Iowa State has had such an up-and-down 2017 season, from two wins over top-five ranked teams to three home losses.

After four straight wins in October, Iowa State was on top of the college football world. But, November has been a nightmare.

Back-to-back losses have knocked the Cyclones out of the Big 12 Championship race and, while Matt Campbell’s squad has already clinched a bowl berth, the bowl destination may be slightly less appealing after the two losses.

But when Iowa State (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) plays at Baylor (1-9, 1-6 Big 12) Saturday at 1:30 p.m., it will be a much-needed chance for a win.

Baylor has given up over 36 points per game this season, including 48 to Liberty, 49 to Oklahoma and 59 to Oklahoma State.

For redshirt freshman quarterback Zeb Noland, who will likely make his first career start at Baylor, that’s an appealing opponent.

Noland, who threw for 263 yards against Oklahoma State in relief of the injured Kyle Kempt, is quite a bit different than the quarterback he’s replacing.

“Zeb [Noland] definitely has a little kick to his personality,” said senior wide receiver Allen Lazard.

Noland said after the game that he blacked out during the first drive. He was too excited to finally get on the field during a meaningful game after he had only played garbage time snaps against Northern Iowa and Kansas.

Even though he didn’t know he was going to play in the Oklahoma State game, Noland was still prepared.

“No one has any idea how much time both Zeb [Noland] and Kyle [Kempt] worked over the summer even though coming into the fall they weren’t the starting quarterback,” said passing game coordinator Jim Hofher. “How much they worked together with the rest of the team, individually whenever they had their own free time, nobody knows that, but these guys know that’s part of the recipe.”

That preparation has been the key for Noland and the Iowa State offense. Even though Noland rarely works directly with the likes of Lazard or his fellow first-string receivers like Marchie Murdock and Trever Ryen, Noland still fired well-timed passes to those receivers for big gains.

It’s why Iowa State’s offense likely won’t suffer much, even though it’s on its third starting quarterback in one season. That kind of culture is why a third-string redshirt freshman quarterback can step in for his first major college football action and put up 28 points in half a game against a top-15 team.

“We can’t just be satisfied we’re going to a bowl,” Noland said. “We can’t be satisfied with where we’re at now.”

Lazard hunting for records

Allen Lazard has caught a pass in all 45 games he’s played in a Cyclone uniform, which is already a school record that likely won’t be broken for many years. He’s also grabbed ahold of the school record for career receptions.

The receptions record, which was previously held by Todd Blythe at 176, is now Lazard’s. He’s currently at 223 and will have three more games to tack onto his record.

But the receptions record isn’t the only one of Blythe’s that Lazard is gunning for.

Lazard is at 3,071 yards. Blythe’s record is 3,096 yards.

“Hopefully Zeb throws me a few balls this week and I can go get it,” Lazard said. “It will be a huge honor. I’m still trying to get that touchdown [record] though.”

That touchdown record he mentioned — also held by Blythe — is 31. Lazard is at 24, so it would take a spectacular final three games for Lazard to reach that mark. However, with two more touchdowns, Lazard can set the single-season record and be the first Iowa State receiver to ever record 10 or more touchdowns in a season.

“I idolized [Blythe] as a kid,” Lazard said. “To be able to be mentioned with him on the record lists is a huge honor.”