The Cyclones dove head first into the meaty part of their schedule with a road game at Iowa last week, and it doesn’t get any easier this Saturday.

Iowa State (2-1) will take on the defending national champion, No. 7 Texas (2-1), in Austin, Texas at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC. This will be no small task for a team coming off an emotional loss.

“Texas just doesn’t appear to have weaknesses,” said ISU coach Dan McCarney. “They just physically dominate and it’s not with a lot of games or stunts. They line up with their guys and do a great job of dominating the line of scrimmage.”

Just how great of a job do they do? Well, in three games the Longhorns have allowed only 75 yards rushing- – on 77 carries.

Still, McCarney said the Cyclones aren’t afraid.

“It should bring out the best in all of us,” McCarney said. “All of the pressure should be on Texas, not us. I think that’s pretty obvious.”

The stout Longhorn rush defense will provide quite the challenge for a resurgent Stevie Hicks. Hicks has been one of the bright spots for the ISU offense that has struggled with consistency.

Hicks is coming off a year in which he was plagued by injuries, but he still averaged more than 90 yards per game – when he was healthy enough to play.

The focus, however, will likely fall on the passing aspects of the Cyclone game plan, both offensively and defensively.

Iowa State ranks last in the conference in pass defense, surrendering more than 286 yards a game, and the team’s struggles to get the ball to standout wide receiver Todd Blythe have been well documented by fans and media.

The offense has struggled to put together full games, scoring a combined 15 points in the second half of the Cyclones last three games.

“We’ve lost all three fourth quarters this year,” McCarney said. “I don’t like that and neither do my coaches and players. We’re addressing it and we want to improve on it.”

Consequently, the Cyclones have lost all three second halves that they have played, something McCarney said must stop.

“We need more consistency with our football team, there is no doubt about it,” McCarney said. “At times we are really playing well in all phases, but there’s a real inconsistency about this team right now that we have got to get fixed.”

As frustrating as that is, the complete lack of involvement, for Blythe, has been even more puzzling.

Blythe was held without a catch against UNLV for the first time in his career two weeks ago, but did catch his third touchdown pass of the season against Iowa, a sign that things may be turning around.

However, it is Austin Flynn, a Texas native, who is leading the team in receiving with 139 yards.

Flynn said he is hoping to make a big splash in his homecoming.

“I’m looking forward to [playing in Texas] and getting my friends and family to be able to see me in person,” Flynn said. “It should be fun.”

Flynn also said Texas’ aggressive rush defense may provide the Cyclones with some deep pass opportunities.

“They try to play a lot of man coverage and that puts some pressure on their corners,” Flynn said. “That’s a place we’ve got to try and exploit.”

Texas was dealt its first loss since 2004 two weeks ago in Austin against No. 1 Ohio State.

“They’ve shown that they can be beat,” Flynn said. “We just have to go in there, let our hair down and see what happens.”