Of course I'm confident in Coach Rhoads. Minus a few exceptions (Saturday), I don't go into football Saturdays expecting blowouts; I fully expect us to be competitive and have a chance to win, a direct result of what CPR has done here so far. McCarney hardly ever beat anyone he "wasn't supposed to." Rhoads has done it every year he's been here (there's still plenty of games left this season). If you had told me even 5 years ago that we would beat ranked teams on the road, win at Nebraska and Texas, beat the #2 team in the nation, all while consistently getting 50K+ fans every game at JTS, I would have laughed and written you off instantly.
My point is that Rhoads has already come a long ways in changing the culture here at ISU. I'm in no way trying to diminish what Mac did for ISU, but anyone who's been following ISU since the McCarney era can attest that there is a different feel now then there was back then. There's an electricity around the football program that was nonexistent a few short years ago. In a way, some of the unrealistic expectations are good; the fanbase as a whole has been more confident in the program the past few years.
Yet a few people on here have already declared that they don't have confidence in Coach Rhoads in ONE down year that we haven't even finished playing yet. Does he have issues that need to be addressed? Absolutely, but let's see what he does in the offseason. Down years are and will always be a part of Cyclone football. As much as I hate comparing us to the squawks, I think CPR could get us to where Kirk has Iowa right now. Win 6,7,8 games a year with a breakout year or two when things go right. Even with their recent success the past decade, Iowa still has down/rebuilding years.
I will be sad the day Paul Rhoads is no longer the coach at ISU. We will not find another coach out there that is as passionate for ISU as CPR. If anyone can get it done at ISU, it's him. McCarney laid the foundation for another coach to come in and take the next step. I still believe Paul Rhoads is that guy.