How confident are you in Paul Rhoads ability to make ISU a winning program

[CyBobby]

I think he can make them exactly what he has shown. 6-7 wins at best with low seasons like this one. I don't think he has what it takes to make them a contender in the big 12.

The way this season is going I would take six wins a season and a bowl bid. We will never be an elite team in the big 12, I get that, but this kind of a season is simply Unacceptable IMO.

Go Cyclones lets shock the world come sat and upset Okie State!

 

[NickTheGreat]

100% Confident. I don't like the loser wing of the fanbase that says it isn't possible.

 

[mt85]

I fully support and respect Paul Rhoads and his staff, I love our players and the effort and passion they put into this program. I'm 100% certain better days lie ahead.

What I don't care for are the fans that derive a purpose and satisfaction from being contaminators. They have been allowed to overwhelm these boards and they stifle positive contributions. I implore the moderators to put an end to it. It is really turning me off from these message boards. These boards are becoming EMAW 2.0.

 

[CykoAGR]

The list of "issues" is beginning to pile up.

(1) Lack of QB development, ie, improvement. Hard to tell if Sammy is any better, he's hurt and he has 1.5 seconds to throw.

(2) Lack of DL recruiting. CPR is a defensive coach, why so hard to attract DL recruits? Only SEC gets great DL talent, we have developed guys that by year 3-5 they are decent. Rump was ok, McD was ok etc. ISU will never get Frosh DL that will make big impact.

(3) The whole stable of RB seems to have been mismanaged. Other than Wimberly, I don't know why the staff cannot get better production out of this group, or do they even have a coherent plan for who plays? IMO same as QB. I think JW would be a solid backup or change up guy on most teams. SJ has never really been healthy. I agree the whole "rotate every 3-5 plays" thing was weird.

(4) OC Again Im not a Mess fan but with this OLine how can we judge anything? I mean they just cant block anyone. PERIOD.

(5) I guess you have to give new OL coach some time, but count me among those that do not understand the benefits of the new shifting alignment. Maybe it is a wave of the future that our guys have not grasped yet, but it seems confusing to me. Good Question. I give Coack K a bit of a pass as injuries have killed us and he didnt seem to have much talent to work with.

(6) Wally is old. Won't be around much longer. Meh, it is an issue but we have Shane (potential replacement), he doesnt talk much about retiring and we have much much much bigger issues

If promoting Mess was a mistake a la Fine and Barney Cotton for Mac, CPR better recognize it and deal with it. There has got to be some young stud OC available. If not, I would take fat *** Mangino in a heart beat.

 

[Aclone]

I still have 100% faith in Rhoads although I hope he corrects some of the offense issues are adjusts the staff accordingly. If he goes into next season with the same group of coaches, that faith will dwindle.

Not to pick on any one person, but this statement is representative of a certain prevalent attitude--and made me chuckle.

People have gone out of their way to blame Courtney Messingham for all of the problems on the offense. Apparently they just aren't watching the team closely, or don't know a whole lot about football. I have to admit, it's the simplest assumption. If the offense isn't good, blame the coordinator.

The funny thing is, someone who says that he has "100% faith" in Coach Rhoads is clearly paying absolutely no attention to what CPR is saying. Or in Coach Rhoads' judgment, one of the two. Because throughout the season, despite expandingly ludicrous accusations on the part of fans, COR has repeatedly addressed the OC rumor and innuendo. After the Tulsa game, he talked about what a terrific job Coach Messingham did calling plays. After the Texas game,, he spoke on what a fantastic job CM did bringing the offense together. Don't believe me? It's ight there on the Paul Rhoads show replays.

In other words, CPR knows that the offensive coordinator isn't the problem. And frankly, if you're one of the people disagreeing with him, then you do not have "100% faith" in him. You're putting your own judgment above his.

It's not hard to to tell what CPR thinks the main problem has been Let's start out with how he mentions that in six games, there have been six different combinations of starting offensive linemen. Even a casual observer likes myself knows that you don't just plug pieces in, offensive line efficiency is built on teamwork, cohesiveness and familiarity with one another.

Sure, there are other problems from that point. CPR mentions them, if you actually pay attention to what he says. And Courtney Messingham hasn't been perfect as a playcaller. He has room for improvement. The odd thing is, even when I watch NFL games, I don't think anyone is a "perfect" playcaller, there are always headscratchers.

Yep, even watching Manning in Denver.

My point is, CPR has played more football than most any of us on this board, and more importantly, he's coached more football than anyone on this board. He has a better idea of what plays are called, and why, and a wholelot better idea of why any individual play failed.

So, maybe this is just my point of view, but if Paul Rhoads doesn't think that Coach Messingham is the major problem with the offense, I'll sure as heck take his word for it, over the judgment of some anonymous message board poster. No matter how unhappy I am with the team's performance.

That's good enough for me, and I think it's a little bit more like "100% confidence" in Coach Rhoads is supposed to look like.

Of course, feel free to tell me I'm wrong. I HAVE been mistaken before, after all. More than any of you would imagine, matter of fact.

 

[Luth4Cy]

I think he'll win 8 games next year and I think that would happen even with Mess as OC. I think he'd get another game if Mess wasn't OC.

 

[Luth4Cy]

The list of "issues" is beginning to pile up.

(1) Lack of QB development, ie, improvement.

(2) Lack of DL recruiting. CPR is a defensive coach, why so hard to attract DL recruits?

(3) The whole stable of RB seems to have been mismanaged. Other than Wimberly, I don't know why the staff cannot get better production out of this group, or do they even have a coherent plan for who plays?

(4) OC

(5) I guess you have to give new OL coach some time, but count me among those that do not understand the benefits of the new shifting alignment. Maybe it is a wave of the future that our guys have not grasped yet, but it seems confusing to me.

(6) Wally is old. Won't be around much longer.

If promoting Mess was a mistake a la Fine and Barney Cotton for Mac, CPR better recognize it and deal with it. There has got to be some young stud OC available. If not, I would take fat *** Mangino in a heart beat.

1. Impossible to know if there really is a lack of development considering the poor play calling and o-line play.
2. Some pretty solid d-line recruits are on campus know, it's just that they are all young. This position group also isn't near as bad as people make it out to be, IMO.
3. I agree with saying it's been mismanaged. As far as lacking production I blame that mostly on the o-line and the OC.
4. I also agree
5. Hopefully time will turn it around.
6. Not sure how that is an "issue"

 

[Clonefan32]

I think we should be able to win 8 games once every 7-10 years. I think 2 years from now we should have a solid team, as alot of the guys we are seeing now will be upper classmen.

 

[UNIGuy4Cy]

How is Big Dawg Williams coming along?

Would be nice to know this.

 

[Doc]

I think we should be able to win 8 games once every 7-10 years. I think 2 years from now we should have a solid team, as alot of the guys we are seeing now will be upper classmen.

This is what I expect and I think Rhoads can do this and maybe more.

A good comparison for our injury troubles this year was Missouri's team last year. People latched on to the opinion that MU couldn't handle the SEC, when in reality they just had a lot of injury issues. It's not a perfect comparison, I know. I think it shows how people are so quick to jump to drastic conclusions that just aren't true (e.g Rhoads isn't cut out for this job).

 

[Tre4ISU]

This is what I expect and I think Rhoads can do this and maybe more.

A good comparison for our injury troubles this year was Missouri's team last year. People latched on to the opinion that MU couldn't handle the SEC, when in reality they just had a lot of injury issues. It's not a perfect comparison, I know. I think it shows how people are so quick to jump to drastic conclusions that just aren't true (e.g Rhoads isn't cut out for this job).

I have thought about that comparison many times. Man, I hope you're right, but I fear you're not.

 

[cycloneworld]

Thats just laughable.

Why is that laughable? I posted stats showing that Mac and Rhoads have eerily similar win percentages when you throw out Mac's first 3 years. I'm not sure if you are related to Mac or just don't remember that things weren't sunshine and roses with him either.

The funny thing is, someone who says that he has "100% faith" in Coach Rhoads is clearly paying absolutely no attention to what CPR is saying.

What's he going to say at this point? "Messingham is just riding out the year until I fire his *** at the end of it"? Of course he is going to SAY he has all of the confidence in the world with Mess...just like ADs publicly support coaches just weeks or days before they fire them.

The thing is, unless you have inside information, we have no idea what Rhoads really thinks of the job done by the offensive coaches. We'll know at the end of the season if they are still here.

 

[Cy$]

going from possibly 3 wins to 8 wins......I'll have what some of you are having.

 

[Wilson]

Why is that laughable? I posted stats showing that Mac and Rhoads have eerily similar win percentages when you throw out Mac's first 3 years. I'm not sure if you are related to Mac or just don't remember that things weren't sunshine and roses with him either.



What's he going to say at this point? "Messingham is just riding out the year until I fire his *** at the end of it"? Of course he is going to SAY he has all of the confidence in the world with Mess...just like ADs publicly support coaches just weeks or days before they fire them.

The thing is, unless you have inside information, we have no idea what Rhoads really thinks of the job done by the offensive coaches. We'll know at the end of the season if they are still here.

Let me know when a CPR team cracks the top ten or wins 9 games.

 

[Tre4ISU]

Not to pick on any one person, but this statement is representative of a certain prevalent attitude--and made me chuckle.

People have gone out of their way to blame Courtney Messingham for all of the problems on the offense. Apparently they just aren't watching the team closely, or don't know a whole lot about football. I have to admit, it's the simplest assumption. If the offense isn't good, blame the coordinator.

The funny thing is, someone who says that he has "100% faith" in Coach Rhoads is clearly paying absolutely no attention to what CPR is saying. Or in Coach Rhoads' judgment, one of the two. Because throughout the season, despite expandingly ludicrous accusations on the part of fans, COR has repeatedly addressed the OC rumor and innuendo. After the Tulsa game, he talked about what a terrific job Coach Messingham did calling plays. After the Texas game,, he spoke on what a fantastic job CM did bringing the offense together. Don't believe me? It's ight there on the Paul Rhoads show replays.

In other words, CPR knows that the offensive coordinator isn't the problem. And frankly, if you're one of the people disagreeing with him, then you do not have "100% faith" in him. You're putting your own judgment above his.

It's not hard to to tell what CPR thinks the main problem has been Let's start out with how he mentions that in six games, there have been six different combinations of starting offensive linemen. Even a casual observer likes myself knows that you don't just plug pieces in, offensive line efficiency is built on teamwork, cohesiveness and familiarity with one another.

Sure, there are other problems from that point. CPR mentions them, if you actually pay attention to what he says. And Courtney Messingham hasn't been perfect as a playcaller. He has room for improvement. The odd thing is, even when I watch NFL games, I don't think anyone is a "perfect" playcaller, there are always headscratchers.

Yep, even watching Manning in Denver.

My point is, CPR has played more football than most any of us on this board, and more importantly, he's coached more football than anyone on this board. He has a better idea of what plays are called, and why, and a wholelot better idea of why any individual play failed.

So, maybe this is just my point of view, but if Paul Rhoads doesn't think that Coach Messingham is the major problem with the offense, I'll sure as heck take his word for it, over the judgment of some anonymous message board poster. No matter how unhappy I am with the team's performance.

That's good enough for me, and I think it's a little bit more like "100% confidence" in Coach Rhoads is supposed to look like.

Of course, feel free to tell me I'm wrong. I HAVE been mistaken before, after all. More than any of you would imagine, matter of fact.

Well, I was going to say i had faith in him but since you put it that way, I guess I don't. Messingham has not been good at being a coordinator......ever. This year alone, UNI was awful, Iowa was awful until we went into chuck mode, Tulsa is a bad team and we didn't light them up, Texas was an ok performance which is actually great relatively speaking, Tech was awful and Baylor was a steaming pile of turds. There is no empirical evidence to support the notion that Courtney Messingham can do this job. They were bad last year and they have been worse this year. Blame the line if you want but there have been very small amounts of adjustments made to mitigate the injury ward that is our Oline. His biggest failure, IMO is not in the actual coordination of our offense but in the coaching of QBs. Every single QB that has played here since he took over has gotten worse or at the very least not gotten better. Then you proceed to have a one week QB controversy seemingly for the hell of it when Sam is as healthy as he's been. Messingham has failed at his job. It will take a lot for the fanbase to settle with him coming back next year. By a lot I mean a bowl game and that is not happening.

 

[Luth4Cy]

Let me know when a CPR team cracks the top ten or wins 9 games.

McCarney cracked the top 10 once and ended that season at .500. He also lost to UConn that year when it was their first year in FBS and they (Uconn) lost to every other major conference team they played.

He also only won 9 games once. He won 8 during the regular season and then won the bowl game. He didn't do this until year 6. Not to mention Iowa State only faced two ranked opponents that season.

 

[cycloneworld]

Let me know when a CPR team cracks the top ten or wins 9 games.

Ok, and you let me know when Rhoads has his SEVENTH season with 1 win or less in conference play. Man those were the days!

And we cracked the top 10 and then fell flat on our face. In fact, how many teams above .500 did we actually beat that year, 2?

I don't have the numbers but I'd bet CPR has already beaten the same number of winning teams that Mac did in his entire career.

 

[awd4cy]

Ok, and you let me know when Rhoads has his SEVENTH season with 1 win or less in conference play. Man those were the days!

And we cracked the top 10 and then fell flat on our face. In fact, how many teams above .500 did we actually beat that year, 2?

I don't have the numbers but I'd bet CPR has already beaten the same number of winning teams that Mac did in his entire career.

Very well could be this year in year 5. All Rhoads' players.

 

[Doc]

I have thought about that comparison many times. Man, I hope you're right, but I fear you're not.

Mizzou had shown more success before their year last year, that's for sure. And I'm definitely not saying ISU has the capability to start 7-0 with wins over some really good teams next year...I'm more saying that they can get back to that 2012 level with a more healthy team.

 

[ahaselhu]

Ok, and you let me know when Rhoads has his SEVENTH season with 1 win or less in conference play. Man those were the days!

And we cracked the top 10 and then fell flat on our face. In fact, how many teams above .500 did we actually beat that year, 2?

I don't have the numbers but I'd bet CPR has already beaten the same number of winning teams that Mac did in his entire career.

Here's some numbers for you:

I ran some numbers for Rhoads, McCarney, and McCarney's best years (from 2000-2006).

NOTE: These charts DO NOT include this season, since opponent win totals are not yet known.

Here are the wins and losses for Rhoads and McCarney vs. opponents organized by the final number of opponent wins, and the win percentage in such games. As you can see, Rhoads is doing just as well as McCarney did IN McCarney's BEST YEARS against bottom- and mid-tier teams, and is doing better against top competition.

Games	Losing/FCS	Win%	6-8 Wins	Win%	9+ Wins	Win %
Rhoads	15-2	88.24	5-11	31.25	4-14	22.22
McCarney	44-14	75.86	9-32	21.95	3-39	7.69
MC 00-06	31-4	88.57	9-18	33.33	3-21	14.29

In the next chart, the % columns indicate the percentage of total wins/losses accounted for by the previous column. For example, of Rhoads' wins, 62.5% have come against teams with losing records or FCS teams, and 16.67% of his wins have been against teams with 9+ wins.

Wins	Losing/FCS	%	6-8 Wins	%	9+ Wins	%
Rhoads	15	62.50	5	20.83	4	16.67
McCarney	44	78.57	9	16.07	3	5.36
MC 00-06	31	72.09	9	20.93	3	6.98
Losses
Rhoads	2	7.41	11	40.74	14	51.85
McCarney	14	16.47	32	37.65	39	45.88
MC 00-06	4	9.3	18	41.86	21	48.84

The difference isn't as striking as I expected it to be, but there's no doubt that we're doing AT LEAST as well under Rhoads as we ever did under McCarney, and this during what should have been program-building years under Rhoads.