From here on out, the ISU football team will have its hands full.

In the Cyclones’ final eight games of the regular season, seven of the teams are either ranked or are receiving votes, according to the AP Top 25 Poll.

But ISU coach Paul Rhoads said he thinks starting out the Big 12 with a commanding win against Kansas last weekend should significantly help boost confidence levels heading into the tougher part of the schedule, and some of the players agree.

“I think it’s really a big boost,” said running back Mike Warren. “It’s going to make us play harder and play better. [Coaches want us to] get into a rhythm. And I truly believe that if we can get into a rhythm that we can accomplish a lot more.”

The Cyclones, while technically tied for first place in the conference after week one, are still an underdog around the league. And when you look at the overall records of teams in the Big 12 Conference, Iowa State stands ahead of only two other teams.

Iowa State will travel to Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday to take on Texas Tech in the second conference game of the year. The Red Raiders were favored to win the game by 12 points as of Monday, according to VegasInsider.com.

But players say that being an underdog isn’t an issue. In fact, some like it.

“I love being the underdog,” said quarterback Sam Richardson. “We love road games as well. It’s kind of your team against everyone else. It’s a different kind of mindset where you’re going out there and you feel like you have something to prove.”

Perhaps the most noticeable improvement comes from the ground game. After struggling to accomplish much on the ground in the first two games, the Cyclones ran for more than 200 yards against both Toledo and Kansas. Warren also had big days, racking up more than 300 yards on the ground in the past two games.

But the issue of consistency still remains. And after just two games of a solid ground attack, Rhoads remains unsatisfied.

“I don’t know if [after] two games you can say we’ve been consistent,” Rhoads said. “We’ve done it back to back, but I don’t know if there is any consistency yet in the run game. [If] we do it a third [game] and do it against a second Big 12 conference opponent, then you might say we have something there.”

The Red Raiders have given up 277.4 rushing yards per game and allowed more than 300 total rushing yards last weekend against Baylor.

While he doesn’t put much stock in the numbers, Warren said he did notice that statistic.

“That’s definitely a really good thing for me to hear,” Warren said. “We’ve established our run game the past two games and I think it’s going to get better and better.”

With the newfound success on the ground, the Cyclones have been able to be more productive through the air.

Richardson threw for nearly 270 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas last Saturday. He was able to spread the ball around too, passing the ball to nine different receivers throughout the game.

Rhoads said this is connected directly to the running game.

“Run game success creates bigger passing windows,” Rhoads said. “When you go to throw the ball, it creates less hardships in terms of down and distance. … It’s putting [assistant coach Mark Mangino] in a much better situation as he goes throughout the game.”

Another thing the Cyclones have been working on improving is the number of big, explosive offensive plays they get in each game.

Generally, the goal is six big plays per game. Saturday, though, Rhoads said he believes his team will have 11 big plays, nearly doubling its goal.

But again, it all comes back to the run game, something that Rhoads said directly helps to increase the number of big plays in a game.

“We’re getting more big plays out of the run game, and that certainly is helping that,” Rhoads said. “We’ve left a few of them out there in the passing game, in our opinion. Big plays can be game changers, but they certainly can ignite you from a momentum standpoint too. They need to stay an active part in what were doing.”

Hitting their mark of six big plays or more will continue to be a goal for the Cyclones when they take the field Saturday. And while the goal is nothing new, they hope that a more balanced offense will help that number continue to increase.

“We’ve always had that goal as an offense,” Richardson said. “It definitely got to be a standard for an offense in the Big 12. I think with us continuing to meet our goal for it, I think we’ll only continue to push it higher and higher.”