just very aggressive, very hard to prepare for.”

Another challenge for the Cyclones is playing on the road, where the Cyclones haven’t won since beating Texas A&M in College Station in 2005.

“This day in age, the talent is so similar, any little thing that gets your daily routines off kilter a little bit, I think it can have an effect on your team,” Chizik said.

Another thing the team feels makes it tough to play on the road is the crowd noise.

“You just have to focus harder on the road,” Robinson said. “Sometimes, you may not hear certain things, checks at the line.”

Despite the challenges, Iowa State is determined to get a road win.

“[It would mean] everything,” Bates said. “That’s one thing that we’re not doing right now. We haven’t won a road game for a while now, and that’s what we need to do, is go out there and win a road game. It would boost out team pretty good right now.”