FACTS & STATS: Site: Bill Snyder Stadium (50,000) -- Manhattan, Kansas. Television: FOX College Sports. Home Record: ISU 2-4, KSU 3-3. Away Record: ISU 0-5, KSU 1-4. Neutral Record: ISU 0-0, KSU 0-0. Conference Record: ISU 0-7, KSU 1-6. Series Record: Iowa State leads, 49-38-4.

GAME NOTES: The Iowa State Cyclones are down to their last chance to avoid a winless season in Big 12 Conference play, as they hit the road to take on the struggling Kansas State Wildcats. Since winning their first two games of the season, the Cyclones have gone on to lose each of their last nine. Last weekend, ISU was trounced by Missouri, 52-20. Five of the team's last six losses have come by double digits. K-State has also run into some tough luck, losing five straight. The Wildcats were handled by Nebraska last weekend, 56-28, marking their fourth straight double-digit setback. Earlier this month, the school announced that head coach Ron Prince will not return for the 2009 season. In terms of the head-to-head series between these two programs, ISU holds a 49-38-4 advantage.

Largely because Missouri had little trouble moving up and down the field, the Cyclone offense got plenty of work. As a result, quarterback Austen Arnaud set a Cyclones single-game completion record by completing 36-of-54 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. After the game, ISU head coach Gene Chizik praised his offense for continuing to plug away and move the ball. The team racked up 444 yards of total offense, but only scored once in three trips to the red zone. The Cyclones currently rank 11th in the conference in scoring offense (24.91 ppg) and 10th in total offense (365.09 ypg). Arnaud is completing 60.7 percent of his passes and has thrown 12 touchdowns, with eight interceptions. He is averaging 214 passing yards per game.

The ISU defense hasn't really been able to stop anybody this season. They enter this game ranked 108th in the nation in both scoring defense (35.64) and total defense (451.36). The Cyclones have had equal troubles stopping the run and the pass, as they are yielding nearly five yards per carry and nine yards per pass attempt. James and Jesse Smith are first and second on the team in tackles, with 80 and 78, respectively. Kurtis Taylor and Christopher Lyle each have five sacks. But this unit had lots of trouble slowing the Mizzou passing game. Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel established the tempo early by completing 17 of his first 19 passes. Daniel finished with 328 passing yards and two TDs, while the Tigers running game amassed 151 yards (6.0 ypc) and four scores. Though they'll face a much less potent Kansas State offense this week, the Cyclones still must do a much better job reading and reacting.

The K-State offense had a tough time trying to find holes in the Nebraska defense. By the final whistle, the Wildcats had accumulated only 13 first downs and a mere 247 yards of total offense. They converted only 2-of-13 first downs and lost the time of possession battle by 13 minutes. Quarterback Josh Freeman was largely ineffective, completing only 7-of-18 passes for 114 yards before giving way to backup Carson Coffman midway through the third quarter. Freeman was sacked four times and was rarely afforded enough time to sit in the pocket and read through his progressions. A lot of that had to do with the performance of the running game, which averaged a measly 1.8 yards per carry. Facing constant second- and third-and-long situations, the Nebraska defense was able to rush the passer from all angles.

Defensively, the Wildcats weren't able to get any stops when they needed to most. Nebraska's run game gashed the 'Cats all game long, racking up 340 yards (6.4 ypc) and a whopping six touchdowns. On top of that, Husker quarterback Joe Ganz easily picked apart the K-State secondary, throwing for 270 yards and two TDs. Things got out of hand early, as Nebraska reached the end zone on four of its first six drives to jump out to a sizeable first-half lead. The battle was essentially won at the line of scrimmage, where the Wildcats were constantly blown off the ball for chunks of yardage. After the game, coach Prince said his players simply weren't able to get it done against a much more physical team. The Wildcats enter this week now ranked 114th in the nation against the run (223 ypg) while giving up 36 points per game. ISU doesn't have a very formidable running attack; however the Wildcats must keep tabs of Arnaud, who can hurt teams with his athletic ability.

When asked of his decision to pull Freeman, coach Prince stated bluntly that his quarterback wasn't playing up to par and they'll need to have "an evaluation to see what?s going on." Given that Freeman ranks among the nation's leaders in passing yards and that he didn't have more than a second or two to release the ball on most occasions, the prospect of being benched for the final game by the lame-duck coach could be something of a time bomb.