Iowa State underwent the toughest portion of its schedule a few weeks ago when the Cyclones got Texas Tech, Texas Christian and Baylor in back-to-back-to-back games. But the Big 12 is relentless.

After a thorough beat down of the ailing Texas Longhorns, the Cyclones’ schedule lined up the two Oklahoma schools back-to-back.

Oklahoma dominated its way to a 52-16 win. Now, the Cyclones welcome Oklahoma State, which — surprise, surprise — might be the best team in the conference.

The Cowboys put a 20-point hammer down on previously unbeaten TCU, which propelled them into the Associated Press top-5 and into the College Football Playoff discussion.

The Cowboys are legit. After a few close calls to start the season, Oklahoma State has found its offensive groove, scoring no fewer than 49 points in each of its last three games.

That spells trouble for an ISU defense that has struggled to contain the explosive offenses in the Big 12.

Meanwhile, Iowa State’s offense is an enigma. Joel Lanning drove the Cyclones to a 24-0 victory against Texas in his first start, but that was mostly because of Texas’ complete inability to do anything right. In Big 12 play, 24 points usually is not enough for a win.

Last week, the ISU offense looked lost, scoring only 16 points. The defense looked even worse, allowing 52 points.

There is hope for the Cyclones, though. After this week, the Cowboys get Baylor and Oklahoma, two of the other Big 12 powerhouses.

With some luck, the Cowboys may overlook the Cyclones, prying the door open for another potential stunner against Oklahoma State like the one in 2011, when the Cyclones clipped the No. 2 Cowboys in double overtime.

The Cyclones are backed against the wall once again and need something dramatic to turn their season around with a pair of winnable road games to finish the season. An upset special against the Cowboys might be just the thing to do it.

Unfortunately for the Cyclones, Oklahoma State features Mason Rudolph, a sophomore quarterback who picked apart TCU’s defense en route to 352 yards and five touchdowns.

With a spot in the College Football Playoff a real possibility, there is no way Rudolph and the Cowboys overlook the Cyclones like they did in 2011. Rudolph and the ‘Boys roll on.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 57, Iowa State 28