Poll: Grade the season

[srjclone]

B.

Lost to Iowa.
Lost to TCU which would have been a win with any kind of offensive plan.
Almost lost to Drake!!
Didn't make the Big 12 Championship game.
Lost an entertaining but frustrating bowl game in which a complete lack of fundamentals lost us the game.

It was still a very good season and I'm excited to be in position to compete for a Big 12 Championship next year.

Beginning of the year, if you were told we would go 8-5 (6-3 in conf) and lose in the Alamo Bowl to a top-15 Power 5 team by 2, would you have graded that a B?

when we were 1-3, I was talking to a buddy and he was pissed off cause he thought we'd be better ,and I said "if at the beginning of the season you were to tell me, we have an 8 win season and 3 of our losses are to Iowa, TCU, and Oklahoma, I'd say that is pretty damn good season."

TCU hurts in hindsight, but the team that played that game was not the team that finished the season. We are solid, and only in a position to get better. Unfortunately, Texas is gearing back up and OU is who they are. Getting to a conf champ game is going to be a dog fight no matter how good of a team we field, but we've never been a better position for success than we are now.

 

[STATE12]

Went with a B+. TCU loss (which wasn't seen as a bad loss at the time) and close escape against Drake kept it from being A-. Making Conf Champ game would be an A. Disappointed we didn't get to see Mike Warren and Kyle Kempt most of the game against Drake in a romp.

Similar reasons why I went with a "B" grade. I know the first quarter of the season was the tough portion of the schedule, but even the win against Akron wasn't that much fun to me as we struggled mightily to find our identity on offense. Obviously the ceiling for the season felt like it was raised significantly on the second or third possession at Okie St. The Texas letdown (just being competitive would have been okay looking back), needing an improbable comeback vs K-State, and the never-to-be-mentioned-again final regular season game kept me from going higher.

I sure hope, and believe, that this program is capable of better seasons with this leadership that will give us that "A" season.

 

[ISU85]

B+

A season with a loss to the Hawks and a bowl loss can't quite be an A grade. 6 conference wins is a huge accomplishment though. I give our recruiting an A, and that bodes well for the next few seasons.

 

[madguy30]

Beginning of the year, if you were told we would go 8-5 (6-3 in conf) and lose in the Alamo Bowl to a top-15 Power 5 team by 2, would you have graded that a B?

when we were 1-3, I was talking to a buddy and he was pissed off cause he thought we'd be better ,and I said "if at the beginning of the season you were to tell me, we have an 8 win season and 3 of our losses are to Iowa, TCU, and Oklahoma, I'd say that is pretty damn good season."

TCU hurts in hindsight, but the team that played that game was not the team that finished the season. We are solid, and only in a position to get better. Unfortunately, Texas is gearing back up and OU is who they are. Getting to a conf champ game is going to be a dog fight no matter how good of a team we field, but we've never been a better position for success than we are now.

Thing with the Texas loss-it was clear they were just better and playing up to their talent, however ISU was still able to hang around and not let it get out of control.

Just one play here or there and that game changes despite ISU not being 'there' yet. Good sign for if ISU happens to get 'there'.

Also I think people are putting too much weight on the Iowa game.

 

[cycloneG]

Thing with the Texas loss-it was clear they were just better and playing up to their talent, however ISU was still able to hang around and not let it get out of control.

Just one play here or there and that game changes despite ISU not being 'there' yet. Good sign for if ISU happens to get 'there'.

Also I think people are putting too much weight on the Iowa game.

100% agree. The Iowa game has no impact on the conference race or bowl destination. Win the Iowa game this year and ISU is still finishes third in the conference and goes to the Alamo bowl. The Iowa game was meaningless.

 

[cyclones500]

Although I stand behind my B-plus grade, another notch in favor of A-minus would be first time ISU was ranked in final regular season AP poll since 1978 (dropped from top 25 after bowl loss. (2000 team was ranked in final poll).

 

[surly]

I gave ISU a B+ with a nice bowl game and win over K-State offsetting a troubling loss to rival Iowa. ISU beat pretty much everyone they should have plus WVU. A good year that could have gone A- with a bowl victory. An A only goes to 10-win teams and Cy wasn't there.

 

[CloneFan4]

A-

I don't hold the bowl loss against the program because that was KSU level screw job.

Thoroughly impressed with Campbell and the program right now. Some of you are way too spoiled.

 

[Cyclone5050]

B, B+ if we win the Alamo Bowl, A if we win the Alamo Bowl and beat the hoks. Still a decent meal, with a sub-par desert.

 

[KnappShack]

This season was a wild ride!

Cancelled game. Starting QB hurt. 2nd string QB quits the team. Poor start to the season. Lightening in a bottle with Purdy. Dominant performance against WVU. Highly questionable performances against others. Incarnate Word....oops....no Incarnate Word. Drake was almost a catastrophe...at least no one was there to see it. Competitive bowl game. Possible loss of 2 major stars. 2 time coach of the year. 8 wins through it all.

B+. More wins needed to give a higher grade.

 

[CascadeClone]

I'd say B-. Feels like this team had some wasted potential or missed opportunity, whatever you want to call it. Close losses caused by inconsistent offense, special teams hiccups.

I am one of the "CMC should hire an OC" people. I think CMC was stretched a bit thin this year, and no matter how many thumbs he tried to grow, the dike kept springing leaks.

That said, a better O-line would have plugged damn near all those holes.


ALSO SHOULD SAY-
seemed like ALL the bounces of the ball went against ISU this year. From the lightning game, to the front loaded schedule, to Kempt getting hurt, Enyi getting hurt. Sure I am missing a few too...

 

[Cyched]

I am on record of saying I thought they would make the Big12 champ game. With all the adversity at the beginning of the season and finding when to put Purdy in, I gave it a B+. Next year should be in the drivers seat for the big12 Champ game and that is my expectation.

And what will you say if we don’t make it to the CCG?

 

[SpokaneCY]

B+ - need to beat Iowa but NO bad losses even though Iowa sucks nards. TCU would have been nice but we were still figuring things out.

Also uncharacteristic miscues for bowl game. Had we won, A-.

 

[SpokaneCY]

100% agree. The Iowa game has no impact on the conference race or bowl destination. Win the Iowa game this year and ISU is still finishes third in the conference and goes to the Alamo bowl. The Iowa game was meaningless.

Beat Iowa and we're a top 20 team for most of the year. Wouldn't have made a difference in Ws and Ls but the intangible benefits were there.

 

[August]

Gave the entire season a B+. 8-5 season record is certainly something to enjoy and feel great about, but not in the A range for me, with two skilled position players who may be leaving for NFL leading the offense. The 7-2 finish with Brock is A+ with key wins over OSU, WV and KS.

 

[Cyrealist]

B+....Would have given them an A had they beaten Iowa.

I'm at a B+. A win over WSU would have made it an A-. Making the conference championship game would be an emphatic A. Honestly, I don't know whether a win over Iowa would make a difference for me.

 

[Cyrealist]

And what will you say if we don’t make it to the CCG?

ISU will NEVER be "in the driver's seat" for the championship game, though I'm optimistic we will be in one some day. It will require one of our best teams ever and great effort and execution in every game. The odds are against that, but it's more likely than any time since the end of divisions.

 

[madguy30]

ISU will NEVER be "in the driver's seat" for the championship game, though I'm optimistic we will be in one some day. It will require one of our best teams ever and great effort and execution in every game. The odds are against that, but it's more likely than any time since the end of divisions.

I don't know if ISU played a full game of good execution all season and they were close to the Big 12 champ game.

Even the WV win had the blocked FG returned for a TD.

 

[Cyrealist]

Good, not perfect. (Though that's always the target.)

 

[Jayshellberg]

I'm at a B+. A win over WSU would have made it an A-. Making the conference championship game would be an emphatic A. Honestly, I don't know whether a win over Iowa would make a difference for me.

You are probably right. My disdain for Iowa probably got the best of me there.