ISU head coach Dan McCarney finally had a little to smile about this weekend as his Cyclones put some points on the board against Colorado, but he knows his team still has a long way to go before it can win one of its last two games.

“We lost to a very fine Colorado football team here Saturday,” McCarney said. “[But] it was good to score some points in the second half and we need to build on that. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to do some more [scoring] this week.”

At 4-6, Colorado was the first team to face the Cyclones this season with a losing record, but the offense sputtered again with Colorado downing Iowa State 44-10. Things won’t get any easier for the Cyclones this weekend as they travel to Kansas to take on the 5-6 (2-5 Big 12) Jayhawks.

“Kansas is a much improved football team under Mark Mangino — they’ve played that way all season long,” McCarney said.

A perennial doormat of the Big 12, the Jayhawks have had one of the best seasons they’ve had in years with big wins over Missouri and UNLV. Kansas would be bowl-eligible with a win over the Cyclones.

“They’re averaging nearly 30 points a game, so they’re really improved and putting up some big numbers offensively,” McCarney said.

“They’re playing very hard and they’ve got a lot to play for with us coming down to Lawrence this week.”

One of the most integral parts of Kansas’ offensive scheme is senior quarterback Bill Whittemore, who has missed the last three games due to a collarbone injury.

Even after his three-week layoff, Whittemore is still near the top of the Big 12 in total offense, averaging nearly 290 yards a game. Whittemore will likely be back for his final game, but the Jayhawks’ two other quarterbacks, Adam Barmann and Brian Luke, have done a fine job filling in for him.

“It sounds like Whittemore is going to play, [but] we didn’t see much difference, all those quarterbacks are coming in and producing and throwing the heck out of the football,” McCarney said. “Brian Luke was supposedly their third quarterback and he did a heck of a job throwing the football Saturday. Whoever is in there can operate their offense with success.”

With the Cyclones finally ending their two—game scoreless streak, McCarney’s next step is being able to score early and take a lead, rather than late in the game.

“It would be fantastic if we could put ourselves in a position to do that. It’s been a long time since we’ve been there and it’s very unusual for this program, but it’s been a struggle for us offensively [this season],” McCarney said.

The Cyclones escaped Saturday’s game virtually injury-free, with starting center Luke Vander Sanden seeing some time after missing most of the conference season. McCarney said he will hopefully see increased time at Kansas.

However, starting linebacker Nik Moser is likely to miss yet another game, much to McCarney’s chagrin.

“It’s a shame, he’s one of our starters, he’s been out for a very long time and he’s very doubtful this week again,” McCarney said. “He sure wants to get back and play one of these last two games, but right now he’s day-to-day.”