CYCLONE CLONE OR RHOADS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

IOWA STATE CYCLONES

Projected 2013 Conference Finish: 9th

 

CYCLONES @ A GLANCE:
Head Coach: Paul Rhodes (5th Year/ Overall record 24-27)
                  Stadium: Jack Trice Stadium (50,071) / Ames, IA


2012 Record:     6-7 (middle of the pack)
   2012 Home     3-4
   2012 Away      3-3
   vs. conference 3-6
2012 Bowl Game: Yes / Lost 31-17 to Tulsa in the Liberty Bowl
Returning Starters    9
   Offense    5
   Defense    4
Players to watch: QB Sam Richardson / DB Deon Broomfield
Key Road Games: @ OU / @ K-State
2013 vs. OU: Saturday, November 16th (Norman, OK)

Did You Know?

That an estimated 30,000 Cyclone fans traveled to Memphis to watch ISU play Tulsa in the Liberty Bowl? Kudos to the Clones fans, willing to make the 518 mile trip to represent!

Predicting Kansas to finish dead last in the conference was a no-brainer for me…but prophesying Iowa State to finish 9th was not a slam dunk. I’m not saying I couldn’t sleep over it, but the fact is, I could have just as easily picked them fourth or fifth as I did ninth. If I am major wrong about a team, this will probably be the one.

Cyclone Clone? Or Rhoads to Recognition

We may not know if a tree makes a sound when it falls in the forest if nobody is there to listen…but we now have documented proof that a college football program can make big improvements, even if nobody outside of their own circle has a clue. The fact is folks, Iowa State Cyclone football is on the rise…and the fact that you don’t know or care is probably more than fine with them. The more the Cyclones can stay off the national or even conference ‘radar’ the more likely it is that someone slips up and takes them for granted…say…like OSU did two years ago. The Cyclones have a nice template for success in place…so humor me and pretend to care for a few minutes while I pretend to know what the hell I’m talking about.

The first step too turning around a program is getting the right head coach in place, which is exactly what ISU has done in my opinion. Paul Rhoads is a very good football coach. Now that Gary Patterson is getting the national recognition he deserves at TCU, I have At Briles at Baylor as number one on my non-existent list of most underrated coaches. Not too far behind him would be Iowa State Head Coach Paul Rhoads. I’m willing to bet that seven out of ten college football fans not living in Iowa or with Big 10 connections wouldn’t know his name even if I told them his first name was Paul and his last name was similar to something you drive on. Hell, I knew his name but was still misspelling it up until about 5 minutes before I hit send.

Next, the new coach needs to change the losing culture and generate excitement and fan support…aka…win some games. ISU has done that under Rhoads. The Cyclones have been in post season bowl games three of the last four years and have won at least six games in each of the last two seasons. As evidenced by the new attendance record set in 2012, the fan base is buying into the hard-nosed, over achieving style that Rhoads and ISU bring to the field. Just the fact that 30,000 ‘children of the corn’ stalked the Cyclones to Graceland to see them play Tulsa (again) in the Liberty Bowl is still pretty a-maize-ing to me
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The next step can be tricky one…and that is the task of keeping your head coach. Ever known a member of the opposite sex who you didn’t even notice or find attractive, until they started dating someone else? Florida didn’t know or want Urban Meyer until he started winning at Bowling Green and then Utah. Some schools like the University of Tulsa, always seem to get the right guy, but can’t find a way (or won’t) to keep them. TCU was fortunate to have Patterson fall into their lap, but he seems a lifer there and they are benefiting from that. Continuity, starting at the top is essential. Yes, my book on building a successful coaching tree will be at a bookstore near you soon.

The next step and probably the most difficult, is taking the next step up the food chain. Much like kissing The OAS, success is a double edged sword. You know you got to have it, but the taste of getting it now has you wanting more and more. There comes a time (soon if not now) when you have to break out of the melting pot of mediocrity or accept the fact that the ‘melting pot’ is your ceiling. The difference between the two is easy to discern…acceptance is accompanied by the screeching sound of bandwagon breaks.

Not that I am an expert on Iowa State football, but I feel like I have seen the likes of Paul Rhoads before in Ames…he was just named Dan McCarney. After a slow start at ISU, McCarney and the Cyclones had a stretch where they won at least 7 games and played in bowl games 5 out of six seasons. With expectations high, the Clones couldn’t take the next step and the momentum that had been generated over time, quickly came to a halt. McCarney stepped down and the process for ISU started all over again.

My opinion is that ISU has the right guy, but short of .com stocks, nothing goes straight up…and we all know how that story ends. I think that this year will be a small step back for an ISU program that is otherwise on a 'Rhoads in the right' direction. For you ISU fans out there who think my prediction is off base, well, it’s happened before…I didn’t think Starbucks was a very good idea either.


Just the opinion of one mildly interested guy

The Overweight Armchair Sooner (The OAS)

Buddy Putty