CFers thought on 2005 football team

[muleboy09]

The only reason I am posting this is because of the talk (again) of why ISU got rid of Dan M. The 2005 season is one of the best reasons why we need a new coach and direction. The 2005 defense was one of the best ISU defenses ever and we barely made it to a bowlgame. The D-line was very good, Tim D. was an absolute hammer in the middle, the corners were very good, and the safeties were always in the right position to make plays. With this good of defense why was the 2005 season not special. Every time someone brings up Danny M. and why he was let go, this is my arguement: The 2005 season could have been a very special season and at the most it was above average.

With Murph and Andy's top ten ISU kicks to the groin, I don't know if you can have a whole season, but the 2005 season would be my whole top ten.

 

[StLouisClone]

Three overtime losses that were full of dropped passes, key fumbles and missed kicks. The other two losses were close as well. Mac's teams didn't know how to pull away from the other team.

 

[CylentButDeadly]

People also forget that Illinois St. gave us one helluva time in the opener and Army very well could/should have beaten us, if not for an ill-timed penalty on their part on a 4th down play near the end of the game.

 

[Clonegrad07]

We should have won 10 games that year and been in the big 12 title game... instead, we can't kick, we can't catch, we couldn't knock easy passes down... it was a disappointment for sure.

 

[3GenClone]

The only reason I am posting this is because of the talk (again) of why ISU got rid of Dan M. The 2005 season is one of the best reasons why we need a new coach and direction. The 2005 defense was one of the best ISU defenses ever and we barely made it to a bowlgame. The D-line was very good, Tim D. was an absolute hammer in the middle, the corners were very good, and the safeties were always in the right position to make plays. With this good of defense why was the 2005 season not special. Every time someone brings up Danny M. and why he was let go, this is my arguement: The 2005 season could have been a very special season and at the most it was above average.

With Murph and Andy's top ten ISU kicks to the groin, I don't know if you can have a whole season, but the 2005 season would be my whole top ten.

I agree with you 100%. The defense was great, the offense lacked in creativity. I have never been so angry as when I would watch Cotton's offense run on 3rd and long and pass on 3rd and short - it made no sense! Skladany had great defenses that were able to come up with the big play to win games.

 

[delt4cy]

Recruiting was certainly on the decline as well. Which is absolutely mystifying considering the state of the North at the time and the ascent of our program. I am dumbfounded to this day. A golden nugget was to be siezed, unfortunately we hesitated and KU/Mizzou gladly snatched it up.

 

[Frak]

That D was good, BUT, it had very little depth. Curvey and Leaders basically played the whole game every game. The D cost us a lot of games late just because they were worn down and the offense couldn't run out the clock. Bad recruiting by McCarney on both the OL and the DL doomed that team.

 

[weR138]

The only reason I am posting this is because of the talk (again) of why ISU got rid of Dan M. The 2005 season is one of the best reasons why we need a new coach and direction. The 2005 defense was one of the best ISU defenses ever and we barely made it to a bowlgame. The D-line was very good, Tim D. was an absolute hammer in the middle, the corners were very good, and the safeties were always in the right position to make plays. With this good of defense why was the 2005 season not special. Every time someone brings up Danny M. and why he was let go, this is my arguement: The 2005 season could have been a very special season and at the most it was above average.

With Murph and Andy's top ten ISU kicks to the groin, I don't know if you can have a whole season, but the 2005 season would be my whole top ten.

I totally agree, but you're really bumming me out Mule. :sad:

 

[CylentButDeadly]

The thing that might have hurt us the most that year was not having a healthy Stevie Hicks. But yes, some of the playcalling in the 2nd half of games was just mystifying. When you have an opponent down, you have to step on their throat and end them. You can't play the field position game and expect to win.

 

[larrysarmy]

This was the begining of the end for Mac....

 

[jdoggivjc]

2005 SHOULD have been a sign of things to come in 2006. Without ever giving the results of 2005 any thought, everyone thought that the experienced offense would carry a weakened defense to an 8-win season (at least this was what the preseason picks were suggesting) because the offense had the capability of outscoring the opponents' offenses shoot-out style. What no one ever really considered was the surprise turnaround in 2004 and what was accomplished in 2005 was based almost solely on what a very short ISU defense was capable of achieving. So perhaps 2006 shouldn't have been this great shock to everyone - the offense basically played to the levels it played in 2004 and 2005, and the defense wasn't capable of bailing out the offense.

And yeah - I always did think that Skaldany did get the short end of the stick during the house clearing that was the coaching staff (although him having the secondary giving the wide receivers the cushioning they had was maddening at times)...

 

[cydsho]

Didn't we fumble the ball into the end zone twice that year, with each one being a game changer? I know one was the Baylor game which shifted momentum and the other one at Missouri? I think there might have been a 3rd but can't remember. How many times has a fumble in the end zone happened since or 10 years before that? 2005 could have been ISU's best year ever but just exposed some of our problems already pointed out.

 

[keepngoal]

My thoughts on the2005 season:

I am sad and amglad Dan is not our coach anymore, I have moved on.

-keep

 

[Al_4_State]

The 2005 was totally a product of coaching. I said it then, I'm saying it now. Schematically, we got conservative on BOTH sides of the ball, and it allowed teams to get back into the game. Those dropped balls, dropped ints, etc, etc would have been irrelevant if the coaching staff hadn't relented the pace of those games. When we opened it up, and stayed on the other team's throat, you can see what happend: A&M, OSU, KSU.

 

[CarolinaCy]

I gave Mac a pass on the 2004 season, because no one really expected much out of that team, and I felt like it was the first time one of his teams had overachieved on a season's expectations.

2005 was a whole different story. The North was really weak that year, we had the soft South schedule, Iowa game was at home.... that was a 10-win season right there.

When we missed the chance to play in the Big 12 Champ game was when I closed the book on the Dan Mac era at ISU. Everything lined up for that season, and we still didn't get it done. If he couldn't make it happen in 2005, he wasn't ever going to get there IMO.

 

[cycloneML]

I almost killed myself after the KU debacle...

 

[StLouisClone]

I almost killed myself after the KU debacle...

:wideeyed: I hope that means you were driving down the highway and the cussing that ensued after we blew the game almost caused you to drive off the road. If so, we have something in common.

 

[Haverhill]

I almost killed myself after the KU debacle...

I can honestly say that was the most disappointing Sports Day of my life. Second would have to be the year before against Missouri. Close 3rds are when the Cardinals won 104 games and lost to the Astros in the NLCS, and the ISU loss to MSU in 2000. I was still kinda young in 2000 so I didnt quite understand the extent.

 

[weR138]

I almost killed myself after the KU debacle...

Closest I've been to crying as an adult besides my grandfathers funeral, seriously.

 

[ISUonthemove]

We could have run the table that year. I'm dead serious. OT losses to NE, Mizzo and KU. All of which should have been won. And then there's Baylor at home. What the crap was that?