Not the first or the last 2008 iowa state football prediction

cstrunk · 02-16-2008, 11:13 PM

6-6 seems like a very realistic prediction to me. 5-7 or 7-5 wouldn't surprise me either.

Wesley · 02-16-2008, 11:36 PM

As long as we beat the Huskers, I will be enthused.

rhillary · 02-16-2008, 11:42 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley

As long as we beat the Huskers, I will be enthused.

I will be happy as long as the following happens:

Win more than 2 games
Be competitive in atleast 5 games
Not get blown out
Play smart/aggressive football
learn from our mistakes (I would say improve everytime, but some mistakes won't come up until conference time)

These are the only things I think we HAVE to do this year in the Chizik rebuilding process. Anything else is gravy!

MontyBurns · 02-16-2008, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by Aclone

Four words for you. Ballard, King, Kroul and Clayborn. If the line can't pass block (or create holes), it's going to be a long afternoon. Too soon to dismiss Iowa.

Are you joking?

I agree their defense, especially up front, will be decent....but how strong will they be in the fourth quarter when they've been on the field for 75% of the game? Unless we fumble the ball and kick it backwards into the end zone for them, how many points do you think Iowa will score?

If we don't turn the ball over on our half of the field anything over 10 points should be enough for us to win.

bmuff · 02-16-2008, 11:57 PM

Originally Posted by Aclone

Four words for you. Ballard, King, Kroul and Clayborn. If the line can't pass block (or create holes), it's going to be a long afternoon. Too soon to dismiss Iowa.

Iowa had a "vaunted" DL last year too. And they really didn't cause our OL (with 4 new starters) all that many problems. Dedrick does a good job with pass rushers. And our interior OL returns pretty much intact. King can do a decent job of disrupting, but he also runs himself out of position a lot. Kroul is just solid, not great. I do think that iowa will have to depend on their DL since their LBs and DBs are taking a step back.

I'm not going to dismiss them, especially on the road, but right now I feel like ISU has the upper hand. My main worry is stopping their running game since we are breaking in two new starters on the interior DL.

ajk4st8 · 02-16-2008, 11:58 PM

Im expecting 5 wins. Anything less will be a letdown.

MontyBurns · 02-17-2008, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by bmuff

My main worry is stopping their running game since we are breaking in two new starters on the interior DL.

What running game? They had the worst offensive line and the lowest ranked rushing offense in the Big Ten last year. And with Albert Young and Damian Sims graduating, they don't have any experienced running backs.

Our toughest non-conference game will be at UNLV, not at Iowa.

Chizsciple · 02-17-2008, 12:55 AM

I'm gonna go into every week expecting a win. When we do, I'll be whistlin' Zippity-doo-da outta my @$$ for a week. When we don't, I'll be kickin' puppies and flippin' off old people for a week. But whether we end up 12-0, 0-12, or anywhere in between, every week, I'll hang my ISU flag on the porch, put on one of my ISU shirts, and find a way to see every televised game even if I have tro drive to a Hooters 30 miles away to watch it by myself...again. (insert Big XII TV contract/ABC regional coverage rant here)

Logicalfan · 02-17-2008, 01:12 AM

Oh my, there are people on here that have awfully short memories, they probably predicted 20 wins for the basketball team as well.

Look, if anything was proven last Fall, it was that Dan McCarney for all that he did, really let the program slip his last years. I hope that this team wins all of their games, but there is a serious lack of talent, compared to the rest of the Big 12, and that this coach is not trying for a quick fix.

I would hope that we can win more games than we did last year, and that we can be more competitive with the good teams on our schedule. That would be a successful season to me.

Aclone · 02-17-2008, 12:16 PM

Originally Posted by MontyBurns

What running game? They had the worst offensive line and the lowest ranked rushing offense in the Big Ten last year. And with Albert Young and Damian Sims graduating, they don't have any experienced running backs.

Our toughest non-conference game will be at UNLV, not at Iowa.

Yep, you're doing a nice job of underestimating Iowa. The reason their offensive line was so bad was constant injuries. Vandevelde, Bulaga, Richardson, etc. You can't count on that two years in a row. And as far as experienced backs, they have Shonn Greene coming back, who when he's in shape is a physical back with speed--just the guy to hammer inside. The concerns about our defensive tackles, especially backed by less than dominant linebackers, are legit.

MontyBurns · 02-17-2008, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by Aclone

Yep, you're doing a nice job of underestimating Iowa. The reason their offensive line was so bad was constant injuries. Vandevelde, Bulaga, Richardson, etc. You can't count on that two years in a row. And as far as experienced backs, they have Shonn Greene coming back, who when he's in shape is a physical back with speed--just the guy to hammer inside. The concerns about our defensive tackles, especially backed by less than dominant linebackers, are legit.

Wake up and put down the Kool-Aid. Iowa was healthy when they got booed off their own field while getting dominated by Western Michigan.

Richardson's career is over - injuries.

Vandevelde is not a Div I quality offensive lineman. Tell me again what awards he won? All American? All Conference? LOL.

Greene is coming back only if he successfully completes the spring semester academically -- something he hasn't been capable of in the past.

This will be the 4th Iowa/ISU game for the seniors in 2008. In the last three Iowa has scored 3, 17, and 13 points. That's 33 points - TOTAL - in 3 games. And that included Iowa teams that had Drew Tate, Scott Chandler, Albert Young, etc. Those guys are all gone and Iowa's current talent level is even lower than the last 3 years! As long as ISU forces Iowa to go 65+ yards on every posession there is a very good chance that Iowa will get shut out or at worst settle for some FG attempts.

Kyle · 02-17-2008, 02:03 PM

I'm going to throw out 6-6 as reasonable. If we make a bowl we will have done very well, and If we win 4 or fewer I'll be quite disappointed. Hopefully this year we will be prepared at the beginning of the season and take the non-conference games. I'm not even going to try and predict the conference games and the Iowa game, but I think we can take 3 out of those 9 games.

msadams82 · 02-17-2008, 02:13 PM

We go 6-6. Just missing out on a bowl game.

2009. 8-4.
2010. 9-3 (win the big 12 north title - lose to Oklahoma in Title game)

jbing · 02-17-2008, 02:15 PM

I'm thinking it's going to be one of those heart breaking years where we come out strong with 3 or 4 straight wins in our non-conference, then things start to fall apart in the big 12. I think we could get one or two wins, but I don't expect much more.

The heart breaker? we sit at 5 wins for weeks and don't make it to 6 to get a bowl invite... THIS year...

5-7.

twojman · 02-17-2008, 02:20 PM

ISU can win anywhere from 4-8 game realistically in the 2008 season. All 4 non-conference games are winnable, does that mean ISU will win them all though?

ISU plays 3 teams in the Big 12 with new coaches. I like ISU's chances to win 2 of those 3 minimum. Feasibly 6 wins right there. My main concern is the DL. If they get manhandled, ISU is going to be in for a long season.

I feel that Arnaud just has to manage the game, he does not have to go out there and win the games. ISU should have a decent OL and running game which will help Arnaud's development a ton!

No prediction right now, we will see how it plays out.