The book hasn’t been closed. In fact, the ISU football team is planning to write a whole new chapter on success, hoping to continue its ascension in the rankings.

The Cyclones cracked The Associated Press poll at No. 24 this week, the first time since 2002.

Safety Nik Moser, defensive lineman Nick Leaders and kicker Tony Yelk were all members of 2002’s team, and said there are similarities between that team and this year’s team, but they hope to rewrite the story.

“They’re similar, but different. We both started off the season pretty well, although in 2002 we didn’t finish out the season well,” Leaders said.

“This year, we’re really hoping to build on the success.”

In 2002, the Cyclones climbed all the way to No. 9 before colliding with Oklahoma, losing 49-3. They only won one game after that, finishing the season 7-7 after starting it 6-1.

“There’s no way we can peak now, we didn’t play a good enough game to where it was a mistake-free game, an error-free game,” Moser said.

“We have a lot of things we need to work on.”

Leaders said some of the things the team is working on are related to how talented this year’s team is.

“We’re doing it in a lot of different ways,” he said. “In 2002, we relied pretty much on Seneca [Wallace]; it was just, basically, give Seneca the ball. Now we have a lot more pieces on the offense, we have a lot more experience on defense and, hopefully, we can go farther than we did in 2002.”

Wallace, Iowa State’s quarterback through the 2001 and 2002 seasons, dazzled fans with accurate passing and aggressive scrambles. Leaders said ISU quarterback Bret Meyer shares many qualities with Wallace.

“They both have similar abilities; they both are unbelievable athletes,” he said. “They both have something special in their mindset and their mentality. Nothing really phases them – they don’t get too high and they don’t get too low.”

This year’s team hurdled into the AP poll after just the second week, whereas the team in 2002 wasn’t ranked until after week four.

Yelk said although the team is in the top 25 much sooner, it must play like every game is a one-week season, or consequences could be disappointing.

“I think [rankings] definitely helps for motivation. I can honestly say that it helped us last week when Iowa was coming to town,” he said.

“I can imagine it’s probably the same for any other program. It’s tough to win week in and week out – it doesn’t matter who you’re playing.”

As teams continue to gun for spots with a number next to their name, Iowa State can’t afford to dwell on it’s most recent national recognition.

“We’re not even ranked in some of the polls, so it’s not like it’s a big deal,” Moser said.

“It’s not something like where we read the paper Monday morning to see where we’re ranked.”

Iowa State has a bye on Saturday, followed by road games against Army and Nebraska.

Despite Army’s 0-13 record in 2003 and its 2-9 record in 2004, the Cyclones are being careful to not overlook their first game on the road.

“Army plays pretty tough at home,” Yelk said.

“Statistically and record-wise they might not open a lot of eyes, but I think our staff does a good job of keeping us focused, and as a player, I can honestly say that our focus is on Army right now.

“At the end of the season, every win counts the same, as does every loss … this game is just as important as the first one or the last one.”