A Cyclone's OOC
August 28th 2010 07:56
I promised Papa Crusader that I would cover his alma mater next. So here we go.
Last season, for the first time since 2007, the Northern Division of the Big 12* had storylines again. Nebraska was showing signs of life, Bill Snyder had returned to Kansas State, the death knell sounded over Mark Mangino's reign at Kansas, just to name a few.
But perhaps one of the better ones and most overlooked was the story of the Iowa State Cyclones.
After Gene Chizik left to coach Auburn, the Cyclones turned to home-grown boy Paul Rhoads to lead the team. And my, what a difference a year makes. Iowa State went from an abysmal 2-10 in 2008 to 7-6 with a win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Insight Bowl in 2009. In 2009 they also beat Nebraska in Lincoln. That's no easy feat, one that even my Oklahoma Sooners couldn't manage.
In fact, some have even been so bold as to say this is the beginning of a rise for I-State, but not so fast! The honeymoon is over, and Rhoads now faces his toughest schedule yet since taking the reigns, with conference games at Austin against Texas and at Norman against Oklahoma.
Fortunately, they have all of their division games at home save for one, traveling to Boulder to take on Colorado.
But let's go over their OOC.
They start out at home in Ames against the Northern Illinois Huskies.
Not much to say about this one. The Huskies went 5-3 last season in the MAC conference, so on paper, Iowa State would have the advantage. It's a season opener at home, NIU's not known for its passing attack, so as long as the Cyclones contain that threatening rushing attack from Senior RB Chad Spann who sped for more than 1,000 last year, they'll be just fine.
The Crusader's Call: Iowa State should be better than this team, and I think they will be. They go 1-0.
Next comes the ringer. I-State goes on the road against their in-state rival, the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Iowa is coming off a fresh win in the Orange Bowl over Georgia Tech last season and is ranked in the Top 10 going into 2010 at #9. They return experienced players at QB, RBs, and WRs. With the favorable schedule that they have, they are in a position to not just win the Big 10 but compete for the National Title itself.
In order to win, I-State must match their hated rival strike-for-strike. They need to make the Hawkeyes one-dimensional, and concentrate on the dimension that Iowa uses the most, Quarterback Richard Stanzi. I-State must ensure there are no surprises on the ground and disrupt Richard Stanzi as much as possible.
The Crusader's Call: I go with my gut, and I go with the smart choices. At Iowa, with this experience, I just don't see the Cyclones doing it. They go 1-1, but I'm willing to be pleasantly surprised.
Then they come back to battle with the Northern Iowa Panthers.
There's not much to say with these Panthers. At one point they're only losing to Iowa by one point and then at another they're getting the tar beaten out of them by South Dakota State. All I-State needs to worry about is making sure they assert their domincance over UNI from the first down and never let up, and they should be right as rain in Ames.
The Crusader's Call: Ditto. The Cyclones improve to 2-1.
But then we get thrown right back into the fire as I-State stays at home and is invaded by the Utah Utes.
This is another very interesting match-up. This will be the last season Utah will remain in the Mountain West conference before jumping ship to the Pac-10 to be replaced by Boise State. In order for I-State to win, and they aren't incapable of doing so, the same rules apply against Iowa. Every time Utah scores, the Cyclones must score right back. I-State must take away one of the Utes' dimensions, whether it be 1600 passer Terrence Cain or 1000 rusher Eddie Wide or 1100 receiver David Reed.
The Crusader's Call: Again, gotta go with the smart call. I think Utah is too much for I-State and they fall again, going to 2-2 to cap off their OOC schedule.
But fret not, loyal Cyclone fans. My predictions are just that, predictions. And I have to hand it to you for scheduling some good quality opponents in the mix of respectably bad cakewalks. So much so that I award you 4 OUT OF 5 STARS.
| 81 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
