Quarterback Position Reopens

clonedude

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2006
33,045
29,296
113
Offensively, the QB position means almost EVERYTHING to the team. If you don't have one, you are going to suck offensively.... pretty plain and simple. And if you have a great one, it can hide nearly all of your other deficiencies on offense and you can still be good.

Look at Seneca Wallace. Look at Sage Rosenfels. Heck, how about Cam Newton at Auburn. Or Collin Klein at KSU. If we switch QBs today with KSU before the game, then ISU wins by more than 3 TDs easily IMO.

I don't really blame Barnett though. He's giving it his all, but he's just not that good. Kinda like the replacement officials in the NFL. They were trying their hardest, but their hardest just stunk. JB is the same way. He just can't throw the ball to save his life.

On the last 2 fourth down efforts, JB throws the ball in the dirt where NOBODY has a shot at even making a play on it. Like the announcer said, "I don't think Jared Barnett understands what 4th down means?". But like I said, I think JB was really trying his best to complete a pass on those 4th downs, he just can't throw the ball. But I'd much rather have him at least throw it up to someone to make a play on it.

We don't even have a halfway decent QB in JB or SJ right now. So, other than giving Richardson a shot, I don't know what the answer is? Barnett is still the better option over SJ right now just because he gives us a shot to win because he doesn't turn it over 4 times a game like SJ, but we also can't win a game in the end like today when we need to either.

When we got the ball on our last possession, I gave us about a 1% chance of getting a TD on that drive. Hard to believe we couldn't even manage to get even one 1st down though when KSU was in prevent defense. That's just pathetic.

But the fact remains... without a good QB, it's nearly impossible to be a good team. And with a great QB, you can win a National Championship like Auburn did.
 

TXCyclones

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Sep 13, 2011
11,413
12,625
113
TX
Guys. Seriously. That wasn't a bad game. Especially against a #6 and missing a good running back to injury. Yes, there were some mistakes but we were in the game and had some good drives. They were on LENTZ all day and a lot if receivers dropped catchable balls. We wouldn't have been in the same situation with Jantz, I'm sorry. Cyclones played well today. I'm still proud. And we will win against OSU NEXT WEEKEND! I'll be there!
 

Cyclonic1

Well-Known Member
Aug 7, 2012
1,628
171
63
Sun City, AZ
I think we all agree that our choices are not ideal. I'm hopeful that the -13% difference in accuracy will even out over the course of the season. That is assuming JB doesn't have another awful accuracy game next week and gets pulled for Jantz. It will maybe be time to hit the panic button for the season if that does happen.

We should never be in that position this season - if JB can't hit anything next week then we MUST try SR or GR. Any QB getting a scholly should be able to do better than we saw today. If not then chase them off and start over recruiting quality QB's
T Hodge, the commit from CA, was supposed to be visiting during the Tech game - I would love to know his thoughts after that game.
 
Last edited:

cyatheart

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Nov 18, 2008
9,462
6,969
113
49
The problem is they both suck. Niether of them really give us an advantage. Anyone thinking either of them is mediocre is kidding themselves, niether of them are D1 starting QBs. They just aren't.

Props to the D. If our O was as good as our D, we would be undefeated and ranked 12 in the next poll.

This. Both are bad. Not even close to average. And this is why PR was reluctant to make the move, casue now you really can't go back to Jantz. Barnett is severly limited and you can see he really can't make all the throws. He made a couple bad reads on the zone read, just like Steele. It was a miracle one of the 4 or 5 tipped passes was not intercepted.

Really proud of our guys again, played hard and physical. Better team won, and the difference was the QB position. Other than than that ISU was equal to K State everywhere else.

If you hvae K State in, you hold them to 27 points, you gotta win the game, same with OU last year, same with the Tech game. It just takes 30 points in this league and right now ISU doesn't have a QB capable of doing that.

Going to be a lot of games like this. Defense will keep us in games and somehow ISU has to figure out a way to get more points on the board. I don't know what the answer is. Barnett is so limited I am not sure what more could be done. Jantz just turns it over. Going to be hard with QB play like this. Defense was not perfect today, but they were plenty good enough to win the game. K State has a great offense, holding them to 27 is really good.

Just bums me out, waited a long time to see a defense like this, and it is going to waste because we don't have anyone on campus that can throw a football. Sad.
 

cycloneace55

Active Member
Nov 22, 2006
600
29
28
Gardena, CA
Steel Jantz could have a 90% accuracy rate, but he would still throw interceptions at the worst possible times as well as fumble the ball away. Accuracy is great, but I'd rather have a QB who takes care of the ball and doesn't knock us out of games with numerous turnovers. I also don't think it is a fair representation to compare Jantz's stats from the non-conference schedule to JB's stats against Big 12 teams. I am pretty sure that none of Tech, TCU, nor purple kansas are shaking in their boots at the thought of playing such defenses as Tulsa, Iowa, and Western Illinois.

The zone read is difficult to run if the defense is focusing on that aspect of the offense and our playcaller does not mix things up to make them pay for it. We scored a TD with an impressive drive when the defense wasn't sure when the zone read was coming.

I agree that QB play needs to improve for us and hopefully JB will improve quickly. With that said, I am still sticking with Barnett even though his accuracy (mostly against Big 12 D's) is slightly lower than Jantz's (against mostly non-Big 12 D's).

I will acknowledge the difference in caliber of the defenses they have faced in their careers but today was the most un-clutch QB performance I have seen from a Cyclone QB. This includes the teams form the early 90's when I was at ISU. (Not that they had a lot of opportunities to be clutch back then.) I understand Jantz's turnover problems but given the situation, I.E. the game was already lost when the Cyclones got the ball at their 3 with 2 min left to go and Barnett had already badly missed... BADLY on some very make-able throws on the previous drive. There is a time when you have to take risks and Barnett seems to be afraid to do so. Had he thrown a INT going deep on that last drive I would be less irritated by that then the bounce passes he did throw. We can blame whoever we want (play caller, WRs, O line, officials) but when it comes down to it the QB is responsible for the play of the offense. Other then the center he touches the ball on every play. Is 100% the blame Barnett's, no but there comes a time to try and make a play, Do I think Jantz is the answer? No but Barnett needs to be held just as accountable for his performance even if its for different reasons. We can't leave the D hanging out like this week in and week out. 40 minutes on the field is just ridiculous.
 

2009ChEClone

Member
Oct 13, 2012
235
2
18
I don't remember JB missing A LOT of open receivers. I remember shontrelle at the end of the game. I didn't see much out of the WRs. A lot of balls of the hands that hit the ground. I wish we had a play where we faked that quick pass that got knocked down so many times. I don't think we had enough deep balls to try to stretch the d. And would have like to see playaction on the 1st down hurry up instead of zone read to go to 2nd and 10. Hard for any QB to do well in 2nd and 3rd and long
 

CyMyGuy

Member
Sep 7, 2012
152
16
18
St. Paul, MN
This is unbelievably over-reactive.. The kid plays with more leadership and heart than Jantz. Yes, he missed some plays and seemed rushed at the end but he still kept Iowa State in this football game with possibly the best team in this conference.. I'd be hesitant too if the D-Linemen were knocking down every other pass I attempted.. We need help on the line and a more steady run game.. To be in the game against a top 5 team which held the ball over 40 minutes to our sub-20, it's phenomenal that it was truly a game to the end. Whether you like it or not, Barnett has proven to give Iowa State a much better chance in conference play than Jantz. Period.
 

jaretac

Well-Known Member
Nov 26, 2006
7,642
337
83
Frigidaire
Just a comparison for 2012 to date (today's game not included)

PASSING GP-GS Effic Cmp-Att-Int Pct Yards TD Long Avg/G
Jantz, Steele 5-4 127.3 85-127-7 66.9 804 7 43 160.8
Barnett, Jared 3-2 112.832-66-3483805 74 71.3

What jumps out to me is 5 TD to 3 INT's compared to 7 and 7 for Jantz. You also have to consider the competition as Jantz has played primarily in the non-conference schedule and Barnett during conference play..

These are the numbers against Big 12 competition for the two QB's over the past two years.

PASSINGGP-GS EfficCmp-Att-Int PctYardsTDLongAvg/G
Jantz, Steele 7-5.9772-142-6.51729556104.14
Barnett, Jared 9-7108.6136-262-8.5215271174169.67
 
  • Like
Reactions: besserheimerphat

jbindm

Well-Known Member
Dec 2, 2010
13,073
7,605
113
Des Moines
Who plays at QB is a moot point as long as the running game is AWOL. The struggles on offense go way beyond the QB position.
 
Oct 10, 2012
619
10
18
39
Des Moines
Sucks that JB found a way to play worse than Jantz

Tough loss, average not even good QB play and this team is 6-0 and would have hung 50 on Iowa.

Its sad that K State (generally speaking the most similar program in college football to ISU) probably has at least 5 guys better at QB than ours (Klien and his backups +Tannehill's bro at TE and ex BC quarterback Tuggle at LB.)

Everyone saw why Jantz was allowed to suck the TTU game away today I guess.

Got to find someone who has finished their degree with a year of eligibility left next season pronto. Hard to think of names but the Oregon kid who lost the battle to Mariota (Bennett I think) would be perfect. Tommy Rees, Case McCoy, someone like that.
 

sfcyclonefan

Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Dec 4, 2010
119
1
18
San Francisco
I think the problem here is that most everyone is right.

We can't really separate the different parts of the offense. And whether the running game suffered from the passing game or the other way around we can't know.

I will say that both of our QBs suffer from being inaccurate. It's not just completion percentage and receiver drops, it's where the ball is delivered on the routes. It appears that often you see receivers having to reach out of their frame to catch the ball. The tougher the catch the more it exposes out average receivers.

I think we are probably stuck for the season because our other qbs might be more accurate but are probably not ready to run the offense completely yet.
 

ISUAgronomist

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2009
26,889
8,735
113
On the farm, IA
Who plays at QB is a moot point as long as the running game is AWOL. The struggles on offense go way beyond the QB position.

Running game AWOL is a symptom of an inept passing game. Defenses can take the run game away since we can't pass effectively all game when forced. Sure we can put a drive or two together with passing but then go anemic (3 and out) the next two drives.

Yes, the issues go past the QB spot but it is also not immune to criticism.

EXECUTION.
 

BuffettClone

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
2,633
1,925
113
Barnett is very inconsistent, threw the INT in the end zone which should have been at least 3 points and couldn't complete a pass when the game was on the line...I'd be ok with a reopening of QB competition if we had better options. I like Richardson but putting him in would be like giving up on the season halfway through due to his complete lack of experience
 

twojman

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2006
7,765
3,948
113
Clive
Teams stacking the box against ISU is going to happen the rest of the year, get used to it.

Barnett does not have the interceptions Jantz does because the other team drops them. Last week and this week I thought both of his first passes were going to be picked off. He throws more bounce passes then many point guards we have had in Ames. How many passes were swatted by d-lineman today, 3?

Jantz is not the answer, Barnett is not the answer. I guess we have to hope Richardson can get it done. I am on record that Richardson starts at KU and gets the win. (from my season preview, dig through the links below)

For those that think Barnett was good last week, check out his completion %. He was not good. He throws a bad ball and it is almost always never on target. His receivers have made some good catches, one with his legs last week as well as the high passes and the passes behind the receivers.
He is a below average QB. An average QB would have won today as well as last year at K-State and at OU.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ISUAgronomist

TXCyclones

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Sep 13, 2011
11,413
12,625
113
TX
To quote my wife, "Calm the **** down!" We lost by 6 to a number 6 ranked team with an NFL ready QB. SJ is CLEARLY not the answer. JB gives us a chance. Improvement will come with experience. It's too bad we couldn't have had JB in the early games in the season to get him more experience prior to where we are now.
 

cyatheart

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Nov 18, 2008
9,462
6,969
113
49
Teams stacking the box against ISU is going to happen the rest of the year, get used to it.

Barnett does not have the interceptions Jantz does because the other team drops them. Last week and this week I thought both of his first passes were going to be picked off. He throws more bounce passes then many point guards we have had in Ames. How many passes were swatted by d-lineman today, 3?

Jantz is not the answer, Barnett is not the answer. I guess we have to hope Richardson can get it done. I am on record that Richardson starts at KU and gets the win. (from my season preview, dig through the links below)

For those that think Barnett was good last week, check out his completion %. He was not good. He throws a bad ball and it is almost always never on target. His receivers have made some good catches, one with his legs last week as well as the high passes and the passes behind the receivers.
He is a below average QB. An average QB would have won today as well as last year at K-State and at OU.

Yeah, at some point people are going to start intercepting some of these passes and these passes that Barnett throws over the middle. He throws so many balls that are off target and tipped it is really just a matter of time.

There isn't an answer here. Not a good one anyway.

And whoever said Barnett didn't miss open guys needs to go back and look. Ton of passes off target. Many many of them.
 

WIB

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Oct 2, 2010
2,126
2,730
113
Ames
Tiller Time!! Bet no one has heard that in 2 years. At least I'm joking, kinda.
 

Latest posts

Help Support Us

Become a patron