AMES - The victory over Iowa had been tucked away.

So Gene Chizik went home and rested Saturday.

"I ate pizza with my kids and went to sleep," said Iowa State's head coach. "I watched a bit of football. It was an awesome night. I slept good, slept good Saturday night."

For Chizik and his young football program, the days of rest are already over. That's the message he tried to send to his players during film sessions Sunday and to the media Monday.

Chizik freely admitted he's not sure how Iowa State will react following the 15-13 upset of the Hawkeyes. As he quipped, "I haven't coached a team after we've won one yet. It'll be a new experience for me."

Conversely, he wants the Cyclones to realize that this is no time to rest on the first victory of the Chizik Era.

"I hope they understand that we certainly have not arrived," said the first-year head coach. "I think they do. I think they understand by watching film yesterday there is so much improvement we have to do as a team in so many places."

Chizik added, "We're not even close to being what I consider a good football team. We're not even close. And we just have to continue to go out there every day and improve and continue to get small victories."

That theme - little victories mean a lot - has been the thread linking one football conversation to the next in the Jacobson Building during recent days. While pointing out that ISU has plenty of work to do, Chizik also stressed that the Cyclones performed well in several key areas Saturday.

The turnovers, for instance, dwindled from four against Northern Iowa to one in the battle with Iowa.

"It's more of the mental aspect," said R.J. Sumrall, ISU's leading receiver in 2007. "We have to treat the ball like it's family. … It's a matter of just how hungry are you? How much do you want to keep the ball and win the game?"

Chizik saw a tougher, more physical team in game three, especially on defense. The third-down performance by the defense got better. Iowa converted 3 of 13 third downs after the Panthers clicked on 7 of 16.

"You can win with that," said Chizik of the third-down defensive effort against Iowa.

While far from pleased with ISU's team depth, Chizik praised the effort of reserve safety Chris Brown. With Caleb Berg still injured, Brown stepped in after a wounded Steve Johnson left the Iowa game. Brown made four tackles, including two key stops in the final half.

"That's really nice to see," said Chizik. "Everybody's got a role to fulfill. Are we great at depth right now? No, I don't think we are. But when guys go down or situations arrive where guys have to come in and deliver, you hope they come in like Chris Brown did. He did a great job."

Saturday at 6 p.m., Iowa State faces a winless Toledo team that's been taking a defensive pounding. While dealing with some injury issues, the Rockets have allowed opposing offenses just under 50 points per game. Kansas handed Toledo a 45-13 thumping in Lawrence last weekend.

Chizik, sticking to another familiar storyline, said he's more concerned about his team getting better than Tom Amstutz' Rockets. The players say there will be no post-Iowa hangover.

"I don't think we'll have any problem," said quarterback Bret Meyer. "We have enough leadership on this team, so that's not going to be an issue. We know we haven't arrived yet. We're 1-2 right now. If you're 1-2 and that feels like you've arrived, you're not going to go anywhere. We understand where we're at and what we have to do to get where we want to be."

Nonetheless, the Cyclones are feeling mentally refreshed after breaking into the victory column with the thriller over Iowa.

"Obviously, it's a lot better," said Meyer. "You'll always be upbeat no matter what because you're coming back to work. But nobody will dispute the fact that it makes it easier to come back after a win."

NOTES - The Big 12 Conference has named ISU placekicker Bret Culbertson its special teams player of the week Culbertson connected on five field goals in six tries against Iowa, including the game-winning 28-yarder with 1 second to play.

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com