As the clock hit zero and the cannon exploded, the Cyclones were left with mixed feelings.

In one sense, Iowa State basked in the glory of destroying the Wildcats for the first time at the Jack since 1993 and being bowl eligible for the fifth time in six years. But overriding that great feeling was an Aaron Brant-sized, “What if?”

Sure, kicking Kansas State around the field and beating them into submission Ultimate Fighting Championship-style was pretty sweet and worthy of serious props. At the same time, the last three weeks have highlighted the fact Iowa State is a handful of plays from playing for – gasp – a national title.

Before you spit up your morning Frappuccino all over my incoherent words, let me explain. (If you are actually drinking a Frappuccino, you legally can’t read the sports section. New ordinance.)

Think about it. If DeAndre Jackson picks up the Nebraska fumble and, instead of losing his balance, stays on his feet and takes it 80 yards to the house, Cyclones win 20-13.

If Greg Coleman doesn’t cough up the ball at the goal line against Baylor, the Cyclones go up 20-10 and send the Bears home with no honey.

If Missouri’s Chase Daniel doesn’t turn into Elway/Unitas/Jamie Foxx in Any Given Sunday on the final drives of the fourth quarter, Cyclones win by 17 in Columbia.

Iowa State is three plays from being 9-0.

That would put them in the top 10 of the BCS, allowing them to make reservations for a game in 2006.

I know, I know, “what ifs” are for losers, Hawkeye fans and O.J. Simpson.

But the last three games make you question, with the way the Cyclones are playing, if they’d lose to anybody, save USC and the University of Texas.

In its last three games, Iowa State has won by a total of 124-41. It is their best three-game conference stretch since T-Rex’s and pterodactyls roamed this thing called Earth.

Dan McCarney’s squad has forced 11 turnovers in three games and only turned it over once themselves. Besides the penalty-laden second quarter against K-State, the Cyclones have put together three flawless games.

Bret Meyer is making a late charge for runner-up to Vinceational Young to be the Big 12’s best quarterback. In those three games the sophomore from the ATL (Atlantic, not Atlanta) has thrown for 792 yards and nine touchdowns, but most importantly, zero interceptions.

He has thrown 95 consecutive passes without an INT, a streak so long Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson have broken up and reunited three different times since Meyer threw it to the wrong team. Despite the, “what ifs” and BCS bowls lost in October, the Cyclones have a whole lot to accomplish in the final two months.

Colorado comes into Ames on Saturday, looking to clinch the Big 12 North. The Buffaloes and their, “Not only was she a girl, she was terrible,” coach will head to Cyclone Country for a nationally televised night contest. A Cyclone win over Colorado and at Kansas, combined with a Colorado loss to Nebraska and a Missouri loss, would give Iowa State the Big 12 North.

With that much on the line, not to mention bowl scouts and national viewers to impress, and revenge to be made, if the Jack isn’t filled to capacity, it would be a crime.

In order to make history, “ifs” have to be replaced by “no doubt about its.”

– Brent Blum is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.