Where are we truly at as a program.

Istate · 10-05-2008, 11:23 AM

I just lost about a 8 paragraph analysis so here comes the quick one.

I'm bummed about yesterday's loss. Couple that with the UNLV game, and my darkside starts to wonder where we really are. I have a bright side too, but this will only note some thoughts that stick around in my head when thinking about ISU football.

Last year: We were putrid the first few games, primarily due to turnovers. Our offseason excitement was derived from the way we ended the season. We played OK and Mizzou tough, but did they really care? We then beat Colorado because ratface made a poor decision to go for it on 4th down and we beat a KSU team that had quit before being hammered by Kansas.

This year: We pummel SDSU thanks to them giving us about as much as Mr. Jacobsen has. SDSU had some success moving the ball when their QB didn't look like I did in 7th grade. SDSU has proven to not be very good. Kent state again helped us mightily with turnovers. They moved the ball consistently and made me begin to worry quite a bit about our ability to stop the run. Kent State is now 1-5.

Iowa was a mess weather wise. A special teams play seals the victory for Iowa, but they start a new qb that was very generous to us, but we didn't take advantage. Iowa was the better team and had it been dry, Greene might have had 300 yards rushing. I question playcalling some for not utilizing the QB more. Iowa is a slightly above average team right now that would be the talk of the country if they had our turnover fortunes. UNLV was going to be tough after Iowa. I knew there would be some hangover, but I didn't think UNLV would move the ball that easily against us. Some Mccarney coaching by UNLV and Austen getting hot in the 2nd half gave us a shot, but in the end, we lose, to a bad team who now sits 3-3 after losing to Colorado St. and Nevada (whom Missouri beat 69-17).

Yesterday concerns me just as much. We all thought if we could get out early, we'd win that game. Kansas isn't near the team it was last year. Heck they lost to S. Fla who struggled with Fla. Intl. and was beaten by Pitt. Kansas didn't want to be in Ames in the first half, at least their minds didn't, and we couldn't extend the lead past 20 with the field position we had. Then, did they not think we were going to do an onside kick? Holy cow, that team looked unprepared; yet, we still couldn't get that signature victory. Kansas has 6 more losses on its schedule.

How about some talent comments. I hope we're right, but I wonder if we just got so low talent wise that we're blown away by some of the new kids. We love Johnson, but is he better than a RB that started in the superbowl last year as a CB? Our WR's look good, but I remember Blythe as a youngster too. Our young LB's are not impressing, and our OL/DL talent isn't making the strides we thought. Most everyone on here thought we'd start Osem, Trey, and Hicks this year.

Finally, a peak ahead to next year. Convince me that we don't lose more off of this year's team than we did last year. We lose 2 of our best 3 RB's. Maybe Bo Williams is for real. Maybe there's a reason why he wasn't more heavily pursued after leaving Florda. We lose our most consistent and long-term contributor at WR. We lose our best offensive lineman and our two best defensive linemen. Then we lose 3 of our starting back 7, including the LB that is playing the best this year. That's alot of talent to replace.

So are we truly making gains? Man, I hate feeling like this.

Clones85' · 10-05-2008, 11:25 AM

We are a team trying to learn how to win, and struggling to do it. That's the most simple way I can put it. We got some players, we play well, we just don't know how to win....YET!

bellzisu · 10-05-2008, 11:32 AM

No we aren't making any gains at all... We should of kept "God" here (aka Dan McCarney, which people will now bash me for bringing him up). There is no way we should compete with anyone. We are Iowa State. We should of hired Brewster or who the heck ever we mentioned (since landgrantcy brings it up every week) that could of got the job.

The sky is falling folks... Just show up to tailgate, don't make it into the games, and lets all argue with each other (which I'm guilty of). In another 10 years we can worry about competing with the Mac Conference instead of the Big 12. Or maybe we can consolidate with UofI.......

Loaded with sarcasm....

Just wanted to cover the likely topics that will come up with this post...

Seriously, we are getting better. Just don't have the results. Give it time.

CyGuy33 · 10-05-2008, 11:33 AM

We've got players who want to win but don't know how - Lou Holtz

I am very frustrated with the season to this point and want to see our team start playing four quarters of football. Play strong from start to finish. It is hard to watch the dramatic ups and downs.

bostinelosd · 10-05-2008, 11:33 AM

We are right on the edge. If you havent noticed, we are playing toe to toe with some of the big guys and keeping it close. Before too long, we will have our break thru game and we should see more leaps in improvement. Not having as many turnovers, penalties, etc yesterday was a vast improvement than earlier this year.

Gordyo5 · 10-05-2008, 11:34 AM

I feel as if there may not be an improvement in wins and loses this year which is ultimately all that matters, but there is definitely an improvement in play on the field for parts of games. We seem to be playing solid-well for about a half of our games. first 3 quarters against Iowa I feel like we out played them, obviously the 2nd half against UNLV and the 1st half against Kansas. So I feel like we have grown to where we can play with just about anyone for a half, but doing it for a whole game is completely different and that is what we need to learn to do before we can expect to go anywhere as a program.

ajk4st8 · 10-05-2008, 11:42 AM

I am really pleased with the way our program is headed. We are actually looking like a big 12 team at times today. We actually played physical football.

Bobber · 10-05-2008, 11:42 AM

You know the t.v. announcers even commented how close we are to having a really good team. When you consider how young we are, that bodes well.

ajk4st8 · 10-05-2008, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by Bobber

You know the t.v. announcers even commented how close we are to having a really good team. When you consider how young we are, that bodes well.

And when you consider where we came from. Our most 3 winnable games on the schedule are the next 3. Lets take at least 2 of those 3 and enjoy improvement from last year.

price26 · 10-05-2008, 12:16 PM

With the way they are playing right now if they can put 60 good consistent minutes of football together we could truthfully have a realistic shot at 3 or 4 more wins and have a chance to finish .500 overall and in the conference. Which I think most of us would accept easily. However, if we get those four more wins, we could look back and think what might have been with a couple extra wins against KU and UNLV.

They seemed to be able to to take a half off in succession. They played well the first half against Iowa, then let it get away in the second half and slept through the first half against UNLV. Then they got it going again in the second half of the UNLV game and carried through to the first half of the Kansas game before the second half let down again.

If they give 60 good minutes we will have something, unfortunately it seems they only give about 40-45 good minutes a game.

isuarch80 · 10-05-2008, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by Clones85'

We are a team trying to learn how to win, and struggling to do it. That's the most simple way I can put it. We got some players, we play well, we just don't know how to win....YET!

This is exactly how I've been saying it too... I truly believe we're getting there - they just need to learn how to win. Even Chiz says we haven't played 60 mins of football yet this year.

jaretac · 10-05-2008, 12:28 PM

He is my question, if Kansas had lost to Oregon St. instead of Florida St. by the same margin, what would your commits be. Oregon St. is not a very good football team and yet they were still able to pull off a victory against the #1 team. S. Florida is a good football team that hasn't played to it's potential. Your reading to much into that.

The difference between Kansas of this year and Kansas of last year is that this year they are a conference contender, last year they were a national contender. The difference between the conference contenders and national contenders, is that conference contenders will loss some games that they probably should of won.

Who does not believe that Kansas is going to have at least a 9 wins this season? I know some say "a loss is a loss", but I would whether lose a close game against good teams then to lose big, because it shows we are improving.

The good I see, is that we haven't really been blown out. Iowa game was the largest margin yet and that was much closer then the score would indicate. In the past we would of (we have) got demolished against Kansas. Even during 2002, we had a #9 ranking and we were destroyed against Oklahoma.

Whenever we had good teams in the past, we would win against lesser teams and get blown away against great teams. This team seems to be getting better about that. There is a fight, a desire to win, they just need to get better. I still think there is a potential for us to go to a bowl game, we just need to pick up our first road win in 3 years next week and then make a home stand.

LindenCy · 10-05-2008, 12:29 PM

Well if we improve against every other team on our schedule the amount we improved from last year to this year against Kansas, we will be fine. :)

Cyclones78227 · 10-05-2008, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by bellzisu

No we aren't making any gains at all... We should of kept "God" here (aka Dan McCarney, which people will now bash me for bringing him up). There is no way we should compete with anyone. We are Iowa State. We should of hired Brewster or who the heck ever we mentioned (since landgrantcy brings it up every week) that could of got the job.

The sky is falling folks... Just show up to tailgate, don't make it into the games, and lets all argue with each other (which I'm guilty of). In another 10 years we can worry about competing with the Mac Conference instead of the Big 12. Or maybe we can consolidate with UofI.......

Loaded with sarcasm....

Just wanted to cover the likely topics that will come up with this post...

Seriously, we are getting better. Just don't have the results. Give it time.

This is a great post.

We are playing better, and we did it for a longer period of time yesterday, than we had previously.

I am amazed at all of the snarky comments about Coach Chizik. People act like he was just supposed to come in here and start winning like we are UT or Auburn, and have all of their tradition. Plus the caliber of football played in the North is 10 times better than it was just a couple short years ago when we blew chances to win the division.

I think that Brian Kelly (one of the names mentioned) is a good coach, but you have to remember he took over a program where the coach before him had done such a good job that he moved up to Michigan State. He had won, and more importantly, recruited well enough at Cincinnati, that he proved that he could handle a Big 10 job.

As for Brewster, he is a stud recruiter, everybody knows that. He has a nice new football stadium to sell as well. Plus the Big 10 is down, and the quality of football played isn't as high as it is in Big 12.

Aclone · 10-05-2008, 12:47 PM

Originally Posted by Istate

Finally, a peak ahead to next year. Convince me that we don't lose more off of this year's team than we did last year. We lose 2 of our best 3 RB's. Maybe Bo Williams is for real. Maybe there's a reason why he wasn't more heavily pursued after leaving Florda. We lose our most consistent and long-term contributor at WR. We lose our best offensive lineman and our two best defensive linemen. Then we lose 3 of our starting back 7, including the LB that is playing the best this year. That's alot of talent to replace.

So are we truly making gains? Man, I hate feeling like this.

Man, this is just pathetic. Simply pathetic. "Istate"? Who decided they needed a new ID? I really want to say "Go hang yourself, and get it over with." This is such a steaming pile of dog turds that it just isn't worth arguing over. No positive, glowing reassurances from me, except to say that that every single word is garbage.