When the No. 23 Cyclones take the field in Lincoln on Saturday, the thought of 13 consecutive ISU losses inside Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium will undoubtedly be in the back of the minds of the entire team; however, ISU coach Dan McCarney said the Cyclones will be unfazed.

“The scores are there in history,” McCarney said. “They are there forever, but honestly and frankly, it doesn’t have anything to do with [this game].”

Cyclone safety Nik Moser said the streak is almost a non-issue with him, as well.

“Fourteen years ago I wasn’t that old,” Moser said. “It’s not a big deal to us. It’s something that the media puts out and we don’t really care about.”

Iowa State has been without a win in Lincoln since 1977, but the Cyclones (3-0), are looking at this game as not only a chance to vanquish ghosts of years past, but to springboard themselves into the race for the Big 12 North championship.

“It’s the first game and it’s a big one,” McCarney said. “If you win it, you sure don’t lock yourself into anything and if you lose it, you aren’t eliminated from anything, but winning definitely puts you in a better position.

“It’s an eight-week run now. It’s eight Saturdays in a row for all of us to get the things that are available in the postseason.”

The Cyclones most recently had a 28-21 comeback victory at Army last week in West Point, N.Y., in which they were outgained 365-299 in total offense.

McCarney admitted the three games Iowa State has played haven’t been pretty, but the wins are still there.

“We’ve fought through some adversity in all three games that we’ve played and found a way to win games,” he said.

Iowa State trailed both at halftime and at the end of the third quarter, but had great performances by the kickoff return team to put the sputtering ISU offense in a position to win the game.

“The kickoff return team was fantastic,” McCarney said.

“The 57- and 68-yard returns had a lot to do with field position in that game.”

Both returns were by DeAndre Jackson, and another big performance at Nebraska could be the difference in a game that is expected to be a defensive slugfest.

“I knew I needed to make a big play and the guys up front know we have to make big plays and that’s how to look at it on special teams,” Jackson said.

The Nebraska defense comes into the game ranked first in the Big 12 in scoring defense and total defense. They are also second to Iowa State in kickoff returns.

“It’s back to where Nebraska has one of the better defenses in the country,” McCarney said. “They’re extremely physical. They’re aggressive, confident and they go after the football.”

But the biggest key to success in all three games so far for Iowa State – and the upcoming tilt with the Cornhuskers – is the Cyclones’ fourth-quarter success, McCarney said.

Iowa State has outscored opponents 31-6 in the fourth quarter this year.

“We’ve got to be our best in the fourth quarter,” McCarney said. “Everybody knows one of the keys this Saturday is to go over and make it a four-quarter game in Lincoln. We’ve done it in Ames the last two times, but we surely haven’t over there.”

During the Army game, the Cyclones appeared to be dinged up, but McCarney said the overall health of the team is good going into Lincoln.

Moser missed time during the third quarter because of cramps, and running back Stevie Hicks left the game in the second half and was replaced by Greg Coleman.

Both will play this weekend in Lincoln.

“[The injury to Hicks] is aggravating and it hangs around but there’s nothing we can do about it,” McCarney said.

“It was good to see [Coleman] get in there with the game on the line. I don’t think we could’ve won without him.”