2024-25 ISU FB Early Predictions and Offseason Discussion

[BigJCy]

10 Weeks from today the Clones season kicks off!

 

[ClubCy]

I’ve seen some books with the spread for UND available.

-27.5
O/U 52.5

 

[ClubCy]

Pain

 

[nrg4isu]

Pain

I do feel better knowing that Nebraska has had MOR pain though

 

[ScottyP]

The guys on this video don't like Iowa State very much. They say Iowa State is overrated. Campbell is a psychopath and they don't like Brock Purdy.

 

[ClubCy]

The guys on this video don't like Iowa State very much. They say Iowa State is overrated. Campbell is a psychopath and they don't like Brock Purdy.

Any “show” that only gets 300-400 views per video is not a real show. We gotta put a stop as a society to just letting everyone buy a mic and camera on Amazon and letting them claim they have a sports show.

To save people time. The guy who sounds drunk on the left doesn’t like how Matt wears his hats and that’s his complete analysis on Iowa State football. Zero substance.

 

[mitchforcy]

The guys on this video don't like Iowa State very much. They say Iowa State is overrated. Campbell is a psychopath and they don't like Brock Purdy.

I turned it off when he mentioned he didn't like how Campbell bends his bill.

 

[Gunnerclone]

 

[DrClone]

Pain

Is that a good or bad thing? Some really good teams on that list

 

[ClubCy]

Is that a good or bad thing? Some really good teams on that list

In my humble opinion, our record being 5-14 in 1-score games in just the past 3 seasons is not a good thing. Been wrong before though!!

 

[BMWallace]

Big 12 SP+ Preview from Bill Connelly (ESPN+ Paywall)

Some key notes regarding Iowa State from the article:
-ISU at 30th overall and 5th in the conference per Bill C's Preseason SP+
-The Cyclones are 1st nationally in returning production

From the five best games of 2024:

Kansas State at Iowa State (Nov. 30). Iowa State has lost 13 of its past 16 one-score games. If fortune swings the Cyclones' way again, then combined with massive returning production levels, they could contend. And if they do, Farmageddon 2024 could be enormous.

(By the way, Big 12, it's not too late to revisit your dreadfully paltry permanent rivalries list to include Farmageddon, among others. You screwed up the first list, and that's OK; you can still right a wrong.)

Iowa State Preview:

Head coach: Matt Campbell (ninth year, 53-48 overall)

2024 projection: 30th in SP+, 7.5 average wins (5.3 in Big 12)

Nine years is long enough for a couple of different narrative arcs. For a while, we talked about Matt Campbell as the chosen one, a coach destined to land one of the sport's huge jobs. But after a preseason top-10 ranking in 2021, his Cyclones lost 14 of 21 games starting in late 2021, and Campbell became the poster boy for missed opportunities and closed windows.

Now comes a chance at another plot device: the redemption arc. ISU finished the 2023 regular season with five wins in seven games. Freshmen seized opportunities at quarterback (Rocco Becht), running back (Abu Sama III) and tight end (Benjamin Brahmer), and a young defense with 12 freshmen and sophomores logging at least 200 snaps finished in the defensive SP+ top 30. (This was nothing new: Jon Heacock's 3-3-5 defense has averaged a 26.3 ranking since 2017.)

ISU currently ranks first nationally in returning production. Becht is back after throwing for 3,120 yards and 23 touchdowns. Sama, who rushed for 276 yards and three scores against Kansas State, will run behind a huge line (average size: 6-foot-6, 323 pounds) that returns all five starters. The top four passing targets return, including slot receiver Jaylin Noel, big-play man Jayden Higgins and Brahmer; Campbell also added potential deep threats in NDSU's Elijah Green and Army's Isaiah Alston.

The defense was mostly sound against the run but all-or-nothing against the pass. Every primary lineman returns, led by tackle Tyler Onyedim, and Campbell added end Kenard Snyder (15 TFLs) from ULM. The secondary returns six of last year's top eight, including corner Myles Purchase (13 breakups) and safety Jeremiah Cooper (five INTs, 13 breakups). Any semblance of a pass rush -- the Cyclones were 122nd in sack rate and almost never blitzed -- would make this a potential top-20 unit.

Closed windows or not, there are worse things in the world than simply ending up as ISU's best coach in 40-plus years. If Campbell's Cyclones improve as projected and figure out what they did to offend the god of close games -- they've won just three of their past 16 one-score finishes -- they are absolute Big 12 contenders.

My favorite player: WR Jayden Higgins. In the past 20 years, an Iowa State player has produced at least 170 receiving yards in a game just seven times. Two of them came from Higgins in the second half of last season. He caught six passes for 172 yards in a blowout of Cincinnati, then caught nine for 214 in the Liberty Bowl against Memphis. Among those with 40-plus targets, Higgins was second in the Big 12 in yards per route and yards per game, fourth in contested catches and sixth in yards per catch. There are potential stars everywhere you look on this offense, but he might be at the top of the list.

 

[MartyFine]

 

[t-noah]

The guys on this video don't like Iowa State very much. They say Iowa State is overrated. Campbell is a psychopath and they don't like Brock Purdy.

Any “show” that only gets 300-400 views per video is not a real show. We gotta put a stop as a society to just letting everyone buy a mic and camera on Amazon and letting them claim they have a sports show.

To save people time. The guy who sounds drunk on the left doesn’t like how Matt wears his hats and that’s his complete analysis on Iowa State football. Zero substance.

Thx for the heads up. If I ever run across them again, no click for me! They are extreme amateurs and show irrelevant bias. And pretty hard to listen to.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

No idea where else to put this...

The 2026 game with UNI has been rescheduled for August 30, 2031 and replaced by another visit from SEMO.

UNI and Iowa State only have two games on the books at this point, 2028 and 2031. I'm all for a break in the series and less frequent matchups going forward.

 

[RagingCloner]

Not sure where to ask this, but really curious about Tampa's replacement at corner. I thought I had heard that the transfer from LSU will fight for a spot there. Can anyone confirm?

 

[Cyrealist]

In my humble opinion, our record being 5-14 in 1-score games in just the past 3 seasons is not a good thing. Been wrong before though!!

I think you're right, though it's a possibility that it's partially random chance. I think our problem putting together a consistent running game has to be a factor in that record. If you can run the ball on 3rd and 2, you will win more close games. That's why the Beavis and Butthead guys weren't all wrong except about the hat.

 

[isuclone89]

I turned it off when he mentioned he didn't like how Campbell bends his bill.

My question would be does he bend the bill, or is that just the style of cap he likes?

 

[MartyFine]

 

[CoachHines3]

imagine camp starts soon, if not this week?

 

[RagingCloner]

imagine camp starts soon, if not this week?

for some reason i was thinking it was next week. 30th or something like that