The long wait until a very mediocre football season has begun!
- Thread starter UnCytely
- Start date
Agree 99%
With ZERO yards rushing against Memphis no sure I share your enthusiasm over the OL.
I just assume at this point that the OL will be average at best, and our ceiling will be 8 wins and an average bowl.
That's about as good as you can expect at a program at ISU. There's a 99.9% chance it won't be anything "special".... like winning 10+ games.
If you go into the season without much for expectations, it won't hurt as bad.
That's about as good as you can expect at a program at ISU. There's a 99.9% chance it won't be anything "special".... like winning 10+ games.
If you go into the season without much for expectations, it won't hurt as bad.
I was there for late 80’s early 90’s cyclone football. The last two decades plus of cyclone football might not be full of championships but I wouldn’t call it mediocre. All things considered in the current college football climate I’m grateful we have such a healthy and exciting program. I don’t know how anyone could walk into or around Jack Trice stadium and not be pumped for football.
Agree with you for the most part. No reason to expect OL to be great, they weren't bad at all when it came to pass blocking...run blocking was brutal in some games, they needed a lot of FB/TE/WR blocking to help out in the run schemes.
I'm going to be a little pessimistic on the OL until I see it of course, but we should trust Campbell that he hired Clanton for a reason. And it may take 2-3 seasons in of his tutelage to make our OL above average or better.
I think reasonable expectations are that CFB can be strange, some teams have on or off Saturdays on both sides of the ball from week to week. And sometimes the balls or calls bounce strangely in your favor and sometimes not. I think finishing anywhere between 5 and 9 wins is level headed as a Cyclone football fan in our new look Big XII.
We've come a long way in regards to facilities, support, brand recognition nationally...there is reason for tempered optimism. The days of winning 1-3 games and hoping for just 1 miracle upset of OU, Texas, OSU or losing all those but winning our in-state rivalry are over. I expect a winning season under Campbell. While 7-6 isn't sexy...it's a lot better than where a lot of college football programs will finish believe it or not. And it's a lot better than what decades ago Cyclone fans would've expected as a minimum. We have a winning football program under Campbell. It may not be as relatively competitive nationally that basketball or wrestling is, but no reason to be all doom & gloom with no hype. We have exciting and talented position players who will make 2024 a football season well worth watching & supporting.
Plus we always have our tailgating and Ames Lager. Cyclone Nation & ISU football are gonna be just fine.
Just the fact that 8 wins is likely our ceiling every year does NOT mean at all that there's nothing to get excited about or not buy tickets. Every season is still a blast. No better way to spend your Saturdays in the fall IMO. And there's always an awesome upset or two at home you can expect. Those make the season worth it all by themselves IMO.
NIL! NIL!
MC is a great coach. That said, it remains to be seen who in the big 12 will rise and who will fall in the NIL era. Utah and Oklahoma State have, most likely, been the best in football over the past decade.
Players matter. It does no good to recruit a diamond in the rough, coach him up, and then when he's about to become a force, have Miami, FSU, or UGA steal him.
ISU had some good wins--and some "bad" losses last year. Although Ohio and Memphis were not bad teams, and those losses were basically on the road.
I wouldn't read too much into last season. What will be more telling is what ISU's roster looks like after spring ball when portal madness is expected. Will it pick up a few needed guys, or will they lose a couple much needed guys?
I think that is the question every Big 12 team faces in this era. FWIW, Coach Prime supposedly has the NIL backing in place to win not just the Big 12, but a natty. We will see if colo. can steal players from UGA, Michigan, Ohio State, and Texas, bc that's what it'd take to win a natty with a 5-7 team.
MC is a great coach. That said, it remains to be seen who in the big 12 will rise and who will fall in the NIL era. Utah and Oklahoma State have, most likely, been the best in football over the past decade.
Players matter. It does no good to recruit a diamond in the rough, coach him up, and then when he's about to become a force, have Miami, FSU, or UGA steal him.
ISU had some good wins--and some "bad" losses last year. Although Ohio and Memphis were not bad teams, and those losses were basically on the road.
I wouldn't read too much into last season. What will be more telling is what ISU's roster looks like after spring ball when portal madness is expected. Will it pick up a few needed guys, or will they lose a couple much needed guys?
I think that is the question every Big 12 team faces in this era. FWIW, Coach Prime supposedly has the NIL backing in place to win not just the Big 12, but a natty. We will see if colo. can steal players from UGA, Michigan, Ohio State, and Texas, bc that's what it'd take to win a natty with a 5-7 team.
You don’t seem to understand how important that is.
You should NOT be excited, you should cease being a Cyclone Fan and you should not waste your time visiting this site risking false hope.
Loved your post. Simply going to focus on this.
A. I heard complaints about two positions on the OL last season. While fully aware that kids improve year to year, I’ll point out that the staff brought in transfers for those two spots.
Wisconsin transfer Dylan Barrett is already enrolled, and CMC has raved on how he’s already reshaped his body under Kagy. Competition at center.
Princeton transfer Jalen Travis is not yet enrolled, and we may wish he were already in a P4 S&C room. Young man has a lot going for him. Competition atnLT.
That doesn’t ensure we’ll be “great”, or even improved, but it helps.
B. Deylin Hasert should be healthy this year. That one hurt.
C. Coach Clanton brought in a solid five man class, all of whom were probably as good as anyone his predecessor brought in…which would include ‘23 freshman starter Brendan Black.
Oh, and the very last commit of that group, Council Bluffs’ Lewis Central’s Garret Rutledge, is probably the one that got CMC the most excited—especially of the five or six late visitors he was gleeful about in the first place.
D. The very first OL commit of this class, Will Tompkins, probably has the most outrageous offer list I’ve ever seen from a Cyclone OL commit, and that was “already”, before he shut his recruiting down. Penn State, Tennessee and USC at the top of the list.
Oh, and I’ve been following recruiting for over forty years, since Donnie Duncan was hired. Offer lists don’t mean everything…but this one is huge. Expect his rankings to skyrocket.
In short, when you say that it might take a little while for Clanton’s own recruits to settle in, I’ll agree that may (or may not) be true…but even if we have to wait, it’s trending very well. Maybe even very, very well.
For that matter…so is the rest of the team.
The OP isn’t an ISU fan. User name is a dead giveaway. Along with his/her posting history.
I have suspicion that the main reason that their whole basketball team is transferring is because they told them the majority of the NIL cash is going to the football team not them.
Aren’t you the guy who went after Campbell after the Ohio game last year?
Fair. He should still wait until Festivus. I certainly don't have the time or the inclination to review their trolling posting history, but I thank you for your service. Cheers!
Interesting lack of follow-up from OP. It's almost as if he's not really a real CF or something? Weird.
I for one am excited for this season. We have a QB with some experience now. OL was average at best last year, but we have all 5 starters back plus 2 additions in the portal and Hasert back. At the very least that is some good depth and competition. They are going to be better, the only question is how much. Pretty much all the pass catchers back plus they add Alston. RB we have Sama and Hansen plus some new guys. On D we have to replace Tampa and Vaughn. That’s it. Maybe the best group of Safties we’ve ever had.
My concerns are 1. K, 2. LB, 3. OL, 4. Pass rush
My concerns are 1. K, 2. LB, 3. OL, 4. Pass rush
I want to see Hansen on the field more this year any old way they can do it.
