Ames, Iowa ? Iowa State doesn’t have much time to get over its fourth-quarter collapse at Toledo. The Cyclones kick off Big 12 play this week at No. 25 Nebraska, the start a five-week stretch that, on paper, looks merciless.

The Cyclones (1-3), fresh off a 36-35 loss to Toledo in which they blew an 11-point lead in the final 5:25, will face four ranked teams – No. 25 Nebraska, No. 7 Texas, No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 20 Missouri – in their next five games.

First up are the Cornhuskers, who should be fired up after nearly losing at home last Saturday to Ball State. Iowa State then travels to Texas Tech, whose passing offense is ranked No. 1 in the nation at a staggering 521 yards a game.

The Cyclones return home for a pair of games against the Big 12’s elite, Texas and Oklahoma, and follow those up with a trip to face a Missouri team they stole a win from in 2006.

For the Cyclones, the only team in the Big 12 with a losing record, the next five weeks will be the ultimate test for a team whose margin for error is razor-thin.

“The Big 12 is going to be a tough deal for us,” coach Gene Chizik said. “But I’ve learned that we can be a good football team, and we will be a good football team, if we put it all together in every phase.”

But peeking ahead at the schedule isn’t on Iowa State’s itinerary, because the Cyclones already have enough to worry about. Iowa State has to find ways to win the weekly turnover battle and shore up its special teams.

Iowa State has turned the ball over seven more times than its opponents, and the results speak for themselves. The Cyclones have been outscored 37-0 in points off turnovers, a statistic that is all the more glaring given the fact that they have lost three games by a total of 21 points.

“We’ve had times where we could have had some turnovers, balls were on the ground and we could have had some interceptions, but we haven’t capitalized on it enough,” linebacker Alvin Bowen said.

Iowa State’s four takeaways rank 111th in the nation. But in the last three weeks, the Cyclones have only forced one turnover. The inability to create takeaways has put added pressure on an offense that is last among Big 12 teams in yards per game.

“I think four in four games is very below average,” Chizik said. “We’ve got to try to give the ball back to our offense. We haven’t done a very good job of that.”

Against the Rockets, fourth-quarter turnovers and special teams breakdowns combined to send Iowa State to yet another heartbreaking loss. Toledo’s Jalen Parmele took a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown immediately after Iowa State had jumped ahead 35-24, and after a three-and-out by the Cyclones, the Rockets recovered a botched snap in the end zone to take the lead.

Iowa State was able to put itself in a position to win with 11 seconds left, but Bret Culbertson’s field goal try was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

“This game was ours to win,” Chizik said. “You can’t play not to lose, you have to play to win.”

The Cyclones had a similar tough stretch to open Big 12 play in 2006, and lost seven straight. The numbers from the first four games of this season indicate that Iowa State might be in danger of another long losing streak.

“You can’t look ahead like that,” Bowen said of the next five weeks. “What I’m going to be trying to stress this week is the little things.”