AMES - Four games into his career at Iowa State, Gene Chizik has already lived through hard times and highlights.

The new head coach watched his Cyclones self-destruct against Kent State, lose to in-state rival Northern Iowa, shock Iowa on a game-winning field goal by Bret Culbertson and then blow an 11-point lead at Toledo thanks to a series of special teams problems.

The record is 1-3 as the Big 12 Conference opener at Nebraska approaches. The non-conference phase of the 2007 schedule sent some very mixed messages, but Chizik is emphatic on one point through four games.

"I've learned that we can be a good football team, and we will be a good football team when we put it all together," said the first-year head coach Monday. "You can see good things in every phase, but you can also see right now there's a lot of work to do in all three phases, as well."

If the latest set of Big 12 statistics mean anything, the majority of work needs to be done on offense.

Through the opening quartet of non-conference matchups, Iowa State ranks last among league teams in scoring offense, 11th in passing yards and last in turnover margin. On the flip side, Cyclone quarterbacks have only been sacked three times, the third-lowest total in the Big 12, and ISU is fourth in red zone percentage.

Defensively, Chizik's team is second in passing yards allowed and fifth in total defense.

According to Chizik, the 36-35 loss to Toledo indicates what a good-news/bad-news season it's been. The Cyclones improved in the red zone, scoring four touchdowns after failing to get any TDs against Iowa. On the other hand, the special teams fell apart, giving up a kickoff return, botching a snap on a fourth-quarter punt attempt and allowing the Rockets to partially block Culbertson's 38-yard try for the game-winning field goal.

Asked if ISU took a step back in the Glass Bowl, Chizik said, "In some areas we did. In some, we didn't. I think we got better in quite a few."

Take Bret Meyer, for instance. ISU's senior quarterback threw one interception while being hit, but he completed 24 of 33 passes, including a trio for touchdowns. For the second straight game, Meyer guided Iowa State downfield and gave Culbertson a chance to win it.

"I was really proud of Bret, overall," said Chizik. "He managed it just the way they work on it in practice. That was a very positive thing."

Monday, though, Chizik spent much of his time addressing three areas where ISU must improve during Big 12 play.

One was the ground game. Even though J.J. Bass gained a season-high 134 yards Saturday, Chizik wants his running back to be more elusive and pick up what he calls "Cyclone yards."

He added, "I told them yesterday that I don't care if you rush for 140 yards or 99 yards or what-not. We're not getting enough yards after contact. We've got to have more Cyclone yards than we had Saturday. So, am I happy with the running game? I'm happy in the fact that we've been able to run the ball some and move it down the field because I feel like you have to. But I'm not happy with us getting the extra yardage on the run game we should be getting and we're not."

Chizik would like to see more turnovers. The Cyclones have recovered just one fumble - in the opener against Kent State - and intercepted three passes. He called ISU's turnover ratio very below average, and one of his best defenders agreed.

"We definitely need to capitalize," said linebacker Alvin Bowen. "There are times when we could have had turnovers. There were balls on the ground, and we could have had some (more) interceptions. We haven't capitalized on it enough."

And Chizik will give his special teams two-deep further review.

"We're going to go back and re-evaluate some personnel," said the coach. "The bottom line is, we can't lose another game with a special teams meltdown. So we're going to be paying lot of attention to that this week."

ISU's attention will also turn to Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are 3-1, but they absorbed a home blowout to Southern California and just edged Ball State, 41-40, after giving up 552 yards of total offense.

The battle with Nebraska begins a stretch of six straight dates against 2006 bowl teams. ISU's players stuck with the one-game-at-a-time theme while acknowledging that there's no time to waste.

"We look at it right now as we're in the Big 12," said Bowen. "We have to really start cracking that whip."

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

By the numbers …

Here's where Iowa State stands in several statistical categories on the eve of Big 12 Conference play

Offense

Category Avg. Rank

Scoring 19.2 12

Passing 221.5 11

Rushing 168.2 8

Total yds. 350.5 12

Sacks against 3 3

Red zone 91.7 pct. T4

Field goals 50 pct. T9

Defense

Scoring 24.0 7

Passing 164.5 2

Rushing 140.5 8

Total yds. 305.0 5

Sacks by 9 T6

Red zone 80.0 pct 8

Punting 36.8 3

Others

Turnover margin -1.75 12

Punt return 3.4 12

Penalties 31.0 2