The ISU football team’s back is officially against the wall.

A sixth bowl game in seven years has been a stated goal of the team all season, and with the cutoff for postseason play coming at six losses, one more dropped game would seal the Cyclones’ fate for good.

Enter Kansas, a team whose season isn’t going much better than the Cyclones.

The Jayhawks are 4-5 overall and have just one Big 12 Conference win, a 20-15 triumph over 1-8 Colorado last week.

If the Cyclones lose to Kansas, their postseason hopes are mathematically over. If they win, hope will stay alive for at least one more week.

“If our guys want to go to postseason play and have all the rewards and opportunities that go with a bowl team, then this is it,” said coach Dan McCarney. “I’m not about to count this team out.”

That postseason berth isn’t completely out of the players’ minds either. A bowl is still possible, and they are trying to get there.

“We’re playing to try to make a bowl game,” said senior defensive lineman Shawn Moorehead. “This is a must-win for us.”

McCarney said he knew this season would be difficult – playing four top-25 teams in five weeks – but he isn’t satisfied with the results so far.

“We didn’t want to be 3-6 at this time,” McCarney said.

“We thought we’d be in better shape. But we also knew we were playing the toughest schedule in the history of Iowa State football.”

Kansas’ main offensive weapon is running back Jon Cornish.

Cornish is the only player in the Big 12 to have reached 1,000 yards rushing so far this season. He averages 115 yards per game and runs with both speed and power.

Kansas must have a strong running presence to offset its revolving door at quarterback.

The Jayhawks have used three different quarterbacks this season, pulling third-stringer Todd Reesing off the bench to start the second half against Colorado after starter Adam Barmann threw two interceptions in the first half.

“It’s going to be difficult,” Moorehead said. “We don’t really know who we are going to see.”

Reesing completed seven of 11 passes in the second half, tossing two touchdowns and rushing for another.

He ripped off a 63-yard run as well, gaining 90 yards in the half on just seven carries.

“He was the biggest reason for them winning that game against Colorado,” McCarney said.

Kerry Meier is scheduled to start the game for the Jayhawks, though there are two experienced backups waiting, should something go wrong.

Meier has missed time recovering from a shoulder injury suffered against Toledo earlier in the season.

“Kerry Meier is a tremendous athlete,” McCarney said. “Some of his teammates have called him an athletic freak, just that he’s a physical specimen. When he’s in the game, he really leads that football team.”

While Kansas is rotating quarterbacks, Iowa State will be rotating receivers.

Jon Davis is out after suffering a collapsed lung last week against Kansas State, and with Austin Flynn nursing an ankle injury and Todd Blythe recovering from a virus, several new faces will be counted on to contribute.

Iowa State is very deep at receiver, which is why Milan Moses (5 catches, 96 yards), Marquis Hamilton (3 catches, 50 yards), and Euseph Messiah (3 catches, 28 yards) were able to step in and help the Cyclones pass for nearly 300 yards, even with their stars on the sideline.

“They’re why we were still five-wide going in the fourth quarter,” Flynn said.

Game time for the Iowa State-Kansas game is set for 1 p.m. at Jack Trice Stadium. The game will not be televised.