I think we go bowling this year...

[AllIowaTeams]

Their are only two teams on our schedule I don't think we can beat: OU and OSU.

A&M is unlikely, but I'm not sold on them. All the other teams I can easily say we can beat.

We are better at DLine, Oline, RB, LB, CB, WR
We are worse at TE, S, QB

Oline and Dline are the most important positions on the field. If you win the battle up front, you win. I think our Oline is improved, having a healthy Burris is a bigger positive than losing Lamaak is a negative. Tuftee (or Dika) is a wash with Alvarez. Dline we are no doubt better, for half the year we started UNI caliber players at DE. I think our DTs are better this year. Rump is better now, I think an improved McDonough is better than Johnson. We have more depth as well.

You know those spread recievers that always seem to be open? We finally have one of those in Aaron Horne. I think Shontrelle is better than Arob. Shontrelle is gonna have some runs were he doesn't get every yard he could (like Arob could), but he'll have some were he makes something out of nothing (something Arob couldn't).

I also think some of you are overrating some teams namely Texas, Texas Tech, and Mizzou.

I agree on the "betters" except RB. I don't see how it can possibly be said that ISU is better at RB this year before a game has taken place. Robinson is a big loss as he was a true champ for ISU the last 2 years. There is no one proven stepping in to take his place. They could very well end up being better, but at this point I don't see how it can be argued that they already are. I would also say DL is a wash at best compared to last year at this point.

 

[Yes13]

I agree on the "betters" except RB. I don't see how it can possibly be said that ISU is better at RB this year before a game has taken place. Robinson is a big loss as he was a true champ for ISU the last 2 years. There is no one proven stepping in to take his place. They could very well end up being better, but at this point I don't see how it can be argued that they already are. I would also say DL is a wash at best compared to last year at this point.

I can understand your argument for the RBs, but there is no way you can tell me the Dline is a wash. Lattimer & Maggitt are by far better than Parker and Neal.

 

[clonestar12]

I think Mizzou and Tech will be more winnable than Iowa. We haven't looked like we belonged on the same field as Iowa the last two years and they're coming in without high expectations and that usually means they're going to be good.

Disagree.....We will matchup well in the trenches this year. The hawks will be very beatable in Ames this year.

 

[clonestar12]

I cant argue the fact that Iowa has made us look BAD the last two years. Two years ago they were a BCS bowl winner, and last year if the wheels dont come off they are probably at least a 9 win team. Somehow last year they reversed their trend of getting better as the year goes on and they got worse toward the end, they did dominate MU in their bowl.

I guess my logic is that Iowa is breaking in new a new QB, Coker (sp) has had a few good games but to say that he is proven I think is a bit of a stretch, add to that they are thin/young behind him. WR everyone but McNutt that played much last year is gone. Their Defense tends to reload most years but they will be breaking in new starters across a lot of the front 4 as well as at safety. I was the first to bash Sash but that guy was always in the right place and clearly the leader of the D.

I wouldnt say that I am confident that we will beat them but I think we match up as well as we have for the past few years is all. It wont matter who they are replacing if our offense doesnt move the ball this year which we havent done when it mattered for a long time against them.

You and I must have watched a different bowl game, because the iowa team that I saw did not dominate missouri.

 

[CykoAGR]

Isnt Iowa St also breaking in a new QB and RB just like Iowa? So the points you see as weaknesses in Iowa also are the same for Iowa St correct?

You are correct, if you read the final line of my post it says that we match up better than we have in years past. If I were to breakdown the rosters it would almost definately favor Iowa except for maybe a few positions. However I feel that with the loses across the board that Iowa had from last year and that there is LESS of an advantage than in previous years.

 

[sunnysideup]

Isnt Iowa St also breaking in a new QB and RB just like Iowa? So the points you see as weaknesses in Iowa also are the same for Iowa St correct?

I agree. I understand that Iowa has some holes to fill which will bring them back down a level or two but unfortunately many of the holes they need to fill are ones we also need to fill. What makes them dangerous is the fact that their OLine is going to be a monster again which will help Vandenberg and Coker massively. The last two times we beat Iowa it was because their OLine was weak and they couldn't score points, this will not be a weak OLine year for them.

 

[Aclone]

They could very well end up being better, but at this point I don't see how it can be argued that they already are.

You mean like how last year at this time people were saying that Knott and klein were going to be better at linebacker than all of the seniors who had just graduated?

I would also say DL is a wash at best compared to last year at this point.

A year ago, Stephon Ruempolhamer and Bailey Johnson were the only DT's with experience. This year, Ruemp, Laing and McDonough all have game experience. That's "ahead" in my book, not even counting the players beyond them.

The situation is similar at DE, where a year ago Lyle had graduated, and the only players with experience returning were Parker and Neal. Again, Neal, Maggitt and Lattimer beat that number 3-2, not even considering Rony Nelson or Willie Scott (let alone David Irving). Clearly ahead of a year ago.

 

[AllIowaTeams]

You and I must have watched a different bowl game, because the iowa team that I saw did not dominate missouri.

Agreed. There were only 2 things dominant in that game. Gabbert's passing (until the infamous throw to Hyde) and Coker's running. Iowa definitely did not dominate that game.

 

[AllIowaTeams]

You mean like how last year at this time people were saying that Knott and klein were going to be better at linebacker than all of the seniors who had just graduated?

A year ago, Stephon Ruempolhamer and Bailey Johnson were the only DT's with experience. This year, Ruemp, Laing and McDonough all have game experience. That's "ahead" in my book, not even counting the players beyond them.

The situation is similar at DE, where a year ago Lyle had graduated, and the only players with experience returning were Parker and Neal. Again, Neal, Maggitt and Lattimer beat that number 3-2, not even considering Rony Nelson or Willie Scott (let alone David Irving). Clearly ahead of a year ago.

Lol, dude, I'm not saying the running game won't be good, but your statement doesn't make any sense.

You're saying the running game will be better this year because Knott and Klein were better LB's than the seniors they replaced the year before? Your argument has gapingly flawed logic.

 

[Yes13]

Lol, dude, I'm not saying the running game won't be good, but your statement doesn't make any sense.

You're saying the running game will be better this year because Knott and Klein were better LB's than the seniors they replaced the year before? Your argument has gapingly flawed logic.

I can see the similarities. Jesse Smith a smart player, but limited athletically replaced by a more talented kid in Knott. Arob a smart player, but somewhat limited replaced by a more talented kid in Shontrelle Johnson (not to mention more depth). The younger kids also showed flashes of being very good. Jake on special teams, and Shontrelle against Tech and Kansas.

 

[cayin]

Am I crazy?

Admittedly this is very very very simple logic, but here's what I'm basing this on.

First what we've heard:
-Over the course of the last 2 seasons I have heard the coaches use the term 'guys we can win with' a number of times. Most of the time the number of guys we had in our weaker positions barely covered the starters (if they were even 1 deep at each position). Now Aside from maybe the Safety position, we have enough guys we can put on the field and 'win with' from what I've heard from the coaches. WR being the only position that jumps out that doesn't have enough players that if a starter drops we have someone who is serviceable that can come in. (Kicker also, but I'm choosing to ignore that)
-Josh Lenz during a spring interview said something along the lines of how the last scrimmage before the spring game they had had about 18 explosive plays. CPR if I remember this correctly defines an explosive play as 10+ yards running or 20+ passing. As has been pointed out this is against what we could consider our strongest defense in 10 years (highlighted by what some have described as potentially the best LB corps in the league), and against a defense who knows what plays are coming. As we have seen the last 2 years our Defense has been what has won us games, and if our Offense is finally clicking along with the best Defense we've had we are in excellent shape.
-We have what i think could shake out to be the best running back group since I have followed ISU. Obviously we don't have a Troy Davis or an A-Rob, but the depth is huge, and Herman has said he will get 3 of them on the field at once because they're our best players.

Who we play (this is where I oversimplify):
-We have 4 teams on our schedule who we notched a win against last year. Obviously history isn't going to just repeat, but for the sake of argument lets say it does. Basing this on the fact that i think our team will be significantly better than last year and I question that any teams could have improved much more than what ISU will have over the course of the last year.
-From there we need only 2 more wins to make a bowl. Those wins have to come from Baylor (winnable), Uconn (Winnable), Iowa (it's at jack trice stranger things have happened in this series), A&M (probably a loss), and OSU (probably a loss), Mizzou (probably a loss but they lose an NFL QB).

It's apparent that the schedule does us few favors by having the more manageable games on the road. Most will note that it's unlikely that we will beat the longhorns again. To that I say it's just as likely that we beat K-State so those two are a wash.

We will learn a lot in the non-conference season this year. But even with a tougher schedule I think Bowling is in the cards for the 2011 Cyclones. I'd put it at probably 50-60% chance, and if the results we've seen from Rhoads coached teams is an indicator the high end is usually the outcome.

No way this defense is the best in 10 years. The 2005 defense is. They didn't have depth interior line, but Leaders and Curvey were very good. Moorehead, Berryman, Carper(and Bowen), Roberson, Dobbins, Jackson, Hicks, Parris, and Moser were all very good players at their positions. Their only problem is was they did not have an offense that could keep them off the field. They were one offensive tackle and a talented healthy backup tailback(Steive Hicks was hurt a lot that year) from 11-0.
This years defense has a long way to go to get to where the 2005 defense was. If they can, and our offense is productive, we are in for a good year.

 

[Stewo]

Here's the thing that I've learned about a Paul Rhoads coached team....

Always expect the unexpected, be prepared to watch a good coached team and no game is considered a loss until the scoreboard says so.

 

[cayin]

yeah Stewo, but his teams have done poorly in September and early October against decent teams. We lost to KSU, Iowa, and just got killed by Utah and OU. I want to see the do something against a good team early in the year.