Predict Iowa State-SDSU score

[djkent01]

Re: Predict Iowa State-SDSU score

Sorry - dup post. Erased one.

[djkent01]

Re: Predict Iowa State-SDSU score

My name is Dan and I post on the CycloneFanatic site using the same sign-on that I used here. I, like you guys, am so pumped for FB season to start that I can't concentrate on work. Good thing I own my own firm or I'd be in trouble.

First, I hope a bunch of you make it to the game tomorrow. Jack Trice Stadium is a great place to tailgate and we genuinely welcome visitors - a little less so for Iowa and Nebraska fans though...

I'm far from an expert, but I'll give you a little rundown of the ISU team. We return 14 starters, 7 each on offense and defense. Several of the returners will not be starting. We lost some big playmakers, most notable up the center on defense with Bowen and Rubin. We also lost a four year starting QB and wide receiver. We return the O-line intact, but again, a couple of them won't start. The O-line went from complete returning starters in '06 that gave up 47 sacks to a brand new line in '07 that gave up 16 sacks. The improvement was astonishing over the course of the season. We return the entire secondary, although only two of them will start, and we've got some guys back there that can fly and flat-out hit.

The off-season was spent developing these guys physically and mentally. I don't know the name of the lift, but at the beginning of '06, we had one guy that could lift 350. At the beginning of fall camp, we had 35. The same is true across all facets of the strength training program. The returning players are MUCH stronger, bigger, faster, and more explosive than when they finished '06.

Our two new QB's are going to be extremely good. I'm sure we'll have to deal with early season jitters, but both of these guys are the real deal. Meyer, the '07 QB was unfortunate. He played behind a line in '06 that left him running for his life. In '07, he just couldn't "get" the system Chizik was trying to implement. We'll start the season solid at QB and finish the season very strong - whoever ultimately gets the nod.

We return our top three running backs, all of whom had 100 yard rushing games last year. Robinson, the starter, is a sophomore that finished the season with 391 yards in four games against Missouri, Colorado, K-State, and Kansas. The guy can play, as can the two senior backups.

Wide Receiver is another area you're going to be surprised with. We have some guys that can flat out fly. A kid named Carlson that transferred in from a S Dakota JC and runs something like a 4.3 40 - is sixth on the depth chart.

ISU runs the spread. SDSU is going to have to cover the field side to side and well as north-south, especially with the speed that's going to be put on the field.

In my opinion, if ISU tries to play a conservative run between the tackles game and SDSU forces turnovers, SDSU will have a chance to win. I know - I'm a very biased ISU fan. But my gut says SDSU is in for a very long game. ISU is going to surprise a lot of people this year and may well find itself in a bowl game.

Our weakness at the start of the season is going to be right up the defensive gut. You need to hope to exploit the middle of the run defense, force some turnovers, and hope for a conservative ISU game plan.

That said: ISU 37 SDSU 13.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Predict Iowa State-SDSU score

The following was emailed to me by a friend who is a huge Huskers fan as we were discussing tonight's game.

"I know quite a bit about Iowa State from their Big 12 play and because I'm friends with quite a few of their fans.

On O, Arnaud is a really good QB despite not starting in the past. But their other QB Phillip Bates will play and he is unbelievably athletic. Both will be good down the line but don't have much experience yet. If you get pressure you'll be in good shape. But you can also say that about Peyton Manning.

They have one playmaker at WR but not a lot to talk about after that. Actually, they don't offer anything after that. I think they put an ad in the Iowa State newspaper looking for WR's.

On the O-line they'll be improved, but that's not saying much as they had two guys that weighed as much as Nicole Ritchie during her pregnancy at the guard spots last season. So your defensive line can really be effective against this group.

On D, their defensive line is average at best, so it's good for SDSU that some of the beasts ISU has had in the past few years have moved on. But it does always seem like they have some speed on the perimeter at DE.

Their MIKE LB is a good, good player, but their SAM and WILL LB's won't offer much and are average at best in coverage.

They have really, really good CB's, and tons of depth so they should be solid in nickel and dime packages. Their safeties, however, suck, and I'm being really, really nice here. In fact, I've heard rumors that they were thinking about changing the position name from safety to something that sounded more appropriate. That's all I have.

I think SDSU has more than a fighting chance tonight, but need to get off to a good start to get the crowd out of the game. An early TD would go a long way towards pulling the upset."

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Predict Iowa State-SDSU score

In our last email, he also made the point that it's been said many times that football ultimately comes down to good blocking and good tackling.

I also emailed him my hopeful scenario that I posted on another thread here. He said he honestly thinks I'm giving SDSU too little credit and ISU too much credit. Thus, the blocking and tackling reference. We proved against NDSU last year that the game is won in the trenches. I really like our chances based on that fact alone. No turnovers, limit big plays on D and we have a shot.

[mplscyclone]

Re: Predict Iowa State-SDSU score

In our last email, he also made the point that it's been said many times that football ultimately comes down to good blocking and good tackling.

I also emailed him my hopeful scenario that I posted on another thread here. He said he honestly thinks I'm giving SDSU too little credit and ISU too much credit. Thus, the blocking and tackling reference. We proved against NDSU last year that the game is won in the trenches. I really like our chances based on that fact alone. No turnovers, limit big plays on D and we have a shot.

It's interesting. Turns out Iowa State didn't block well and didn't tackle well but still managed to win.

It also proves which all of us Cyclones fans know: Huskers fans have passion but they are not objective about their own team, let alone other teams.

Iowa State will always be underrated and the Huskers will always be overrated. It's just part of being in the Big XII

Good luck this week against Youngstown! It's hard to tell what they have since OSU dominated them. Hopefully your team learns from last week!