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Iowa State Cyclones – Texas Longhorns Prediction

Iowa State will face Texas on Saturday. The Cyclones and Longhorns both hope to put an end to losing streaks. Gene Chizik will face his old team for the first time, in an experience that he termed would be “weird”.

The Cyclones best chance to move the ball on offense will be through the air. Texas has done a nice job of stopping the run, but has been susceptible to the pass. Texas will look to throw the ball as well. Colt McCoy broke out as a freshman last year against the Cyclones and he should have his opportunities again Saturday. Iowa State and Texas have two of the worst turnover margins in college football. The Cyclones must win the turnover battle to win this game. ISU must also do a better job on special teams. Texas has had pretty solid special teams play this season, Iowa State has not.

Keys to an Iowa State victory:

1. Win the turnover battle

2. Solid special teams play

3. Explosive plays on offense

Prediction: Texas 31 Iowa State 21

Iowa State Players of the Game:

QB Bret Meyer / WR Todd Blythe – I expect a good day for the two Cyclone seniors

LB Alvin Bowen – the leader of the defense wants this win badly

Football Visitors:

CB Jarret Ben (Garland, TX)
CB Marcus Cromartie (Mansfield, TX)
WR Darius Darks (Pflugerville, TX)
OT Jared Edwards (Mansfield, TX)
CB Michael Thomas (Houston, TX)
CB Demetrius Williamson (Port Orange, FL)
K Eddie Carmona (Holmes Community College, MS)
DE Jake McDonough (West Des Moines, IA)

Basketball Visitors:

SF Harrison Barnes (Ames, IA)
PG Dominique Buckley (Detroit, MI)
PF Jordan Dykstra (Rock Valley, IA)
SG Wes Eikmeier (Fremont, NE)

Texas Longhorns Crank That Soulja Boy

Cyclones.com has a poll asking fans which song they would like to hear played between the third and fourth quarters at the game this weekend? Is it too late to write in for Soulja Boy Tellem’s “Crank That”? I hope at some point during the game they play this song because the Longhorn players sure can Crank That. Check out the video.

Mark Mangino – Cupcakes Served Their Purpose

The picture below was the main headline on kusports.com earlier this week.

Here is the story: Mangino – Cupcakes Served Their Purpose

Mangino was responding to reporters asking about the soft schedule the Jayhawks played at the beginning of the season.

Mark Mangino Cupcakes

Cyclone Player of the Week (Week 6) – WR Todd Blythe

The top vote getter in the Cyclone Player of the Week voting for week six with 48% of the vote is WR Todd Blythe. The senior wide receiver caught eight passes for 128 yards and is now the all time leading receiver in Iowa State history with 2,736 yards. Blythe had a 39 yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.

Cyclones Wide Receiver Todd Blythe

Final Poll Results:

  • WR Todd Blythe 48%
  • LB Alvin Bowen 25%
  • DT Bryce Braaksma 17%
  • FS James Smith 8%
  • CB Jason Scales 2%

Cyclone Player of the Week:
Week 1 – RB JJ Bass
Week 2 – WR Marquis Hamilton
Week 3 –
K Bret Culbertson
Week 4 – RB JJ Bass
Week 5 – RB Jason Scales
Week 6 – WR Todd Blythe

Stop back every week to www.isuisu.com to vote for the Cyclone Player of the Week.

Iowa State Cyclones Football 2007 – Midseason Report

Record: 1-5

Win: Iowa 2-4

Losses: Kent State 3-3, UNI 5-0, Toledo 2-4, Nebraska 4-2, Texas Tech 5-1

The Good: 

1.  More first downs then opponents: 128-111
2.  More rushing yards then opponents: 810-721
3.  Least penalized team in Big 12: 19 for 162 yards
4.  Time of Possession: ISU 32:45 / Opponent 27:15
5.  3rd Down Conversions: ISU 43% / Opponents 39%
6.  Sacks: ISU 12 / Opponents 9

The Bad: 

1.  Scoring: ISU 111 / Opponents 173
2.  Turnovers: Iowa State 17 / Opponents 10
3.  Kick Return Average: ISU 21 / Opponents 27
4.  Punt Return Average: ISU 4 / Opponents 9

Top Players:

LB Alvin Bowen – 54 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 int, 2 FF
FS James Smith – 37 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 sack, 2 int, 2 FF, 2 FR
DE Kurtis Taylor – 19 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks
RB JJ Bass – 108 carries, 432 yards, 4.0 average, 4 TD, 7 catches, 35 yards
WR Todd Blythe – 32 catches, 419 yards, 13.1 average, 3 TD

Top Areas To Improve for Second Half of Season:

1. Turnover Margin
2. Special Team Play
3. Find Playmakers
4. Improved Offensive Line Play
5. Improved Defensive Line Play
6. Improvement in Secondary

Future Stars (Freshman/Sophomore)

WR/QB/Athlete – Phillip Bates
FS – James Smith
CB – Allen Bell
P – Mike Brandtner
RT – Ben Lamaak
RB – Alexander Robinson
FB – Derrick Catlett
WR – Marquis Hamilton

Top Priorities for 2008

1. Placekicker – Top returners are Chris Mahoski and Grady Derheim
2. Tight End – Derrick Catlett and Patrick Neal return then who?
3. Deep Snapper – Redshirt freshman David Wonders is listed as Matt Purvis back up
4. Defensive Line Depth – the freshman DL better be ready to play in 2008
5. Outside Linebackers – Need to build depth
6. Strong Safety – Chris Brown has played admirably but ISU could use a punishing strong safety
7. Playmakers on Offense –  Need WR/RB that can break the big one

Recruiting by Position

Quarterback (3) – would appear to be done with Tiller, Land and Jordan in the fold
Running Back (1-2) – a high school RB and Juco playmaker if available
Tight End (1-2) – I would expect ISU to add one or two TE – Bykowski would appear to be a future tackle
Wide Receiver (2-3) – 2 athletic high schoolers to go along with juco Christian Graham
Offensive Line (4-5) – The Cyclones did a nice job of patching holes in 2007 – expect 4-5 high schoolers

Linebacker (2-3) – 2 high schoolers and a juco LB if available
Cornerbacks (2-3) – Iowa State has talented youngsters,  expect 2-3 high school CB for depth and help on special teams
Safeties (2-3) – 2 high school and 1 athletic juco if available
Defensive Ends (2-3) – With McDonough and Robertson in the fold the Cyclones may be finished
Defensive Tackles (3-4) – The Cyclones could really use a stud juco run stuffer and 2-3 youngsters to groom

Placeckicker (1) – Iowa State can offer immediate playing time to a top notch kicker

2008 Projected Lineup- new starters in italics

Offense
TE Derrick Catlett
LT Doug Dedrick
LG Reggie Stephens
C Brandon Johnson
RG Tom Schmeling
RT Ben Lamaak
QB Austen Arnaud
RB JJ Bass
WR RJ Sumrall
WR Marquis Hamilton
WR Phillip Bates

Defense
WE Rashawn Parker
DT Bailey Johnson
NG Nate Frere
DE Kurtis Taylor
SAM Michael Bibbs
MIKE Jesse Smith
WILL Josh Raven
CB Allen Bell
CB Chris Singleton
SS Steve Johnson
FS James Smith

Special Teams
PK Chris Mahoski
P Mike Brandnter
DS David Wonders
H Derec Schmidgall
KR Drenard Williams / Allen Bell
PR Drenard Williams

Redshirt Freshman Who Could Challenge for  Spots
LB Cameron Bell
OT Trey Baysinger
DT Jerrod Black
DE Randy Kellman

Iowa State Cyclones vs Nebraska Cornhuskers 2007: Photo Gallery 1

The following photo galleries feature offense, defense, special teams, fans, cheerleaders and band, Cyclone team and Cornhuskers team pictures from Iowa State’s game against Nebraska.

Head Football Coach Gene Chizik

Photo Gallery: Cyclones / Cornhuskers – Offense

Photo Gallery: Cyclones / Cornhuskers – Defense

Photo Gallery: Cyclones / Cornhuskers – Special Teams

Photo Gallery: Cyclones / Cornhuskers – Fans, Cheerleaders, Band

Photo Gallery: Cyclones / Cornhuskers – ISU Team Pictures

Photo Gallery: Cyclones / Cornhuskers – Nebraska Team Pictures

Iowa State Cyclones New Identity: Photo Gallery

Iowa-State-Cyclones-2007-uniformsThe Iowa State Cyclones called a press conference on September 26, 2007 to show off their new football helmets and uniforms. Iowa State also unveiled a new logo that will be used as the graphics identity for all of the athletic programs. The following photo gallery includes pictures from the press release.

Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard Holds Up the New Iowa State Helmet

Photo Gallery: Iowa State Cyclones New Identity

Vote for the Iowa State Cyclones Player of the Game vs Texas Tech

The Cyclones had a very disappointing performance on Saturday night against the Red Raiders.  It is tough to pick a player of the game for a team that was dominated in all three phases, but it needs to be done, so here we go.

Who was the Iowa State Cyclones Player of the Week against Texas Tech?

Your vote will decide the winner. The poll can be found on the top right corner of the page.  Voting will end Wednesday night at 6:00 PM.

Here are the five choices for the week: 

  1. WR Todd Blythe – (8 catches, 128 yards, 1 TD)
  2. LB Alvin Bowen – (12.5 tackles, FF, TFL)
  3. DT Bryce Braaksma – (2 tackles, 2 sacks)
  4. RB Jason Scales – (22 carries, 82 yards)
  5. FS James Smith – (2.5 tackles, 1 interception (29 yard return))

Stop back every week to www.isuisu.com to vote for the Cyclone Player of the Week.

Iowa State Cyclones vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Prediction

Iowa State will face Texas Tech and their top rated offense Saturday night.  The Red Raiders come into the game as 24 point favorites.  QB Graham Harrell leads the nation in total offense and wide receivers Michael Crabtree (1) and Danny Amendola (7) are both in the top 10 in receptions per game. 

Prediction: Texas Tech Red Raiders 45 Iowa State Cyclones 30

Here are five keys for the Cyclones to pull off the upset on the road in Lubbock.

1. Get Pressure/Get Hands Up – TT does a great job of protecting Harrell but ISU needs to find a way to get pressure.  If they don’t get pressure they at least need to get their hands up and disrupt the throwing lanes.  If they get their hands on the ball it will greatly increase the chances for interceptions.

2. Control Clock / Finish Drives – The Cyclones did a great job of controlling the clock last week against Nebraska, but they failed to capitalize.  ISU will need to end drives with TD’s and FG’s instead of turning the ball over or punting just out of scoring range.

3. Win Turnover Battle – Iowa State finally created turnovers against the Cornhuskers, but turned it over even more.  In Texas Tech’s loss to Oklahoma State, their only loss,  they lost two fumbles and only caused one Cowboy turnover.

4. Win Special Teams – The Cyclones have struggled on special teams in recent weeks, especially kick coverage.  Several starters on defense have volunteered for duty on special teams this week including Alvin Bowen, Chris Singleton and Allen Bell.  It will be interesting to see how that works out.  It would be a tremendous boost if the Cyclones could break a big punt or kick return.

5. Big Plays – Iowa State is five games deep and really hasn’t had a big play all season.  The Cyclones could desperately use a game changing performance in any of the three phases.  To win this game Iowa State will need a couple big plays.

Iowa State Players of the Game:

RB JJ Bass or Jason Scales – ISU will try to control the clock and whoever gets the most carries for the Cyclones should have an opportunity for a big game.  Oklahoma State ran for more than 350 yards against Texas Tech.

CB Allen Bell – Bell is the Cyclones best cover corner, he should have plenty of opportunities to make plays.

KR/PR Drenard Williams – If Iowa State is going to make a big play on special teams, Drenard Williams would be the most likely candidate.

Cyclone Player of the Week (Week 5) – RB Jason Scales

The top vote getter in the Cyclone Player of the Week voting for week five with 72% of the vote is RB Jason Scales. The junior running back rushed for 115 yards on 31 carries and scored two touchdowns filling in for an injured JJ Bass. Scales also caught 3 passes for 19 yards.

Cyclone Running Back Jason Scales

Final Poll Results:

  • RB Jason Scales 72%
  • NG Ahtyba Rubin 9%
  • WR Marquis Hamilton 8%
  • WR Todd Blythe 6%
  • CB Chris Singleton 3%

Cyclone Player of the Week:
Week 1 – RB JJ Bass
Week 2 – WR Marquis Hamilton
Week 3 –
K Bret Culbertson
Week 4 – RB JJ Bass
Week 5 – RB Jason Scales

Stop back every week to www.isuisu.com to vote for the Cyclone Player of the Week.