Game by Game Predictions

[chuckd4735]

The good thing is, I feel like ISU, KSU, Baylor, Tech and TCU are all going to finish 5th - 9th in the Big 12, and are going to have similar records. Of the 4 other teams, ISU plays 3 of them at home.

I wont get too detailed, but this is what I think will happen...

Tulsa- W
@Iowa- L
W Ill.- W
Tech- W
@TCU- L
KSU- W
@OSU- L
Tarp- W
OU- L
@Texas- L
@KU- W (This game scares the absolute **** out of me)
WV- L

6-6 (4-5)

 

[Jambalaya]

It looks tough on paper in August but a lot can change between now and the end of November. I would be willing to bet that TCU, Oklahoma St and K-St won't be as good as their preseason rankings by the end of the year.

whatever. Iowa's schedule is HORRIBLE and their home schedule is atrocious

ISU is like their toughest game

 

[Jambalaya]

Iowa State has a lot of toss up games this year, you'll win 5 to 7.


Tulsa - W

@ Iowa - L

Western Ill - W

TT - W

@TCU - L

Kansas St - W
@ OSU - L

Baylor - W

Oklahoma - L

@ Texas - L

@Kanas - L

West Virginia - W

Thanks I guess. West Virginia, who just hung 70 points on Clemson last January--is our toughest game, and would smoke Iowa

 

[hawkeyescott]

whatever. Iowa's schedule is HORRIBLE and their home schedule is atrocious

ISU is like their toughest game

Since I can't seem to find it maybe you can show me where I said Iowa had a tougher schedule?

But since you brought it up, Nebraska is Iowa's toughest home game this year not ISU.

 

[isuno1fan]

I honestly think the biggest letdown will be at KU. I see us losing that game.

To offset it, we will beat WV or OU at home IMO.

 

[HawkAssassin]

Thanks I guess. West Virginia, who just hung 70 points on Clemson last January--is our toughest game, and would smoke Iowa

I like how you bring up Iowa when no one was even talking about them.

 

[Judoka]

I am holding out on predicting the season until after Tulsa. To many question marks about our offense right now.

 

[Rods79]

I honestly think the biggest letdown will be at KU. I see us losing that game.

To offset it, we will beat WV or OU at home IMO.

I too am worried about that KU game...not because they are anywhere near good...but because they are circling us as their best chance for a Big 12 win and will play that game to beat anyone. We almost saw that last year. It is late in the season, they'll have time to "gel" (as much as a horrible KU team can under a poor coach), it is at their house, last game at home, senior night. They may be sitting at 3-7 (0-7) at that point. This record may already "exceed" their season expectations, but you know they'll want at least one Big 12 win to seal it up. Honestly having them knock off Baylor or Texas Tech in one of the weeks prior to our game would make me feel a whole lot better about this one.

Of all games (aside from maybe Tulsa or Western Illinois), this is the one I really want the team to show domination.

 

[EYEoftheSTORM]

I do not like the KU game either. I think we will feel the same going into this game as we did going into the 2010 Colorado debacle... I just hope it is not the same result.

 

[dualthreat]

The expectation should be to at least finish with a winning record. That means 7 wins with a bowl game. 7-5 and lose a bowl or 6-6 and win the bowl.. I'd say is the minimum for a successful season.

 

[bosco]

Since I can't seem to find it maybe you can show me where I said Iowa had a tougher schedule?

But since you brought it up, Nebraska is Iowa's toughest home game this year not ISU.

Toughest to watch maybe.

 

[twojman]

I am similar to a few others on here. My sig has a link to my prediction. I have ISU at 8-4 facing Illinois in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Funny thing, Andrew Logue from the Des Moines Regsiter picked his bowl game and has the exact same game and matchup as me.

 

[clonedude]

I don't care how we get there, but I think the fans expectations should be to at least go 7-5. Rhoads isn't new to the program any longer. He can't really say he hasn't had time to start turning things around and blaming past futility any longer. This is 100% his program now IMO.

And to those who say... "Yeah, but with this schedule, 5 or 6 wins would be a fantastic season".... I have to disagree. Our schedule is going to be this tough every single year now. We are in the 2nd toughest, if not the toughest, conference in the country AND we play everyone in our conference. It's never going to get any easier IMO.

And I don't think that Rhoads is of the opinion that 5 or 6 wins is good enough for this program either, as he shouldn't. Are we going to compete in this conference, or are we going to just be satisfied with winning a few Big 12 games every year and that's it?

If I had to venture a guess... I'd go with wins against Tulsa, Western Illinois, TT, Baylor, KSU, and KU. That gives us 6 wins there, and then I'm predicting one more win that will most likely come against either Iowa, TCU, OSU, or WV IMO to get us to 7-5.

 

[cytown]

I don't care how we get there, but I think the fans expectations should be to at least go 7-5.

Really? 7 win regular season minimum should be expectation? Have fun with that - your gonna be ****** off more often than not.

 

[clonedude]

Really? 7 win regular season minimum should be expectation? Have fun with that - your gonna be ****** off more often than not.

And you could very well be correct, but that doesn't mean we should expect to win more games than we lose every year.

Fans are buying tickets at record levels. Why is this? I think it's because the expectations for this program are rising and people want to be here to witness the success in person. I don't think people buy tickets saying to themselves... "I just hope we can win 5 games this year... that would be great!".

Do people really want to believe that ISU will just always be one of the bottom feeders and doormats of the Big 12 every year... winning only 2 or 3 conference games... and occasionally pulling off an upset?

I will maintain, that no matter how difficult our schedule is year in and year out, fans will expect us to do better than .500 overall, and a losing record in the conference. 5 or 6 wins every year won't be enough to keep ticket sales going IMO. It won't bowl in the SEZ.

College football, and all college athletics, has become a huge business. You don't pay HUGE coaching salaries and do major facility upgrades with programs that don't win more games than they lose IMO. ISU has been able to sell "hope" to it's fans for quite a while now, but I'm just not sure how long that will be the case?

Without the OSU win last year, I think ticket sales would have suffered this season. First of all because without that win, we wouldn't have gone to a bowl, but also because that win gave our fans a small glimpse of what they are capable of doing. They want to be there in the seats if something like that happens again this year. Without that one win, I think ticket sales might have really stagnated this season.

That's how much of a fine line there is between success and failure. ISU is straddling that fine line every single year right now. Maybe we always will be as you say? And maybe that's the best we can hope for? But I think deep down the fans believe, and Rhoads too, that ISU can maybe start winning 7 or 8 games a year instead of 5 or 6? Because if we can do that, it just might be the difference between having a succesful football program and one on the decline IMO.

 

[CynadoAlley]

Tulsa W
at Iowa L
Western Illinois W
Texas Tech W
at TCU L
Kansas State W
at Oky Lite L
Baylor W
Oklahoma L
at Texas L
at Kansas W
West Virginia L

There are so many games on this schedule that could go either way. My biggest two that I wasn't sure about are Iowa and West Virginia. Either of those I feel could go either way. Iowa because they aren't nearly as talented as teams of the past, I just don't have a good feeling about this game. (More than likely since it is at Iowa.) And West Virginia could go either way as the atmosphere in Jack Trice is going to be electric. I just can't "expect" us to make another upset like last years big win. Prove me wrong Cyclones!

 

[huntt26]

My random picks without scores (just winging it, no science, just random thoughts)

Tulsa, L - come out flat like last year but Tulsa > UNI

@Iowa, L - Iowa stomps us at home, fan base getting upset

Western Illinois, W - Blowout win for ISU

Texas Tech, W - ISU wins close game in shootout

*@TCU, W - Defensive struggle, ISU wins, fanbase coming back

*Kansas State, W We finally get em in front of a packed Jack Trice

*@Oklahoma State, L - After 4 big wins, OK state gets revenge and wins by 20+

Baylor, W Baylor will be worse than expected, ISU wins easily

*Oklahoma, W The upset special of the year, ISU plays lights out and flat out wins the game. Ames burns to the ground in celebration

*@Texas, L Texas is too good

@Kansas, L Kansas should have gotten us last year, they pull it out late and we're all sad and stuff

*West Virginia, L Black Friday doesn't look good, Cyclones get blown out Utah style

Regular season: 6-6
Big 12: 5-4

Bowl - Texas Bowl vs. Northwestern

W - Iowa State caps off a roller coaster season with a win over Big 10 foe.

7-6 final record

 

[EYEoftheSTORM]

My random picks without scores (just winging it, no science, just random thoughts)

Tulsa, L - come out flat like last year but Tulsa > UNI

@Iowa, L - Iowa stomps us at home, fan base getting upset

Western Illinois, W - Blowout win for ISU

Texas Tech, W - ISU wins close game in shootout

*@TCU, W - Defensive struggle, ISU wins, fanbase coming back

*Kansas State, W We finally get em in front of a packed Jack Trice

*@Oklahoma State, L - After 4 big wins, OK state gets revenge and wins by 20+

Baylor, W Baylor will be worse than expected, ISU wins easily

*Oklahoma, W The upset special of the year, ISU plays lights out and flat out wins the game. Ames burns to the ground in celebration

*@Texas, L Texas is too good

@Kansas, L Kansas should have gotten us last year, they pull it out late and we're all sad and stuff

*West Virginia, L Black Friday doesn't look good, Cyclones get blown out Utah style

Regular season: 6-6
Big 12: 5-4

Bowl - Texas Bowl vs. Northwestern

W - Iowa State caps off a roller coaster season with a win over Big 10 foe.

7-6 final record

With your predictions I do not know whether to be glad that we made it to a bowl and won or upset that we lost our opener to a non BCS opponent... I would find it really hard to rattle off 4 straight wins after losing the two openers as well. But hey! its your prediction and you can pick however you would like...

 

[CyBroncos]

Tulsa - W 28-20
Iowa - W 20-17
Western Illinois - W 38-10
Texas Tech - W 35-28
TCU - L 31-24
K-State - W - 27-24
Okie State - L 28-17
Baylor - W 28-27
OU - L 31-17
Texas - L 20-10
Kansas - W 17-13
West Virginia - L 35-24

Bowl breakdown
BCS - OU, West Virginia
Cotton - Texas
Alamo - OSU or TCU
BWW - OSU or TCU
Holiday- ISU
Texas- Baylor
Pinstripe - K-State

 

[CycloneNation18]

Tulsa- Tulsa makes things interesting for about 3 quarters as Cody Green plays well. However Jantz takes over in the fourth quarter, and Green makes two costly errors as ISU wins 34-24. 1-0

@Iowa- AIRBHG strikes again as Iowa loses yet another running back. Jantz throws for 250 yards and 3 TDs and Johnson, White, and Woody combine for 200 yards on the ground. ISU wins their first game in Iowa City since Seneca Wallace was QB, 38-24. 2-0

Western Illinois- Hopefully the subs will be in by the fourth quarter as we dominate an overmatched WIU team 45-3. 3-0

Texas Tech- Tech will be ready to go on offense, and this game becomes a shootout just like the game two years ago in Ames. The difference in the game is that Tech's defense still will not figure out the zone-read game. Both Johnson and White go over 100 yards and Iowa State wins 45-34. 4-0(1-0)

@ #15 TCU- In their first Big 12 home game, TCU comes out jacked up and hits ISU right in the mouth from the get-go. We fight back and make it interesting, but TCU has too many weapons. TCU wins 42-24. 4-1(1-1)

#19 Kansas State- CPR finally beats Snyder at his own game as Jantz throws and runs all over K-State's D. Our D shuts down Klein's running and force him into a couple of turnovers passing. 34-20. 5-1(2-1), 4 votes in AP Top 25 poll.

at #17 Oklahoma State- The Cowboys remember what happened a year ago and come in focused. Lunt has a breakout game as Randle and Smith run all over our D. Jantz struggles with an underrated Okie St. D. The Cowboys roll 41-21. 5-2(2-2)

Baylor- Baylor still has weapons on offense so they will definitely put up points. The problem is their D is so atrocious that Jantz and Co. carve them up. Iowa State rolls in this one to become bowl-eligible. 44-14. 6-2(3-2) 7 votes received.

#2 Oklahoma- We push Oklahoma to the absolute limit as we force 4 turnovers and push this one to overtime. Oklahoma's talent is too much in overtime as they score, and Jantz just misses a wide open Lenz in the endzone. We fall short in a heartbreaker. 38-31 in OT. 6-3(3-3) 4 votes received.

at #14 Texas- As lovely as it would be to duplicate what we did a couple of years ago against Texas, Garrett Gilbert is at SMU, Greg Davis is now a Hawkeye offensive coordinator, and Mack Brown will have Texas ready. Texas' own three headed monster at RB dominates as their D forces 4 turnovers. 34-13 Texas. 6-4(3-4)

at Kansas- Big trap game for us as Crist actually shows up to play on their Senior Day. It's an emotional game all the way, but Jantz leads a touchdown drive and finds Horne for the game-winner. We escape 24-23. 7-4(4-4)

#1 West Virginia- It's deja vu for West Virginia as Paul Rhoads gets them again two games away from a national championship. JTS is rocking throughout as we pull off our trademark upset and our first ever win against a #1 team beating them in double overtime, 40-34. 8-4(5-4). 32 votes received in top 25 poll.

Bowl Game- Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl vs. Nebraska(8-4)- After another disappointing season for Nebraska, they come out flat as Iowa State comes out motivated. Jantz throws 4 TDs and Iowa State caps off its best season since 2000 with a 35-27 win to finish 9-4.

Miscellaneous- Jantz starts the whole season and throws for 3,100 yards, 25 TDs and only 9 INTs.
Johnson goes for over 1000 yards and 10 TDs, White 800 yards and 2 TDs, Woody 450 yards and 8 TDs
Lenz leads ISU in receiving with 950 yards and 7 TDs.
Knott, Klein, and Van Der Kamp are 1st team All Big 12. Knott and Klein each have 120 tackles. Van Der Kamp is top 10 in the country in punting average.
Johnson is 2nd team All-Big 12
Burris, Farniok, and Lenz are honorable mentions
We finish ranked #24 in the AP poll, #22 in the Coaches poll.
Iowa finishes 5-7 and are down to their 6th string RB by the end of the season.