Iowa State Cyclones Season Preview

Paul Rhodes is entering his third season at Ames for the Cyclones where he is 12-13 and in his two years he went bowling (7-6) in 2009. Rhodes was a former defensive coordinator at Auburn where now BCS National Championship head coach of Auburn Gene Chizik was the former head coach at Iowa State.

Since the so called trade of places, the Cyclones have been trying to hang onto a full time coach for a long tenure. During the Dan McCarney reign, ISU went 38-57 but from 2000-2005 they went to five out of six bowl games.

Yet, they still fired McCarney after going to five bowl games. He had the magician in Seneca Wallace who made several dazzling plays such as “The Run” where he scampered for a 10-yard rushing touchdown in which he actually ran for over 120 yards during the run. 

After Chizik went a miserable 5-19 in two years, things could only get better and they have. However, 12 returning starters is tied for the fewest starters returning of any Big 12 team. That is not good news by any means for Cyclone fans.

They went 5-7 last year and had an upperclassmen-laden team. Many of the backups who are starting this season are upperclassmen, but many of them are junior college transfers who do not have any or much experience playing in the Big 12.

The quarterback battle will go all the way throughout the season as there are four legit guys who stand a chance at making a few starts this season.

The backfield will star Shontrelle Johnson who was a backup last year but he certainly has the talent to be a solid performer in time. The receiving corp actually has decent depth as Darius Darks will be the go-to-guy for whoever is under center.

The offensive line will be fairly strong for Cyclone standards as left tackle Kelechi Osemele will be one of the elite tackles in not only the Big 12 but in America. Most opponents will bottle up the run by stuffing the box with eight man fronts which will force the signal caller to thread and needle and throw ill-advised passes.

The defense has and never will be able to play with its back against the wall because point blank they will be in rebuilding mode in 2011. The defense was just 93rd against the run (186 YPG) and there is not a ton of hope to improve those numbers.

A brutal Big 12 schedule that features road games in Norman, Waco, Columbia and Lubbock will be next to impossible.

The four home tilts in Jack Trice Stadium will be against Texas, Oklahoma State, A&M and Kansas. This team will not be bowling and they will do their best just to win a game or two in and out of conference in 2011 for third-year man Paul Rhodes. 

Predicted Finish: 2-10, 1-8

Predicted Bowl: None 

Predicted order of finish in Big 12: 11th