I am an avid Cyclone fan but I also have followed South Dakota State athletics pretty closely over the last 5 years largely cuz I went to SDSU and this is my view on this years game. SDSU will be coming into the new season having lost a ton of key players. However SDSU will be no cake walk either.
Offense:
Quarterbacks & Running Backs: They do return Ryan Berry who is average at best. SDSU majorly depends on the running game with Kyle Minnett and if that shuts down that just adds more pressure to Ryan Berry's shoulders and over the last two years of watching him play, he cannot carry that burden. SDSU averaged 5.1 yards per carry and 165 yards/game rushing last year. This will be the key to the game is shutting down the running game and put the pressure on Ryan Berry.
Wide Receivers: Jaron Harris is as good as advertised. He is about 6'1'', 200lbs and has speed to burn. His 40 yard dash last year at the junior combine was in the range of 4.4 to 4.35. He is also a very dangerous return man on kickreturns.
Offensive Line & Tight End: The offensive line has taken a major hit due to the graduation of both tackles, Mitch Erickson, who is with the Denver Broncos, and also Preston Crumly. Those two will be so tough to replace. There guards and centers are all very agile but very small ranging from 270 to 285 lbs. They also lost a major peice of the offense in tigh end Chris Wagner, whom is currently camped with the Oakland Raiders.
Defense:
Line: This is the most experience part of the whole team. They have a few guys that have started since there freshman year. The anchor of the line is Eric Schroeder. He is a 4 year starter at D tackle and he makes me nervous going up against a couple new gaurds for Iowa State because this kid is just a stud. He recorded 6.5 sacks last year out of his tacke spot. The other pash rush threat is Danny Batten. He is a junior DE who will be in his 3 year of starting. He had 4.5 sacks in 2007. They however did lose 2 of the 4 D linemen from last year.
Linebackers: This is an area of great talent but some inexperience. Middle Linebackers Justin Kubesh is graduated so he leaves a very large hole to fill.
Secondary: This is a spot where ISU should have an advantage. They lost 3 of the 4 DB's from a very good secondary squad. The main losses will be the two corners, Brock Gentile (3 interceptions) and Tyler Koch (7 interceptions).
Special Teams: The only thing about special teams is they lost 4 year starter in kicker Parker Douglas. He is the leading all time kicker in SDSU history in numerous categories. Thats hard to believe because Adam Vinatieri went to SDSU also but its very true.
Overall I think this will be a fun game and a very exciting one but in the end I think SDSU has lost too many playmakers and ISU will win by 17 points. Score prediction 34-17 ISU.
Offense:
Quarterbacks & Running Backs: They do return Ryan Berry who is average at best. SDSU majorly depends on the running game with Kyle Minnett and if that shuts down that just adds more pressure to Ryan Berry's shoulders and over the last two years of watching him play, he cannot carry that burden. SDSU averaged 5.1 yards per carry and 165 yards/game rushing last year. This will be the key to the game is shutting down the running game and put the pressure on Ryan Berry.
Wide Receivers: Jaron Harris is as good as advertised. He is about 6'1'', 200lbs and has speed to burn. His 40 yard dash last year at the junior combine was in the range of 4.4 to 4.35. He is also a very dangerous return man on kickreturns.
Offensive Line & Tight End: The offensive line has taken a major hit due to the graduation of both tackles, Mitch Erickson, who is with the Denver Broncos, and also Preston Crumly. Those two will be so tough to replace. There guards and centers are all very agile but very small ranging from 270 to 285 lbs. They also lost a major peice of the offense in tigh end Chris Wagner, whom is currently camped with the Oakland Raiders.
Defense:
Line: This is the most experience part of the whole team. They have a few guys that have started since there freshman year. The anchor of the line is Eric Schroeder. He is a 4 year starter at D tackle and he makes me nervous going up against a couple new gaurds for Iowa State because this kid is just a stud. He recorded 6.5 sacks last year out of his tacke spot. The other pash rush threat is Danny Batten. He is a junior DE who will be in his 3 year of starting. He had 4.5 sacks in 2007. They however did lose 2 of the 4 D linemen from last year.
Linebackers: This is an area of great talent but some inexperience. Middle Linebackers Justin Kubesh is graduated so he leaves a very large hole to fill.
Secondary: This is a spot where ISU should have an advantage. They lost 3 of the 4 DB's from a very good secondary squad. The main losses will be the two corners, Brock Gentile (3 interceptions) and Tyler Koch (7 interceptions).
Special Teams: The only thing about special teams is they lost 4 year starter in kicker Parker Douglas. He is the leading all time kicker in SDSU history in numerous categories. Thats hard to believe because Adam Vinatieri went to SDSU also but its very true.
Overall I think this will be a fun game and a very exciting one but in the end I think SDSU has lost too many playmakers and ISU will win by 17 points. Score prediction 34-17 ISU.
