ISU football fans will have one last chance to say goodbye to the team’s 18 seniors on Saturday when the Cyclones take on the Colorado Buffaloes.

Iowa State (2-8, 1-5 Big 12) is coming off the first Big 12 victory of the Gene Chizik era after defeating Kansas State 31-20 last Saturday.

Chizik said the win made things much more pleasant than in recent weeks.

“It’s a lot easier to go to practice after a win,” Chizik said. “It’s a lot easier to do a lot of things because you see the final result. You know, we didn’t have to come in here on Sunday and talk about small victories.”

Chizik said he hopes to keep the momentum going and make the seniors’ final home game a positive one, especially considering how hard they’ve worked through a tough season – from the senior starters all the way through the reserves.

“Shoot, I could go down the list. I hate to name names, but I could go right down the list,” Chizik said. “Week in and week out you talk about guys that go to work . those guys [are out there] every week [working hard] every week.

“I’ve only known these [seniors] about 10 months and I have developed an unbelievable amount of respect for who they are. What they bring to the table every week. It’d be hard for me to know who they are if we were 10-0 right now. But I know who they are right now because we’ve had to go through a lot of hard times.”

Star receiver Todd Blythe will be showcasing his record-setting skills for the final time in front of a Jack Trice crowd on Saturday, and he said he can’t believe his career as a Cyclone is already wrapping up.

“It’s gone quick,” Blythe said. “I doesn’t seem like five years ago that I walked in here and redshirted my first year. It’s been a fun ride.”

Blythe said the senior class has been through a lot of ups and downs – from bowl games to losing seasons to coaching changes – and that is one reason the senior class has become so close-knit.

Senior kicker Bret Culbertson, who will go down in the record books as one of Iowa State’s most accurate place kickers, echoed Blythe’s sentiments.

“I am happy,” Culbertson said. “It’s because of the guys and the coaches that I’m around.”

Even senior receiver Milan Moses, who has battled multiple injuries, from a separated shoulder to a broken foot to being diagnosed with Chron’s disease, said nothing will keep him from looking back at his time here in anything but a positive light.

“It’s going to be hard [walking off the field],” Moses said. “You know me and Todd [Blythe] and [Ben] Barkema and a couple other guys, we’ve been here five years with each other.

“I wish it could have been a little better without a few of the setbacks. It’s been an up-and-down roller coaster, I just wish I could have been a little more healthy but it’s been great.”

As for taking on Colorado, the Cyclones will look to reprise their victory over the Buffaloes from 2005 when Iowa State overcame a pre-game tornado in Ames to move into first place in the Big 12 North.

And, according to the seniors, there’s not a player who thinks it can’t happen.

“The last couple games I think everyone has realized that we can compete,” Culbertson said. “We just have to capitalize on [our chances]. We definitely believe we can keep winning.”