It’s not getting any easier for Gene Chizik.

When Chizik’s Cyclones travel to Memorial Stadium on Saturday, it will mark the start of a grueling five-game stretch for Iowa State, which opens Big 12 play in Nebraska.

“The Big 12 is going to be tough for us,” Chizik said.

In this case, tough comes in the form of five opponents with a combined record of 18-2. Four of the Cyclones’ next five opponents are ranked in The Associated Press’ Top 25 Poll, including the Cornhuskers at No. 25, defending national champion Texas at No. 7, Oklahoma at No. 3, and Missouri at No. 20.

Despite the tough schedule, Chizik said he’s keeping his team focused on their trip to Nebraska.

“I don’t think this team looks forward down the road two weeks, three weeks,” he said. “Matter of fact, I know we don’t because we don’t let them, but we’ll focus on one game at a time.”

Players are buying into Chizik’s theory. Even with a 1-3 record, many players are looking at the glass as half full as they enter Big 12 play undefeated against conference opponents.

“We really just approach it game-by-game,” said defensive back Allen Bell. “We feel like we have shown signs this season that we play how we’re supposed to play, and we can play with anybody and beat anybody.”

Even with the tough schedule that lies ahead for the Cyclones, Chizik said he’s just looking for improvement.

“We’ll continue to try to grow,” Chizik said. “I don’t think looking ahead for this team is an issue at all.”

A win that slipped away

For the first time this season, Chizik’s team was in a situation they had never been in before: winning with a large lead. Iowa State, which held an 11-point lead with less than eight minutes to play, had a special teams meltdown, allowing Toledo to jump ahead before winning 36-35.

“This game was ours to win,” Chizik said.

After a J.J. Bass touchdown put the Cyclones ahead 35-24 in the fourth quarter, the ISU meltdown began when Rocket running back Jalen Parmele returned an ISU kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. Later, ISU punter Mike Brandtner had trouble handling a snap, which resulted in Toledo linebacker Greg Hay recovering the fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. The finale came when kicker Bret Culbertson’s 38-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

“It just kind of looked like we were playing not to lose with five minutes left in the game,” Chizik said.

Sophomore Allen Bell said it’s a matter of limiting the Cyclones’ mistakes, as Iowa State’s punt defense missed several attempts to bring down Parmele on the return.

“We’re very optimistic because we feel like we beat ourselves on all three of those games,” Bell said of losses.

As for the future, Bell said the sky is the limit as long as everyone is on the same page.

“The times that we were playing like we were supposed to be and the assignments were done right, we were almost unstoppable,” he said.

How about Meyer?

Despite leaving Toledo with a loss, Chizik said he was happy with the late-game performance of senior quarterback Bret Meyer. Meyer, who led the comeback drive against the Iowa Hawkeyes two weeks ago, set the Cyclones up for another late-game victory.

“He managed the game just the way we worked it in practice and that was a very positive thing,” Chizik said.

With the Cyclones down 13-12 against Iowa, Meyer led the team down the field for two first downs and helped set Culbertson up for his game-winning 28-yard field goal.

Against Toledo, it was more of the same, as the senior from Atlantic marched the Cyclones down to the Toledo 21-yard line, setting Culbertson up for the 38-yard attempt that was blocked. Meyer completed 24-of-33 attempts for three touchdowns.

Despite the end result against the Rockets, Chizik said he was happy with Meyer’s ability to put the Cyclones in a position to win, something he attributed to him feeling more comfortable in offensive coordinator Robert McFarland’s play-calling. Chizik added that Meyer’s quiet demeanor was a bonus.

“I think it’s the nonpanic issue in those situations,” he said. “When they scored to go ahead, I looked at him and just said, ‘Hey, let’s go play ball, we’ve got plenty of time.’ He was on the sidelines saying ‘We’ve got plenty of time and we can take it down there.'”