Iowa State is glad to be home.

Four weeks after their 23-3 victory over Iowa, the Cyclones finally return to their home turf for a Big 12 clash with Baylor.

“Twenty-eight days is as long as you’d ever want to go between home games,” said ISU coach Dan McCarney. “We’re glad to be back at Jack Trice Stadium.”

The Cyclones (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) most recently suffered a heartbreaking 27-20 double-overtime loss at Nebraska, and Baylor comes into Jack Trice Stadium following a 16-13 overtime loss at Texas A&M that ran its conference road record since joining the Big 12 in 1996 to 0-37.

Baylor is 6-67 in Big 12 games, but McCarney said he knows past records aren’t necessarily indicative of a team’s current situation.

“It’s the same thing I’ve been battling since I’ve been here,” McCarney said. “The perception is that you stink, but once you turn on [the game tape] there is no perception. Baylor is a complete football team, and if we aren’t at our best we won’t win this football game.”

ISU players also said they have respect Baylor, knowing that as little as five years ago the Cyclones were in the same boat.

In fact, Iowa State was Baylor’s first conference victory in 1996.

The Bears feature an offense with a powerful running back in Paul Mosely and talented quarterback Shawn Bell, who will spread the ball around the field.

The Baylor offense centers on a variety of short passes and it was the short to mid-range passing game that did the Cyclones in at Nebraska.

“[Baylor’s] playing with a lot of confidence right now,” McCarney said. “The team that bounces back and has the best focus and comes back in a short period of time will win this game.”

The Bears’ defense is also a cause for concern for an ISU offense that has struggled at times in putting together four-quarters of football.

The Baylor defense ranks 19th nationally in total defense and 16th in scoring defense.

Another stout defense is something Iowa State may be wary to face with a rushing attack that ranks last in the Big 12 and 95th nationally. The top two ISU running backs, Stevie Hicks and Jason Scales, are both out with injuries, leaving the rushing duties to third-string tailback Greg Coleman.

Scales has yet to practice with pads this season, and Hicks tried to play last week at Nebraska but left the game after just one carry.

“It’s just day to day to see if [Hicks] can get back and help our football team,” McCarney said. “If he can, great. If he can’t, we’ve got to find a way to win without him.

“[Coleman] will get better and better and better. He’s only played in a handful of games, so I really expect him to improve.”

McCarney said he was impressed with the toughness of Bret Meyer, but was not as impressed with other areas.

“Bret Meyer had a tremendous day,” McCarney said. “He showed great toughness and he really did a nice job.

“We definitely lost special teams for the first time in the first four games and we need to get that shored up.”

The Cyclones missed a 26-yard field goal in the first half, which potentially was the difference in the game. Iowa State has made four of seven field-goal attempts as a team this year.

The ISU defense also had its struggles. Although allowing only 36 yards on 25 Cornhusker carries, Nebraska threw the ball for a school-record 431 yards.

“Nebraska did a better job of throwing and catching than we did defending,” McCarney said. “We have to be better. We have to do a better job of coaching it, and we have to do a better job of playing it.”