Des Moines, Iowa ? Iowa State is getting ready for the heat in its next game, and it has nothing to do with the weather.

After watching his team give up eight sacks in its last game, Iowa State coach Dan McCarney knows exactly what to expect when Texas A&M visits tonight.

“They sure are getting after quarterbacks,” McCarney said. “I’m sure they’re going to heat up my guys, too.”

Iowa State’s pass protection broke down frequently in the Cyclones’ 36-7 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday. The sacks resulted in 49 yards in losses and, even worse, Bret Meyer fumbled the ball away on three of those sacks.

McCarney said it wasn’t all Meyer’s fault because the redshirt freshman never saw some of those hits coming. He said Meyer will remain the starter and he’ll continue to bring Austin Flynn off the bench.

“Those three fumbles had very little to do with Bret being loose with the ball,” McCarney said. “He was being whacked from all directions. Our protection has got to be a little better for him to be productive on Saturday.”

Texas A&M (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) is off to a good start in rebounding from last season’s 4-8 record, which included a 77-0 loss to Oklahoma.

The Aggies lost to Utah 41-21 in their opener but have since defeated Wyoming, Clemson and defending Big 12 champion Kansas State.

McCarney said the A&M defense, which gave up an average of 44.5 points in conference games last season, looks more like the unit that’s usually associated with that program.

“They are really playing like the Wrecking Crew right now,” he said. “You talk about playing with your hair on fire on defense, they’ve been doing that the last few games.”

McCarney said the Cyclones (2-2, 0-1) could slow down the pass rush by running the ball better, which has been a problem all season. Even without subtracting the yardage from sacks, Iowa State rushed for only 108 yards in 29 attempts against Oklahoma State.

For the season, the Cyclones are averaging just 111 yards a game rushing.

“We did some things better in the second half Saturday,” McCarney said. “We just have to be better protection-wise. Some of the breakdowns were mental errors, in some cases we just got whipped.