Boy, this really takes me back

[ruxCYtable]

Silent, lifeless crowd. Empty east upper deck. Hapless team of QUITTERS on the field. Cold fall wind blowing through Jack Trice Stadium.

Reminds me of all those fall Saturdays I spent with my dad, may he rest in peace, in section D row 6. Thank you CPR and Cyclones for bringing it all back.

 

[UNIGuy4Cy]

It's the Walden days again

 

[ISUKyro]

Yep. I had hope these days wouldn't be back at ISU - guess I should have known better.

 

[RunDMCyclone]

[video=youtube;MdeSLxz5TTE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdeSLxz5TTE[/video]

 

[digZ]

Well at least there's always tailgating! But I don't live in Iowa anymore..

Well at least basketball season is approaching!

 

[CycloneErik]

I really thought we were past this 2 years ago after our biggest win ever.

Since then, 7-16 with a team that looks worse each week. This is really an unbelievable development that should have been impossible.

 

[madcityCY]

agree - middle 90's when the only question was how bad the loss would be, and how soon the opposing team would put the 2nd team in.

 

[acgclone]

It's all about b-ball IMO, where we actually have a chance to become a legit powerhouse.

Our football program will likely never be consistently competitive.

 

[cyclones500]

Reminds me of mid-80s too

 

[Cydar]

So is this Criner or Walden?

 

[cyatheart]

It's bad. We are outmanned everywhere. Defense can't stop anyone, and the offense has no chance to score.

 

[RunDMCyclone]

I really thought we were past this 2 years ago after our biggest win ever.

Since then, 7-16 with a team that looks worse each week. This is really an unbelievable development that should have been impossible.

All goes back to the recruiting. It has been terrible since CPR arrived and hasn't improved. It's hard to ever build something more than a program with a ceiling of 5-6 wins (including several cupcakes out of conference) when you are relying on players with 2 stars and no BCS offers. Some people blindly look past that, but it's the truth.

Until the recruiting picks up, is there any real reason to expect anything better than maybe a 5 or 6 win program in the best of seasons, and 2-3 wins in ugly rebuilding seasons?

 

[Wesley]

Walden and Criner meets The Mess. He is the one below.

• 
• 
• 

 

[Cy$]

Rhoads has been a .500 coach and Iowa State has 17 straight game of 50,000+ fans. Sooner or later, if the product doesn't improve, ISU will be consistently under 40-45k fans, hitting the AD in his pockets. Until that point, there is a 0% chance Rhoads leaves as long as the AD sees no difference in the balances. Rhoads also has a 10 year contract, which honestly, I think was a bad move. ISU had 1 year over .500. That doesn't scream let's give Rhoads the keys and let him get the program for 10 years. Hoiberg has deserved his contract, Rhoads hasn't. I don't think Rhoads should get canned, however, for the people wanting Rhoads gone, you kinda put Rhoads in a spot where he's untouchable, you have part of the blame in this. End rant.

 

[Dryburn]

Won't be any record ticket sales next year, that's for sure.

No heart. No leadership on the field. No depth. Really questionable coaching decisions. Not a winning formula.

 

[Rabbuk]

What if I wanted Rhoads gone before he got his big contract? Like after the New York game.

 

[digZ]

All goes back to the recruiting. It has been terrible since CPR arrived and hasn't improved. It's hard to ever build something more than a program with a ceiling of 5-6 wins (including several cupcakes out of conference) when you are relying on players with 2 stars and no BCS offers. Some people blindly look past that, but it's the truth.

Until the recruiting picks up, is there any real reason to expect anything better than maybe a 5 or 6 win program in the best of seasons, and 2-3 wins in ugly rebuilding seasons?

Problem is, recruiting really just picked up last year, and maybe the year before that. If we can hold on to some of our recent recruits during this downturn, I think things will pick up. I know it sucks to say "wait 1-2 years" as most cyclone fans have been waiting for a looong time, but I think things will get much better from here. Lazard, Campos, Curtis, and Mister. We're still in the mix for Jones. Things are looking wayyy up for recruiting since 4 years ago. Rebuilding jobs take time. The problem is will the fans, administrators, and players be that patient? Hopefully.

 

[CyJack13]

All goes back to the recruiting. It has been terrible since CPR arrived and hasn't improved. It's hard to ever build something more than a program with a ceiling of 5-6 wins (including several cupcakes out of conference) when you are relying on players with 2 stars and no BCS offers. Some people blindly look past that, but it's the truth.

Until the recruiting picks up, is there any real reason to expect anything better than maybe a 5 or 6 win program in the best of seasons, and 2-3 wins in ugly rebuilding seasons?

Yep, our recruiting hasn't improved at all relative to the rest of the conference under CPR and we had been extremely lucky in close games (6-2 in one possession) over the last two years, we were getting to 6 wins each year but with almost no margin for error. When we stopped getting so lucky in close games we were headed for a long season, although this has been worse than I expected.

 

[CycloneErik]

2 thoughts:

1. Yes, the fan support has been amazing and beyond what the record deserves (although the big wins deserve real recognition). It won't drop to the 40-45k range, though. It'll bottom out much lower and be much more difficult for the next guy to build back up.

2. Wesley feels like the doggie pics are cute, but that joke got old at one post. Someone shut down the bot.

 

[vortex]

Wow some of you guys are really Debbie Downers...what are you going to do if the BB team has a bad year or two at some point in time? I think there was a good chance this year would be tough in football, maybe not quite to this degree but the odds fovored a down year. High expectations are a good thing but realistic expectations are the best bet.