Saturday’s game in Lubbock, Texas, against Texas Tech is the key to Iowa State’s season.

The Cyclones make their first Southern trip of the season with an overall record of two wins and three losses. They’re 0-1 in the Big 12 after a 53-7 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma last week.

At minimum, Iowa State needs four more wins to become bowl-eligible for a fourth straight season, and the Cyclones have seven chances to get those wins.

But with games against No. 11 Texas, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 22 Kansas State staring Iowa State in the eye over the next month, the Texas Tech matchup becomes a lot more important.

“Obviously, we didn’t get off to the start we all hoped,” punter Tony Yelk said.

Iowa State’s three losses have been to the top-ranked Sooners, No. 14 Iowa and No. 16 Northern Illinois. Yelk said that fact wasn’t particularly important.

“A loss is a loss,” he said. “Nobody at the end of the year is going to care who we lost to.”

So the Cyclones need a road victory Saturday. How can they get it?

ISU head coach Dan McCarney said his team is trying to determine that.

“I sense right now, ‘Let’s do whatever we need to do,'” McCarney said.

After allowing Oklahoma quarterback Jason White to score a career-high 384 passing yards last week, McCarney said the Cyclone defense clearly must be better in order to have any success against its next two assignments, the top two scoring teams in the country.

But McCarney is more concerned with his sputtering offense. Iowa State hasn’t had a tailback with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since Michael Wagner had 107 and 102 against Nebraska and Texas Tech last fall.

This season, except for a 48-point outburst against Ohio, Iowa State hasn’t had more than three touchdowns in a game.

“We have to clearly run the ball better this week,” McCarney said.

“We have got to sustain the blocks better — we’ve got to make things happen.”

There’s more to the offense’s problems. Iowa State converted 42 percent of its third downs last season, compared to just 31 percent so far this year.

“Right now, we’re way way down from a third-down productivity standpoint,” McCarney said.

“Offensively, we’ve got to start having some success.”

Texas Tech is 4-1 on the season, averaging 591 yards a game. Even in the loss, a 49-21 setback at North Carolina State, Red Raider quarterback B.J. Symons passed for 586 yards.

How did the Wolfpack pull off such an impressive victory?

“They’ve got a really good defense, and they were able to get some pressure without blitzing a lot of people, and that’s one of the keys against a guy like Symons,” McCarney said.

Texas Tech missed on four fourth-down attempts, lost a third-quarter fumble at the North Carolina State 10-yard line and gave up a blocked for a touchdown, an interception for a touchdown and 11 penalties totaling 106 yards.

“[We’re hopeful] the special teams can help us this weekend,” Yelk said.

Senior wide receiver Lane Danielsen said the Cyclones could win if every team member does his job.

“We need to go out there and do what we control,” Danielsen said.

McCarney said he is not giving up hope on the season.

“We don’t want this 2003 season to just pass us by without us doing some really good, positive things,” he said.