It is only good to dwell on the past when the past is something worth dwelling on. Last Saturday’s snow bowl fits the bill.

A battle was fought last Saturday on a field of 100 yards. No blood was shed, but there was plenty of white stuff. Fortunately, Iowa State had the bigger snowballs.

As I watched the game from my cozy, warm seat munching on Combos every thought I normally have during football games, such as who is the leading rusher and how many time outs are left, was replaced by thoughts of “when does frostbite set in” and “how many feet of snow are on the ground.”

There was a serious mind game being played in Colorado, and Iowa State dominated.

Colorado’s field reminded me of history lessons I had growing up about Washington and his troops at Valley Forge.

Much like then, survival of the fittest on this day came down to who could push thoughts of mind-numbing cold and frozen digits out of their mind.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out the Cyclones handled the conditions much better than the Buffs. Iowa State was a weather- acclimated polar bear to Colorado’s leather-skinned Bermudian on a bad vacation.

The game was fun to watch. The Cyclones were playing great, Colorado’s fans were being penalized for throwing snowballs, and Carl Gomez was doing his best Charlie Brown impersonation.

If nothing else on Saturday Iowa State proved that they are worthy of the long sought-after bowl game.

Unfortunately, what goes up must come down, and that will have to apply to Iowa State’s elation after Saturday, for the wilting yet slightly dangerous Jayhawks of Kansas are flying into town.

A let down the size of A&M and Kansas State is very unlikely. Coach McCarney has issued a gag order on all bowl talk until his team can play like a real bowl-caliber team.

That means that everyone is lock-jawed until Iowa State plucks the Jayhawks of all their remaining plumage feathers.

So what has to happen to go an incredible 8-3?

The Cyclones simply have to show up and play football. Nothing special is called for or needed to achieve the eight win plateau. Iowa State is clearly the better team and a season ending loss to lowly Kansas will make for a long, long break between the end of regular season play and their first bowl game in twenty years.

You can call it an important game if you like, but the reality is that it is a “must win” if this year’s Cyclones want to be taken seriously.

There is a saying that says you don’t miss something until it is gone. This is a plea to all of the students who have yet to come see a game this year.

I am willing to bet the Pell-grant that the majority of students don’t have the funds to tag along with Iowa State to whatever bowl destination they end up at. However, the Kansas game is easily obtainable.

It will be cold, but it could also be a lot of fun, and remember that nobody knows what next year will bring. Iowa State has a lot of graduating players this year so next year could very possibly be the exact opposite of what we see before us now.

Come out on Saturday and back a winner while we have them here. Show your appreciation for the effort that has been put forth on the field this season. Chances are you will leave having witnessed a victory.

Iowa State is not allowed to talk about bowl games quite yet, but I certainly will. That is what is fun about journalism. You get the chance to speculate and forecast to death, and I see bright things in the Cyclone’s bowl future.

Here is how it breaks down. I am going to assume that Iowa State wins on Saturday to bring their season tally to 8-3. The top eight teams in the country go to the BCS.

Oklahoma is a lock for the BCS. Kansas State and Nebraska are likely possibilities if they win out and they get a little help this next week from the various conference championships that will be played in the near future.

All of this is very good for Iowa State. The more Big 12 teams in the BCS the better bowl game Iowa State gets to enjoy.

Now if those three teams all make the BCS, that leaves only two teams ahead of Iowa State in the Big 12. If Texas beats Texas A&M this Saturday, Iowa State will have the second best record available because they will be tied in the standings with A&M.

Unfortunately Iowa State lost to the Aggies so A&M would get the nod. Phew! Did you get all of that?

The bottom line is that everything is coming up roses for the Cyclones right now, but if they choke on Saturday those roses will die.

Iowa State has a lot to play for on Saturday. Once again it is the biggest game of the season for them. Will they play like the A&M game or will they remember what they just did in Colorado?

My crystal ball is a little fuzzy.