In a season full of firsts for the ISU football team, the Cyclones now prepare for yet another new experience — playing as a top 10 team for the first time in school history.

The ninth-ranked Cyclones head south Saturday to face the second-ranked team in the country, the Oklahoma Sooners. The game kicks off a span of five games in which Iowa State will face four teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.

Iowa State defensive tackle Jordan Carstens is happy for his team, and likes their chances this weekend.

“It’s definitely some uncharted territory for us. We’re not used to being able to compete with teams like this and getting national recognition,” Carstens said. “It’s definitely going to be an exciting matchup.”

The Cyclone defense has stepped up recently, and once again showed how good it can be against Texas Tech, holding quarterback Kliff Kingsbury well under his 355-yard average.

ISU head coach Dan McCarney has been pleased with the defense and the improvement that’s been shown.

“We’re getting better. We’re playing faster,” he said. “They’re having fun playing the game. As a head coach, that’s how you want to see your defense playing.”

Carstens said there is one big key to the success of the Cyclone defense. “We play well as a unit,” he said. “We have good players all around.”

Oklahoma, who is gaining momentum after knocking off then – second-ranked Texas, will attempt to defeat their second top 10 opponent in as many weeks. Saturday’s win featured a 248-yard rushing performance by Oklahoma running back Quentin Griffin.

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said his team is playing as well as it has all season.

“We’re really excited this week,” he said. “It’s fortunate that we’re hitting stride when we need to.”

While some teams may have taken Iowa State lightly, Stoops knows better. “[McCarney] has done an incredible job with them. They have talented players and excellent schemes,” Stoops said. “We recognize that it’s another big challenge.”

Iowa State, led by Heisman hopeful Seneca Wallace, will study the tape of the Oklahoma-Missouri game to get an idea of how to move the ball against the Sooners. Missouri quarterback Brad Smith gained 391 total yards of offense and three touchdowns in a 31-24 loss to the Sooners.

Oklahoma will also study tape of the Missouri game to figure out what they did wrong in defending Smith, who has drawn comparison by many to Wallace.

“We’ll just analyze and see what we need to do better,” Stoops said. “They are different people, but Seneca is another exceptional talent. Hopefully, making some corrections and doing some things differently, we’ve got a chance to maybe contain him a little better.”

Wallace, gaining more and more national attention every week, continues to amaze. He dazzled a national audience with what is quickly becoming known as simply “The Play,” and he impressed Stoops just as much.

“He’s just a tremendous athlete, and he has the ability to make big plays,” Stoops said. “He’s got a good supporting cast around him, but he also is just so capable on his own to make things happen.”