When the Nebraska Cornhuskers take the field Saturday at Iowa State, they will have at least one thing in common with the Cyclones.

Both teams will be coming off close calls the week before.

While the Cyclones were struggling to come from behind to dispatch Division I-AA Northern Iowa, the Huskers were in a dog-fight of their own against Kansas, a game Nebraska won in overtime, despite the Jayhawks running 94 plays.

“The thing is, at times, if you turn the ball over, there’s going to be opportunities to run more plays,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said after the Huskers lost three fumbles to the Jayhawks. “I thought they worked the clock and managed their system pretty good.”

Even with the three turnovers Nebraska still came out positive in the turnover battle by forcing four turnovers by Kansas, keeping Nebraska on top of the conference in turnover margin.

Iowa State, on the other hand, is 11th in the conference, and that’s not the only place where the stats have lined up in the Huskers favor.

Nebraska’s passing offense, third in the conference at almost 280 yards per game through the air, will be lining up against the Cyclones 11th-ranked pass defense in the conference, or 108th in the nation.

Still Callahan said that the team isn’t taking anything lightly and has known that this date on the calendar will go a long way in determining how the rest of the season plays out.

“There’s a great challenge up the road this week at Iowa State against a team that’s competitive,” Callahan said. “From the very start they said this is a game that will impact the North, so we will be very focused and we’re excited about the challenge.”

Nebraska’s biggest challenge will be trying to contain ISU quarterback Bret Meyer. Meyer has completed more than 63 percent of his passes for nearly 1,200 yards and is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the North.

“You’ve got to defend the run too, you can’t focus on just one thing,” Callahan said. “They’ve got a good system and they know how to attack with their system. They’ll spread you out and do some things that are tough to defend. But [Meyer] is very accurate. He’s got tremendous confidence in his receivers and he’s got experience.”

But it’s Meyer’s running ability that Callahan said makes him exceptionally dangerous.

“He’s done very well for himself,” Callahan said. “He’s got a lot of traits that allow him to do what he does well.”

Meyer could definitely be a problem for the Huskers, who still have room to improve. The Huskers have the top-ranked offense in the conference, but they come in eighth in the Big 12 in total defense allowing over 320 yards per game.

“I think we can still get better,” Callahan said. “I think we can be more consistent. That’s what we took out of film study last week and that’s probably what we’ll see again this week.”

The Huskers better do any last minute improving in a hurry, as Callahan said the month of October is the most crucial for Nebraska the rest of the way.

Three of Nebraska’s next four games are on the road. After Iowa State, the Huskers travel to Kansas State before hosting No. 7 Texas, and then hit the trail again to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for their date with Oklahoma State.

“I mentioned to the team these next four games are crucial,” Callahan said. “If you want to be in contention, you have to win big games on the road. We’ve got to compete like crazy and do the best we can on the road.

“These are huge games for us and crucial to our success and critical to our season. It’s a huge month.”

The games will be especially important considering the Huskers get currently undefeated Missouri to open November in what could amount to a Big 12 North title game if the Huskers escape Ames and the current picture holds.

Nebraska will take on Iowa State at 7p.m. Saturday on ABC’s “Saturday Night Football.”