Nov. 18
Iowa State 21 ... Missouri 16
Ryan Kock ran for a 179 yards
and touchdown runs from one and nine yards out and Todd Blythe
caught a nine-yard scoring pass as Iowa State shocked Missouri to
send head coach Dan McCarney out a winner. Missouri made a comeback
with a seven-yard Tony Temple touchdown run and moved down to the
Iowa State 11 with a chance to win, but Shawn Moorehead ended the
game with a sack of Chase Daniel. Daniel hit Martin Rucker with an
eight-yard touchdown pass on the way to a 10-0 Tiger lead before the
Cyclones went on a 21-point run.
Player of the
game ...
Iowa State RB
Ryan Kock ran for a career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns on 32
carries.
Stat Leaders: Missouri - Passing: Chase Daniel,
29-44, 310 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Tony Temple, 6-36, 1 TD Receiving: Tommy
Saunders, 7-72
Iowa State - Passing: Bret Meyer, 15-27, 153
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ryan Kock, 32-179, 2 TDs Receiving: Todd
Blythe, 4-48, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Where was this offensive line all year? The Cyclones struggled all
season long to move the ball on the ground, and then it rolled over
Missouri with an inspired effort. In the last game of Dan McCarney’s
tenure, the team played at a level it hadn’t been at all season long
on both sides of the ball. With a ground game, the pressure was off
QB Bret Meyer to carry the offense, and it showed. It’s a shame it
couldn’t happen sooner.
|
2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
8-4
2005 Record:
4-8
Preview 2005 predicted wins |
|
8/31 |
Toledo
W 45-43 3OT |
| 9/9 |
UNLV
W 16-10 |
| 9/16 |
at Iowa L 27-17 |
| 9/23 |
at Texas L 37-14 |
|
9/30 |
Northern Iowa
W 28-27 |
| 10/7 |
Nebraska
L 28-14 |
| 10/14 |
at Oklahoma L 34-9 |
| 10/21 |
Texas Tech
L 42-26 |
| 10/28 |
at Kansas State
L 31-10 |
| 11/4 |
Kansas
L 41-10 |
| 11/11 |
at Colorado L 33-16 |
| 11/18 |
Missouri
W 21-16 |
|
|
2005
Schedule
CFN
Prediction: 6-5
2005 Record: 7-5
Preview 2005 predicted wins |
| 9/3 |
Illinois State
W 32-21 |
| 9/10 |
Iowa W 23-3 |
| 9/24 |
at Army
W 28-21 |
| 10/1 |
at Nebraska L 27-20 2OT |
| 10/8 |
Baylor
L 23-13 |
| 10/15 |
at Missouri L 27-24 OT |
| 10/22 |
Oklahoma St
W 37-10 |
| 10/29 |
at Texas A&M W 42-14 |
| 11/5 |
Kansas State
W 45-17 |
| 11/12 |
Colorado
W 30-16 |
| 11/19 |
at
Kansas L 24-21 OT |
| 12/31 |
Houston Bowl
TCU L 27-24 |
|
Nov. 11
Colorado 33 ... Iowa State 16
Bernard Jackson threw two
touchdown passes, ran for a five-yard score, and Mason Crosby hit
four field goals as Colorado rolled past Iowa State in a stunningly
easy win. The Cyclones tied it at seven in the first quarter on a
21-yard Jon Davis catch, but wasn't able to get back in the end zone
until late in the fourth quarter on a five-yard Ryan Kock run.
Crosby's field goals came from 47, 38, 41 and 42 yards out.
Player of the game ... Colorado QB Bernard Jackson
completed 13 of 19 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns and ran
nine times for 69 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Iowa State - Passing: Bret
Meyer, 17-28, 190 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Ryan Kock, 18-82, 1 TD. Receiving:
Milan Moses, 5-38
Colorado - Passing:
Bernard Jackson, 13-19, 200 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Mell Holliday, 18-126 Receiving:
Alvin Barnett, 4-77, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... It's sad
how the Dan McCarney era is going to end on such a disaster. He put
Iowa State football on the map over the last several years, but
injuries and ineffectiveness on both sides of the ball proved too
costly as things have gone from bad to worse on a brutal six-game
losing streak and with a winless Big 12 season almost a certainty
with Missouri coming up next week. The biggest problems have been a
lack of a pass defense and no help for Bret Meyer. McCarney's
biggest issue this year was the high expectation that his team
could've been a player in the Big 12 race.
Nov. 4
Kansas 41 ... Iowa State 10
Kansas took four Iowa State
turnovers converting them into 20 points while Kerry Meier threw two
touchdown passes and Todd Reesing ran for a score and throwing for a
touchdown. Derek Fine caught two touchdown passes, but the big score
came from a 50-yard Brian Murph scoring pass for an early 7-3 lead.
Iowa State started off the scoring on a 36-yard Bret Culbertson
field goal and ended it with a one-yard Ryan Kock touchdown run to
stop a 41-point KU run. The Cyclones only managed 213 yards of total
offense.
Player of the game ... Kansas QB Kerry Meier completed
17 of 22 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns and ran 14 times
for 19 yards.
Stat Leaders: Kansas - Passing: Kerry
Meier, 17-22, 199 yds, 2 TD
Rushing:
Jon Cornish, 17-79
Receiving:
Jonathan Lamb, 5-76
Iowa State - Passing: Bret Meyer, 16-31, 180
yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Ryan Kock, 6-31, 1 TD Receiving:
Milan Moses, 9-109
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Poor Bret Meyer; he doesn't have a
chance. With top RB Stevie Hicks and WRs Jon Davis and Todd Blythe
out against Kansas, Iowa State's already struggling offense had a
nightmare of a time moving the ball. The Cyclone secondary has been
awful all year long and did nothing whatsoever to break up Kerry
Meier's near-perfect day. One of the few bright lights in a
five-game losing streak and a nightmare of a season has been LB
Alvin Bowen, who came up with 18 tackles and forced a fumble.
Oct. 28
Kansas State 31 ... Iowa State 10
Iowa State jumped out to a 10-0
first quarter lead on a six-yard Jason Scales run and a 48-yard Bret
Culbertson field goal, and then it was all Kansas State scoring 31
unanswered points as Josh Freeman threw his first touchdown pass on
a two-yard play to John McCardle, James Johnson ripped off a 32-yard
touchdown run and Leon Patton sped for a 37-yard score. Devin
Anderson and the defense put an exclamation point with a 30-yard
Devin Anderson interception return for a score.
Player of the game ... Kansas State RB James Johnson
ran 22 times for 115 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Kansas State - Passing:
Josh Freeman, 14-20, 161 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: James Johnson, 22-115, 1 TD. Receiving:
Yamon Figurs, 4-49
Iowa State - Passing:
Bret Meyer, 23-41, 280 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Jason Scales, 12-67, 1 TD Receiving:
Milan Moses, 5-96
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
It's official: Iowa State is one of the
year's biggest disappointments. With things going well at Kansas
State with an early lead, the offense couldn't convert decent drives
into points with Bret Meyer failing time and again to get the big
play needed to turn the momentum. The pass defense had no prayer
against Texas Tech last week, and didn't do anything against the
Wildcat running game this week. As ugly as the year has been on both
sides of the ball, if the offense can finally find some sort of a
consistent spark in the passing game, the Kansas and Colorado games
are winnable going into the season-finale against Missouri. However,
another performance like this week and dreams of a bowl bid will be
gone in a hurry.
Oct. 21
Texas Tech 42 ... Iowa State 26
Graham Harrell threw six touchdown
passes including three to Joel Filani, but Texas Tech wasn't able to
pull away until late in the third quarter. Filani scored from 30 and
seven yards out for a 14-0 lead, and put the game away on a 16-yard
catch with 1:28 to play. Iowa State stayed alive early on a
five-yard Ben Barkema touchdown catch, a 52-yard Bret Culbertson
field goal, and a ten-yard Bret Meyer scoring run, but Harrell
proved to be two effective with two scoring passes to Danny Amendolo
in the second quarter keeping Tech ahead. Jason Scales scored on a
five-yard touchdown run midway through the third to pull within two,
but Meyer's two-point conversion attempt failed and the Cyclones
wouldn't be close again. Tech put it away on the ensuing drive
culminating with a 32-yard Shannon Woods score.
Player of the game ... Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell,
completed 31 of 40 passes for 368 yards and six touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Texas Tech - Passing:
Graham Harrell, 31-40, 368 yds, 6 TD
Rushing: Shannon Woods, 15-93. Receiving:
Joel Filani, 7-89, 3 TD
Iowa State - Passing:
Bret Meyer, 14-34, 146 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Stevie Hicks, 10-56 Receiving:
R.J. Sumrall, 4-38
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... The
offensive line came up with another
awful game giving Bret Meyer no protection in the loss to Texas Tech
and not getting any push for Stevie Hicks and the running game.
Somehow, the Cyclones were able to stay in the game early even
though everything was going wrong, and Meyer did the best he could
under the pressure. The defense didn't get nearly enough of a pass
rush to disrupt Graham Harrell, and the porous, depleted secondary
got picked clean. With Kansas State, Kansas and Colorado ahead
before facing Missouri, winning three of the final four is possible
to become bowl eligible, but the lines will have to play far, far
better.
Oct. 14
Oklahoma 34 ... Iowa State 9
Oklahoma beat Iowa State with no problem thanks to two Paul
Thompson touchdown passes to Malcolm Kelly and two Adrian Peterson
touchdown runs, but lost Peterson for the season with a broken
collarbone suffered when diving into the end zone following a
53-yard scoring dash late in the fourth. Iowa State was held to 238
yards of total offense getting its only touchdown on a 31-yard Todd
Blythe catch in the first quarter. Kelly caught touchdown passes
from nine and 15 yards out with the second one coming in the final
minute of the first half. Tyrone McKenzie made 15 tackles for the
Cyclones.
Player of the game ... Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson ran
26 times for 183 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes
for 45 yards.
Stat Leaders: Iowa State - Passing: Bret
Meyer, 149 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Stevie Hicks, 13-83. Receiving:
Todd Blyhthe, 3-60, 1 TD
Oklahoma - Passing: Paul Thompson, 16-27,
195 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Adrian Peterson, 26-183, 2 TD Receiving:
Malcolm Kelly, 4-50, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Where's
the offense? Where's the passing game? Stevie Hicks ran well against
Oklahoma, but the passing attack, considering it has Todd Blythe,
Austin Flynn and Jon Davis in the receiving corps, and a veteran in
Bret Meer throwing, has to be far more explosive and far better.
Part of the problem has been a line that isn't pass protecting as
well as it should be, but part of the problem is Meyer not making
enough big plays. Converting one of 12 third down chances against a
team like Oklahoma isn't going to get it done.
Oct. 7
Nebraska 28 ... Iowa State 14
Nebraska outrushed Iowa State 251 yards to 53 with Brandon
Jackson rushing for 120 yards and a score and Cody Glenn tearing off
148 yards with scoring runs from three and five yards out. A
one-yard Bret Meyer touchdown run tied it at seven, but the Cyclones
didn't get back on the board until a 13-yard scoring pass to Todd
Blythe with six seconds to play. The Husker passing game got into
the act with a 27-yard scoring play to Maurice Purify, while the
offense held on to the ball for almost 37 minutes.
Player of the game ... Nebraska RBs Cody Glenn and
Brandon Jackson combined for 264 yards and three touchdowns on 41
carries
Stat Leaders: Iowa State - Passing: Bret
Meyer, 18-39, 262 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Bret Meyer, 13-26, 1 TD. Receiving:
Todd Blythe, 6-96, 1 TD
Nebraska - Passing: Zac Taylor, 17-21,
131 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Cody Glenn, 19-148, 2 TD Receiving:
Marlon Lucky, 3-28
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
The loss to Nebraska can't be a shock in
any way considering the problems the Cyclones have been having
lately. The run defense got rolled over, while Stevie Hicks and the
Cyclone running attack were nowhere to be found. The game was in the
hands of Bret Meyer, and while he put up some nice yards though the
air, he didn't generate nearly enough meaningful drives. There's a
chance for an awful stretch here with a road trip to Oklahoma
followed up by a date with Texas Tech. A bowl trip is still possible
even with a slide, but a win in the next two weeks would go a long
way to salvaging a dying season.
Sept. 30
Iowa State 28 ... Northern Iowa 27
Iowa State battled to come back twice overcoming a 21-7
deficit to tie it early in the second half on a 22-yard touchdown
catch from Todd Blythe and a 65-yard punt return by Ryan Baum before
winning it with 1:05 to play on a 16-yard touchdown catch from Jon
Davis. UNI got a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown from
Dre Dokes and an eight-yard James Lindgren touchdown catch, but
could only manage two Brian Wingert field goals in the second half
to take the 27-21 lead. The defense couldn't stop Bret Meyer, who
moved the offense 74 yards in six plays finishing with the Davis
score.
Player of the game ... Iowa State QB Bret Meyer
completed 24 of 29 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns with an
interception and ran 13 times for 25 yards.
Stat Leaders: Northern Iowa - Passing:
Eric Sanders, 23-29, 158 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Corey Lewis, 19-84, 1 TD. Receiving:
James Lindgren, 7-73, 1 TD
Iowa State - Passing: Bret Meyer, 24-29,
323 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Stevie Hicks, 7-30 . Receiving: Jon Davis,
7-117, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Northern
Iowa is one of the best teams in D-IAA, but that's no reason for
Iowa State to have the problems it did coming up with the win. The
defense can't handle the short to midrange passing game, and
something has to be figured out in a hurry or Nebraska will dink and
dunk like UNI was able to do all game long. While Bret Meyer is
fantastic, the offense needs Stevie Hicks to be effective. Seven
carries for 30 yards isn't going to get it done in Big 12 play.
Sept. 23
Texas 37 ... Iowa State 14
Texas had few problems with everything but the weather getting
out to a 16-0 lead and pulling away in the second quarter on a
15-yard Limas Sweed touchdown catch and a Henry Melton two-yard
scoring run. Iowa State made things interesting in the first half on
two Bret Meyer touchdown passes, but the defense couldn't handle the
Texas offensive balance the rest of the way. Jermichael Finley
closed out the scoring for the Longhorns with a ten-yard touchdown
catch. The game was delayed for over an hour by bad weather, and
neither team did much after.
Player of the game ... Texas WR Limas Sweed caught
seven passes for 106 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: Texas - Passing: Colt
McCoy, 18-23, 212 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jamaal Charles, 17-78, 1 TD. Receiving:
Limas Sweed, 7-106, 1 TD
Iowa State - Passing: Bret Meyer, 24-43,
274 yds, 2 TD, INT
Rushing: Stevie Hicks, 11-62. Receiving: Austin
Flynn, 7-90
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Where was
the pass protection against Texas? Granted, the mobility of Bret
Meyer led to a few sacks since he was trying to make plays with his
feet, but there wasn't any time to make many things happen under all
the pressure. The Cyclone defense couldn't come up with a big play
in the second half to turn things around, and it had no hope against
the consistent offensive balance. Now the team gets a shot to get
back on track with a scrimmage against Northern Iowa next week, and
then things might get really ugly with battles against Nebraska,
Oklahoma and Texas Tech. The team has to be much, much sharper on
both sides of the ball, and that's what it needs the NIU game for.
Sept. 16
Iowa 27 ... Iowa State 17
Iowa bounced back from a 14-3 deficit with three Drew Tate
touchdown passes including a 19-yard play to Tony Moeaki and a
two-yard loft to Tom Busch as part of a 17-0 second half run. Iowa
State's offense was solid early with Bret Meyer throwing an
eight-yard scoring pass to Todd Blythe and running for a nine-yard
score, but the Hawkeyes put the clamps down in the second half only
allowing a 32-yard Bret Culbertson field goal.
Player of the game ... Iowa QB Drew Tate completed 26
of 38 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns with an interception
Stat Leaders: Iowa - Passing: Drew Tate,
26-38, 274 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Albert Young, 18-57. Receiving:
Dominique Douglas, 6-88
Iowa State - Passing: Bret Meyer, 15-31,
152 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Stevie Hicks, 15-74, 1 TD Receiving: Todd
Blythe, 4-45, 1 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ... Iowa
State's offense simply couldn't get anything going in the second
half against Iowa. There were several chances to turn around the
momentum and change the game, but Bret Meyer couldn't do anything in
the passing game and didn't use his legs nearly enough. Iowa made
the big plays, Iowa State didn't. To have a chance at Texas next
week, there has to be more consistency while the defense has to take
advantage of every opportunity.
Sept. 9
Iowa State 16 ... UNLV 10
Iowa State hung on after a wild and controversial ending that
UNLV still wants answers for. On the final play of the game, UNLV's
Aaron Straiten came down with a pass in the back of the end zone,
but the officials ruled it was incomplete, it wasn't reviewed, and
the game was over. The Rebels went nuts in protest, but to no avail.
Stevie Hicks and Ryan Kock each ran for one-yard scores in the
second quarter to put the Cyclones up 13-3, and Bret Culbertson came
up with the winning points on a 25-yard field goal late in the third
quarter. UNLV's Shane Steichen in for an injury Rocky Hinds, threw a
three-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wolfe early in the fourth.
Player of the game ... Iowa State RB Stevie Hicks ran
23 times for 109 yards and a touchdown
Stat Leaders: UNLV - Passing: Shane
Steichen, 19-27, 180 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Erick Jackson, 11-31. Receiving:
Casey Flair, 9-86
Iowa State - Passing: Bret Meyer, 14-21,
203 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Stevie Hicks, 19-27, 180 yds, 1 TD. Receiving:
Jon Davis, 2-57
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Iowa State sure likes to play with fire. For the second straight
week, it took a misfire from the other team on the final play of the
game for the Cyclones to pull off the win, and eventually they're
not going to get the breaks. UNLV was able to hang around way too
long because the Iowa State offense wasn't effective enough to put
the game away in the fourth quarter. It's not going to have that
luxury against Iowa next week, and it's certainly not going to be
able to get away with anything less than perfection at Texas in two
weeks.
Aug. 31
Iowa State 45 ... Toledo 43 3OT
Todd Blythe caught two touchdown passes in overtime and the
Iowa State defense held on stopping a Toledo two-point conversion
attempt to win a wild opener. The two teams traded touchdowns over
each of the overtimes highlighted by Blythe's 25-yard scoring grab
in the third. Jalen Parmele ran for a two-yard touchdown to get the
Rockets within two, but Chris Hopkins couldn't hang on to the
conversion and Iowa State escaped. Hopkins, who made three scoring
grabs, caught a 21-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter to help
spark a Rocket comeback completed with a Richard Davis three-yard
scoring run and a two-point conversion to force overtime. ISU QB
Bret Meyer ran for three scores. Toledo's new starting quarterback
Clint Cochran threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns.
Player of the game ... Iowa State QB Bret Meyer
completed 17 of 24 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns and ran
18 times for 68 yards and three touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: Toledo - Passing: Clint
Cochran, 39-49, 370 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jalen Parmele, 18-64, 1 TD. Receiving:
Chris Hopkins, 13-148, 3 TD
Iowa State - Passing: Bret Meyer, 17-24,
238 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Stevie Hicks, 23-92, 1 TD. Receiving: Todd
Blythe, 5-94, 2 TD
Whoopty doo. What does it all mean Basil? ...
Some Cyclone fans might worry
that it took three overtimes to beat a MAC team, but Toledo really
is talented and as the season goes on, getting a triple overtime win
proves how mentally tough the team can be to make play after play
after play even when the other team is hot. Sure, there's a big
concern over the pass defense after Rocket QB Clint Cochran threw
for 370 yards and was unstoppable late, but this was the first game
of the year and there are always going to be kinks to work out. UNLV
and new quarterback Rocky Hinds will be sure to push the ISU D next
week.
2006 Iowa State Preview
Iowa State Preview
|
Offense |
Defense
| Depth Chart |
Further Analysis
Can't ... get ... over ... the hump.
There's
not a fantastic history of success at Iowa State until recent
seasons, so it's hard to get too upset about falling just short of
really, really big things year after year. However, even the most
patient of Cyclone fans have to be getting a little grouchy after
the way the last two years ended with chances to play for the Big 12
title going bye-bye in stunning losses in the final regular season
games.
Sure, there have been five seven-plus win seasons in the last six
and five bowl appearances since 2000, but has the program actually
gotten a win of note against anyone other than Iowa?
Beating a dying Colorado late last year was nice, but you have
to go back to 1993's win over Kansas State to find a
truly impressive Big 12 victory. The Cyclones have firmly
established themselves as a solid, above-average program, and now
it's time to come up with a few big wins to finally get to the
championship game and turn the corner in the McCarney era. They'll
get plenty of chances this season playing nine teams that went to
bowls. More on that in a moment.
There's no reason to
not be considered one of the favorites for the North title with ten
starters returning to an offense that became one-dimensional last season
thanks to injuries in the backfield. On the plus side, the lack of a ground
game might have been a good thing for the development of QB Bret Meyer
since he had to carry more of the offensive load and grow into more of a
leader. He has the talent around him to be even better and even more
productive against the better defenses.
The defense loses a ton of top starters off the secondary and the
defensive line, but the run defense should once again be among the
league's best led by Brent Curvey at tackle and DeAndre Jackson at
corner. If you can stop the run, you can be
a player in the Big 12 race. Iowa State can stop the run.
This should be a fun team that makes several big plays on both sides of
the ball and has the makeup to annoy the heck out of top ten-caliber
teams like Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma. But can it avoid the slip like last
year's 23-13 home loss to Baylor? And most importantly, can there be a
win over Missouri in the season finale if it turns out to be the game
for the Big 12 North title?
At the very least, Iowa State has been in the race over the last few
seasons after the 2-10 disaster of 2003. One of these days, all the
breaks will go the right way and McCarney's team will be on the big
stage. This season's crew just might be good enough to make its own
breaks and get the job done, but it'll have to deal with ...
The
Schedule: It's
better than it might appear considering all of the bowl teams from last
year on the slate. There are some rough road games at Iowa, Oklahoma and
Texas, but there's a wonderful Northern Iowa oasis between the trip to
Austin and the North showdown against Nebraska. There aren't two road
games in a row after the Texas game in mid-September with five of the
final eight games at home.
Best
Offensive Player: Junior WR Todd Blythe. He's not the most
consistent receiver around, but the 6-5 speedster is one of the Big 12's
most dangerous weapons with 90 catches for 1,833 yards and 18 touchdowns
over his first two seasons. Forget about stopping him in the red zone
unless you have a tall defensive back who can jump out of the stadium.
Best
Defensive Player: Senior CB DeAndre Jackson. He deserves preseason
All-America honors and should be one of the league's best all-around
defenders. He hits like a safety and is a huge playmaker, but his real
asset will be his experience and leadership as the only returning
starter to a shaky secondary.
Key player
to a successful season: Senior OT Scott Fisher. Aaron Brant is
getting better on the right side, so it'll be up to the massive Fisher on the
left side to grow into a better pass blocker. The Cyclones gave up 39
sacks last year and struggled a little too much in the running game. The
emergence of Fisher will go a long way to emergence of the attack.
The season
will be a success if ... the Cyclones win the Big 12 North. After the last few seasons
and with ten returning starters on offense, anything less than a 13th
game and then a bowl appearance will be a tremendous disappointment.
Key game:
November 7th vs. Nebraska. Iowa State might be good, but it'll take
a major upset to beat Texas in Austin and Oklahoma in Norman. A loss to
Nebraska will likely mean an 0-3 Big 12 start with a battle with Texas
Tech ahead. Considering the Cyclone secondary will be a concern early
on, everything else had better be working or Zac Taylor and the Huskers
will put up huge numbers.
2005 Fun
Stats:
- Penalties: Opponents 94 for 787 yards - Iowa State 64 for 567 yards
- Sacks: Opponents 39 for 243 yards - Iowa State 27 for 182 yards
- Average yards per carry: Opponents 3.0 - Iowa State 2.7
Last Time Iowa State…
…played in a bowl game…2005 (Houston Bowl vs. TCU)
…missed a bowl game…2003
…pitched a shutout…2004 (Northern Iowa)
…was shutout…2003 (Kansas State)
…scored 50 points…2002 (Tennessee Tech)
…went undefeated…never
…won a conference title…1912 (share, Missouri Valley)
…had a 3,000-yard passer…2002 (Seneca Wallace)
…had a 1,000-yard rusher…2004 (Stevie Hicks)
…had a 1,000-yard receiver…2005 (Todd Blythe)
…had a first-round draft choice…1973 (RB George Amundson)
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