Ames, Iowa ? Iowa State coach Dan McCarney said he was not taking the Cyclones No. 22 ranking too seriously as they prepared for a rare Friday night game against Army.

The Cyclones will travel to West Point, N.Y., for a 6 p.m. kickoff against Army in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and will be seen in 178 countries on the Armed Forces Network.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for a lot of reasons,” McCarney said. “It’s going to be exciting. It’s an honor for us to be able to do this.”

Iowa State (2-0) is coming off a bye week after beating then-No. 8 Iowa two weeks ago, and the Cyclones are playing as a ranked team for the first time since Nov. 9, 2002.

“It was a nice break after a win like that,” nose guard Nick Leaders said. “We got a chance to let it soak in, and now we have to move on.”

McCarney said he told his team not to get excited about the ranking.

“There’s not much meaning on rankings right now,” he said. “But (a win) would be a good notch in Army’s situation.”

McCarney said he was wary of the Cadets because they came close to beating Baylor last weekend.

“I haven’t seen this team on the road yet,” McCarney said. “The atmosphere of West Point, 4,000 cadets, their history and tradition, I don’t know how it will affect this team. I’m anxious to see how they will react and play.”

Sophomore Bret Culbertson was expected to handle Iowa State’s field goals and extra points after missing the first two games because of a leg injury, McCarney said.