Saturday, November 28, 2009
The Waiting Game
With Kansas' loss to Missouri, ISU is assured a bowl berth. It looks like either Shreveport or Houston unless a Nebraska upset over Texas occurs (Insight then). Most have all signs pointing to Shreveport. Word of mouth through a donor at the basketball game tonight says Pollard is on record as saying the INDY bowl wants TAMU not ISU. This might be a result of their strong showing against Texas. It is still up in the air, but at least it is not up in the air as to if the Cyclones will go or not. A year ago today I was not thinking of a bowl game this year, so I am not going to complain about which bowl ISU goes to or does not go to. At this point I would like to go to Houston for selfish reasons and I don't need to lose money in Shreveport at the casinos. The biggest impact of this bowl berth is the extra month of practice for the Cyclones. It will be huge for the players in the first year of new schemes. Look for them to be really prepared against whoever, whenever they play. Their opponent will be just as prepared, but it certainly will be fun to see ISU bowling around the holidays!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
How November 2006 Changed ISU Football
On November 26, 2006 it was expected ISU was going to name Brian Kelly their new head football coach. It seemed logical at the time. He would be getting a 900,000 dollar raise. He was successful at Grand Valley State and Central Michigan. The other known interviews were Jay Norvell, OC at Oklahoma, and Jim Harbaugh. Pollard came out of left field and introduced Gene Chizik as the new head football coach. Meanwhile, Brian Kelly was snatched up by Cincinatti, and Harbaugh caught on with Stanford.
Brian Kelly
Kelly has taken Cincy from 19-17 in the 3 years previous to him taking over to 30-6 in the three years since, with three games left in this season. That was quite the turnaround.
Jim Harbaugh
Harbaugh came from a program that didn't offer scholarships to guiding Stanfords football program. Their record in the 3 years prior to Harbaugh--10-24. Their record since: 15-18. Keep in mind Stanford was 1-11 the year before Harbaugh took over. He also has two victories over Top 10 opponents (at USC, vs Oregon).
Jay Norvell is still searching for a coaching job at this point.
Kelly=+11 wins and counting
Harbaugh= +5 wins and counting
Now, Gene Chizik.
In the two years before Gene got here McCarney went 11-13, including a bowl trip. That is a little better than most people think. Chizik was brought in and went 5-19 in his two years. That is a MINUS 6 win differential. What a hire.
I think people thought ISU football was in a lot worse of a place when Chizik took over. People failed to realize that they were one year removed from a bowl game.
If Pollard had gotten it right...
ISU may have been coming off a bowl trip.
People might be wanting our head coach for the right reasons.
ISU WOULDN'T have wasted the last two years.
Did Pollard get it right? (Part Two)
At the moment it looks like Pollard got this one right. Rhoads already has a +3 win differential, among the best in the nation. Another candidate, Turner Gill has cooled off at Buffalo and isn't quite the coup he was a year ago. Most importantly Rhoads looks like he wants to be here.
Looking back to November 26th, 2006 it is funny to think how much one date could have changed ISU football so much. Kelly had his bags packed and thought he had a contract in hand. Instead he shipped his bags and his coaching ability for the Big East and now appears to have first dibs on whatever coaching job he so chooses. Can you imagine what it would have been like to have Notre Dame trying to steal away our coach?!
Moral of the story:
ISU appears to have finally gotten their hands on a good coach. Does he have the ability to make them more than mediocre? We will see. Pollard put this program back two years with one decision. If it turns out he was wrong on this one, he needs to be out the door as well.
Brian Kelly
Kelly has taken Cincy from 19-17 in the 3 years previous to him taking over to 30-6 in the three years since, with three games left in this season. That was quite the turnaround.
Jim Harbaugh
Harbaugh came from a program that didn't offer scholarships to guiding Stanfords football program. Their record in the 3 years prior to Harbaugh--10-24. Their record since: 15-18. Keep in mind Stanford was 1-11 the year before Harbaugh took over. He also has two victories over Top 10 opponents (at USC, vs Oregon).
Jay Norvell is still searching for a coaching job at this point.
Kelly=+11 wins and counting
Harbaugh= +5 wins and counting
Now, Gene Chizik.
In the two years before Gene got here McCarney went 11-13, including a bowl trip. That is a little better than most people think. Chizik was brought in and went 5-19 in his two years. That is a MINUS 6 win differential. What a hire.
I think people thought ISU football was in a lot worse of a place when Chizik took over. People failed to realize that they were one year removed from a bowl game.
If Pollard had gotten it right...
ISU may have been coming off a bowl trip.
People might be wanting our head coach for the right reasons.
ISU WOULDN'T have wasted the last two years.
Did Pollard get it right? (Part Two)
At the moment it looks like Pollard got this one right. Rhoads already has a +3 win differential, among the best in the nation. Another candidate, Turner Gill has cooled off at Buffalo and isn't quite the coup he was a year ago. Most importantly Rhoads looks like he wants to be here.
Looking back to November 26th, 2006 it is funny to think how much one date could have changed ISU football so much. Kelly had his bags packed and thought he had a contract in hand. Instead he shipped his bags and his coaching ability for the Big East and now appears to have first dibs on whatever coaching job he so chooses. Can you imagine what it would have been like to have Notre Dame trying to steal away our coach?!
Moral of the story:
ISU appears to have finally gotten their hands on a good coach. Does he have the ability to make them more than mediocre? We will see. Pollard put this program back two years with one decision. If it turns out he was wrong on this one, he needs to be out the door as well.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Cyclone Football
Cyclone Football
A lot has happened since the last time I posted about ISU football. ISU pulled off their first win in Lincoln since 1977 and the Cyclones got to within one game of bowl eligibility! I would like to take a moment to recap what I saw the last couple of weeks and take a look ahead at what might happen the rest of the season.
The Past:
ISU made great strides the last several weeks ending three streaks: Conference losing streak, conference road losing streak and losing streak at Nebraska. Paul Rhoads has released several demons surrounding ISU football so far. With one more win he will end a streak of losing seasons dating back to 2005. ISU’s wins against Baylor and Nebraska proved they are relevant in the North once again, although that is not saying a whole lot. Considering ISU played without their top two offensive players made it all the more impressive. They players are buying into Rhoads’ system and it seems to be working. What I also learned was ISU has a long way to go, which is about as obvious as Charles Barkley’s gambling problem. The Cyclones going to a bowl game was a long shot before the season and it looks like a real possibility now. The Cyclones are two plays away from leading the Big XII North. It will be interesting to see if they continue to play at a high, by their standards, level of play the rest of the season. It starts with a ranked Oklahoma State squad.
Present:
Iowa State gets a chance to play on ABC, although its regional coverage, against a ranked opponent at home. Can Rhoads exercise another demon? It will be easier with the return of Arnaud, Stephens and a healthy Robinson. This game really comes down to the defense. They are going to have to at least slow down the OSU offense. If they can play opportunistic defense and be plus two in turnover margin they should be in good position. If not, they will be in trouble. It was very surprising to me that ISU was only a 7.5 underdog. To be honest, I am picking OSU to cover in my spread pool. This would be another great win for Paul Rhoads and could keep the momentum rolling and keep them in position for the Big XII North title. Honestly, I don’t think it is going to happen, but I am certainly hoping for it.
Future:
Looking into my crystal ball I see the Cyclones finishing at 6-6 with a big losses to Oklahoma State and Missouri and a narrow victory over Colorado. That should get them into a bowl game especially if Kansas State fails to get to 7 wins, which they need to become bowl, eligible. Six wins could put them anywhere from the Independence or Texas bowl to the Humanitarian or New Mexico Bowl. None of those sound to appealing, but to think the Cyclones started the season on a ten game losing streak, it would be quite the feat. That is all for right now…Go Cyclones!
A lot has happened since the last time I posted about ISU football. ISU pulled off their first win in Lincoln since 1977 and the Cyclones got to within one game of bowl eligibility! I would like to take a moment to recap what I saw the last couple of weeks and take a look ahead at what might happen the rest of the season.
The Past:
ISU made great strides the last several weeks ending three streaks: Conference losing streak, conference road losing streak and losing streak at Nebraska. Paul Rhoads has released several demons surrounding ISU football so far. With one more win he will end a streak of losing seasons dating back to 2005. ISU’s wins against Baylor and Nebraska proved they are relevant in the North once again, although that is not saying a whole lot. Considering ISU played without their top two offensive players made it all the more impressive. They players are buying into Rhoads’ system and it seems to be working. What I also learned was ISU has a long way to go, which is about as obvious as Charles Barkley’s gambling problem. The Cyclones going to a bowl game was a long shot before the season and it looks like a real possibility now. The Cyclones are two plays away from leading the Big XII North. It will be interesting to see if they continue to play at a high, by their standards, level of play the rest of the season. It starts with a ranked Oklahoma State squad.
Present:
Iowa State gets a chance to play on ABC, although its regional coverage, against a ranked opponent at home. Can Rhoads exercise another demon? It will be easier with the return of Arnaud, Stephens and a healthy Robinson. This game really comes down to the defense. They are going to have to at least slow down the OSU offense. If they can play opportunistic defense and be plus two in turnover margin they should be in good position. If not, they will be in trouble. It was very surprising to me that ISU was only a 7.5 underdog. To be honest, I am picking OSU to cover in my spread pool. This would be another great win for Paul Rhoads and could keep the momentum rolling and keep them in position for the Big XII North title. Honestly, I don’t think it is going to happen, but I am certainly hoping for it.
Future:
Looking into my crystal ball I see the Cyclones finishing at 6-6 with a big losses to Oklahoma State and Missouri and a narrow victory over Colorado. That should get them into a bowl game especially if Kansas State fails to get to 7 wins, which they need to become bowl, eligible. Six wins could put them anywhere from the Independence or Texas bowl to the Humanitarian or New Mexico Bowl. None of those sound to appealing, but to think the Cyclones started the season on a ten game losing streak, it would be quite the feat. That is all for right now…Go Cyclones!
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