It was the first win of his coaching career, but now ISU coach Gene Chizik wants to forget about it.

After a 15-13 win over intrastate rival Iowa, Chizik said he hopes fans stay excited about the win, but will try to keep his players focused on Saturday’s matchup at Toledo.

“We’ve got to move on,” Chizik said. “[The fans] can hang onto it for 365 days; that’s why you play those rivalries.”

What fans will hang on to is the end to a season-opening losing streak, which ended after upsetting the Hawkeyes. After dropping their first two games to Kent State and Northern Iowa, the Cyclones played their first game of the season without throwing an interception or giving up a sack. After throwing four interceptions in Iowa State’s first two games, quarterback Bret Meyer completed 21-of-29 passes for 157 yards and no interceptions.

“It was a big game,” Meyer said. “It’s over. It’s not a conference game, so I’m over it and ready to move on to Toledo and try to get a second win and not talk about Iowa anymore.”

The Cyclones’ lone turnover of the game came on their opening drive in the third quarter when Meyer fumbled during a scramble.

“Put four of those [turnovers] together like we’ve done in a game or three of those together and you can see why we hadn’t won,” he said.

Despite the improvement, Meyer said there is plenty to be done.

“I still can play better,” Meyer said. “We haven’t arrived yet where we wanted to. We’re still a long ways from where we want to be.”

Where Chizik wants his team to be is a state of constant improvement. After seeing steady improvement from the offensive and defensive lines last weekend, Chizik said he’s encouraged his players to forget about last week’s game.

“This game is way over,” Chizik said. “It’s way over. For our football team to talk about it, we’re done talking about it. Everybody else can talk about it, but we’ve got to move on.”

Now his players are moving on, too.

“I think we’ve got to stay focused,” said right tackle Ben Lamaak. “We’ve got a great Toledo team we’re playing next week. A victory like Iowa is great but we’ve just got to forget about it and go back to work tomorrow.”

The Cyclones will now prepare for an 0-3 Toledo team that took the Cyclones to three overtimes last season before eventually falling, 45-43.

“We’ve got a long ways to go,” Chizik said. “We’re not even close to what I consider a good football team right now. We’re not even close and we’ve just got to continue to go there and improve and to get small victories.”

Iowa State has beaten Iowa seven of the last 10 years. In the previous nine, the Cyclones have a 6-3 record against opponents following their annual matchup with Iowa. Following games where they beat the Hawkeyes, the Cyclones have a 5-1 record, and are 1-2 following a loss. Here is a game-by-game breakdown of the Cyclones’ performance the week after playing Iowa.

1998 (Beat Iowa 27-9): Ball State, W, 38-0

Iowa State came back a week after ending Iowa’s 15-game series winning streak to light up Ball State for 547 yards, including 200 yards rushing by Darren Davis. The ISU defense recorded their first shutout since 1984.

1999 (Beat Iowa 17-10): at UNLV, W, 24-0

The Cyclones went on the road for the first time in the season and ruined UNLV’s home opener. Darren Davis rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

2000 (Beat Iowa 24-14): at Baylor, W, 31-17

Iowa State’s win over Baylor made them 4-0 for the first time since 1980. Ennis Haywood ran for 241 yards and two touchdowns to give the Cyclones a win to open the Big 12 season.

2001 (Beat Iowa 17-14): at Independence Bowl vs. Alabama, L, 14-13

With the Iowa vs. Iowa State game being moved to the end of the season after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Iowa State’s next game was an Independence Bowl date with Alabama. Tony Yelk missed a 47-yard field goal with 38 seconds left, missing narrowly wide right on a call Cyclone fans still question today. “I thought it was good,” said ISU coach Dan McCarney.

2002 (Beat Iowa 36-31): Troy State, W, 42-14

In a sandwich game between the Iowa and Nebraska games, Iowa State didn’t miss a beat in front of 44,896 fans at Jack Trice Stadium. Seneca Wallace completed 17 of 25 passes for 295 yards.

2003 (lost to Iowa 40-21): at Northern Illinois, L, 24-16

In the midst of a 2-10 season, the Hawkeyes ended Iowa State’s five-game series winning streak. The Cyclones traveled to Dekalb the next week and became 20th-ranked Huskies’ third BCS conference victim of the season.

2004 (Lost to Iowa 17-10): Northern Illinois, W, 48-41

Iowa State narrowly lost in Iowa City in a 17-10 game, but came back for a thriller of a rematch with Northern Illinois. The Cyclones erased a 14-point halftime deficit led by freshman Todd Blythe’s three touchdown receptions, including a 4-yarder for the go-ahead score with 5:13 left in the game.

2005 (Beat Iowa 23-3): at Army, W, 28-21

The 22nd-ranked Cyclones were nearly upset a week after upsetting Iowa, 23-3. The Cyclones came back from a 21-14 fourth-quarter deficit.

2006 (Lost to Iowa 27-17): at Texas, L, 37-14

Last season, Iowa State took on the defending national champions a week after losing to Iowa. No. 7 Texas took an early 16-0 lead en route to a 30-14 halftime lead. The Cyclones were unable to recover after the fourth quarter was delayed for 70 minutes by a thunderstorm.

2007 (Beat Iowa 15-13): at Toledo: To be determined.

– Kyle Oppenhuizen