2 Wins, Really!? What was wrong with Cyclones Football 2008?

What went wrong with Cyclone Football 2008?

  • Talent

    Votes: 84 40.0%
  • Coaches

    Votes: 15 7.1%
  • Luck

    Votes: 6 2.9%
  • Play Calling

    Votes: 12 5.7%
  • Bates

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Division

    Votes: 4 1.9%
  • All of the Above

    Votes: 89 42.4%

  • Total voters
    210

Kyclone

Member
Dec 30, 2007
102
6
18
Highlands Ranch, CO
I had high hope this season because it was my last as a student season ticket holder, but wow things really took a turn for the worst. What was it that made us the worst team in the Big 12?

  • Our Talent: better scouting could fix things
  • Our Coaches: someone should be fired, not Chizik, but somebody
  • Our Luck: We could have won some of those games
  • Our play calling: Why didn't they run it up the middle at the end of the CU game?
  • Philip Bates
  • Our Division: we tried and failed in the Big 12, which was the toughest division in the country this year.

OR was it just a combination of all of the above and we need to sacrifice a virgin to the football gods over the off season.
 
  • Our Talent: better scouting could fix things-Players understanding what they are suppose to be doing will help also
  • Our Coaches: someone should be fired, not Chizik, but somebody-Is this always the answer
  • Our Luck: We could have won some of those games-You shouldnt need luck to win games
  • Our play calling: Why didn't they run it up the middle at the end of the CU game?-The offensive play calling got a lot better towards the end of the season, I cannot say the same for the D.
  • Philip Bates-Why does this matter. AA has shown he is a good QB. The 2 QB system wasnt working
  • Our Division: we tried and failed in the Big 12, which was the toughest division in the country this year.-The teams in the Big 12 North are not that great. The south is where the team are good. Why do people always use this excuse.
 
I think we will be fine, but if we finish our stadium we would have a heck of a stadium for a MAC School.

However I was thinking about the last time we had a season like this (2003) This season was hands down worse as far as a way easier schedule. Imagine if we had to play a Really Good Iowa team, @ Northern Illinois when they were decent, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, @ a top 25 Nebraska team, Top 10 K-State team, @ Mizzou, @ KU and play a pretty good Colorado team at home. The closest game we had was 28-0.

Every team from the North was very beatable this year (Even Mizzou). I guess we should be glad its not 10 years ago where K-state, CU, Nebraska were all in the top 10.
I almost wish we had our tougher schedule this year so we didn't waste it. We lost anyway.
 
Say what you want but you start as many first year players as we did, you're going to have problems. The talent is there, the coaching is there...christ, just relax.

Sumral said it best himself. Even though the wins aren't there this year, this team is closer than it has ever been.

Just be patient...
 
A question that would be easier to answer would be:

What's not wrong with ISU football.
Serious question for you. Do you honestly believe that we can never compete in the Big 12?

I ask just because we have been competitive in the past. (going .500 + is being competitive, but not dominating)
 
Serious question for you. Do you honestly believe that we can never compete in the Big 12?

I ask just because we have been competitive in the past. (going .500 + is being competitive, but not dominating)

Please, lets not start this mentally ******** BS, again.
 
The talent option is the most popular response for what is wrong with Cyclone football.

On the other hand, there have been numerous posts claiming that the recruiting has been upgraded considerably from what it was under McCarney. So if talent is what is holding the team back, is it that the recruits are young?

If McCarney was such a terrible recruiter how did he manage to win any Big 12 contests. Was it because McCarney was a better game day coach than what we have now?
 
This season was mind boggling. I think there were at least four games we lost by substantial margins while dominating the game stats. Move the goal line to the 15 and we would have won them all, in spite of a defense that couldn't stop Ames High. I don't have a clue how you coach consistency, but that was our problem. Four or five fantastic plays followed by total meltdown, especially on defense. Eliminate the blown coverages, slips, dropped balls, and we are a pretty competitive team.
 
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The talent option is the most popular response for what is wrong with Cyclone football.

The talent excuse sounds good when you look at the Big 12 and compare us to Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. The problem is that we didn't play those teams. If you compare us to the teams we did play, like K-State, Colorado, Baylor, Texas A&M, and UNLV, do they really have a huge talent advantage over us? I don't think so.
 
  • Our play calling: Why didn't they run it up the middle at the end of the CU game?
Am I the only person in the whole wide world who heard Chizik say that the reason they didn't run up the middle on that play was because CU had been blitzing up the middle all game?

So they didn't that lay. With like six seconds to play and no timeouts, it just might be a wee bit difficult to make the perfect call.

On the other hand, there have been numerous posts claiming that the recruiting has been upgraded considerably from what it was under McCarney. So if talent is what is holding the team back, is it that the recruits are young?
Or maybe it's the fact that you can't sign fifty or sixty players at once.

First, despite good recruiting, this team still has holes. They're being fixed. Second, freshmen aren't automatically all Americans right off the bat, let alone all Big XII. It takes time, coaching, experience and S&C work.

Some people seem to think that all you do is wave a magic wand, and suddenly everything is all better...
 
I hope it is talent that is the problem. That can be upgraded. If it is not so hot coaching, then we have a problem. Evden with lackluster talent, Kent State or Toledo should not have beat us last year. To have our defnse get blown out in our stadium in many games has to be somewhat associated with th coaching. The early trick plays fooled no one until the last two games. The blitzes are not disguised very well. The coverage people are hoping omeone will make a tackl. The foot slips, the turning the head the wrong way, the not recognixing the ball is coming your way, the letting the receiver run past you is plain unacceptabe. We just do not look sharp at all when you look at the overall pcture. We have slipped a ways on defense since Oklahoma beat us 17-7 last year. Will any player get post season recognition by the Big 12? Maybe not. AA may not get player of the week on offense since they might give it to Sam Bradford (only two games played).
 

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