Because it means getting screwed out of a home game early in the season. When tailgating is best. Plus (especially with our team) it becomes a trap game away from home.
The Formula to Win at Iowa State
- Thread starter Havs
- Start date
Recruiting some decent size players might help. Tired of watching our Offensive line get run over.
Work on Tackling! I swear Rhoads should dedicate an entire month to nothing but tackling. When you screw up the fundamentals you're not going to win.
maybe get the team a little more jacked up so we don't give up 20 points in the first quarter, and then decide to start playing in the 2nd half.
I'm not a football coach, but I did stay at a holiday inn express once.
Work on Tackling! I swear Rhoads should dedicate an entire month to nothing but tackling. When you screw up the fundamentals you're not going to win.
maybe get the team a little more jacked up so we don't give up 20 points in the first quarter, and then decide to start playing in the 2nd half.
I'm not a football coach, but I did stay at a holiday inn express once.
Talent identification, player development and player retention along both lines needs to be the #1 focus going forward. Both UNI and NDSU's offensive lines have been far superior and more effective than ours in recent years due to any combination of the 3 things listed above.
Quit recruiting tall, skinny offensive linemen and trying to put weight on them and start focusing on the road grader types that have stronger lower bodies (fat guys) and can be good run blockers like Reggie Stevens, Pat Augnafa, etc.
Up tempo football isn't going to work for us for as long as we play in the Big 12.
Quit recruiting tall, skinny offensive linemen and trying to put weight on them and start focusing on the road grader types that have stronger lower bodies (fat guys) and can be good run blockers like Reggie Stevens, Pat Augnafa, etc.
Up tempo football isn't going to work for us for as long as we play in the Big 12.
1. Identity- LINE PLAY.
Hire an OC & DC that are OL and DL coaches (at least one should have an NFL connection)
Mold a program that win or lose has better lines than everyone but UT & OU
2. Texas - recruiting
Turn the Texas recruiting up to eleven. Make it clear that we want to be a Texas school in Iowa
3. Texas - scheduling
Make sure that any non con games (not named UNI or UI) ISU play are vs./in Texas. UTEP, SMU, Rice, TSU, NTSU etc. If we're not in Iowa we're in Texas, again...a Texas school in Iowa.
In this league Texas is where the fans are and where the talent is located. We can get good OL, DL, LB even QBs up here. For everything else - Texas.
Hire an OC & DC that are OL and DL coaches (at least one should have an NFL connection)
Mold a program that win or lose has better lines than everyone but UT & OU
2. Texas - recruiting
Turn the Texas recruiting up to eleven. Make it clear that we want to be a Texas school in Iowa
3. Texas - scheduling
Make sure that any non con games (not named UNI or UI) ISU play are vs./in Texas. UTEP, SMU, Rice, TSU, NTSU etc. If we're not in Iowa we're in Texas, again...a Texas school in Iowa.
In this league Texas is where the fans are and where the talent is located. We can get good OL, DL, LB even QBs up here. For everything else - Texas.
I might be in the minority on this, but I'd rather see us battle Big 10 teams for recruits in Illinois and Wisconsin than recruit in Texas and Florida. Part of the problem with that is we don't play teams in Big 10 states so they really have no reason to come here except to not play in the Big 10.
1. Real field enthusiam.
2. Reasonable gameplan that has a chance.
3. More accurate passing.
4. Decent blocking on oline.
5. Some actual chaos caused by dline.
6. Linebackers that do not overrun.
7. Opponents receivers be guarded more closely.
8. More and better tailgating weather.
9. Running game.
10 Better bubble screens.
11. Four quarters of effort.
12. Levi Peters enthusiasm.
2. Reasonable gameplan that has a chance.
3. More accurate passing.
4. Decent blocking on oline.
5. Some actual chaos caused by dline.
6. Linebackers that do not overrun.
7. Opponents receivers be guarded more closely.
8. More and better tailgating weather.
9. Running game.
10 Better bubble screens.
11. Four quarters of effort.
12. Levi Peters enthusiasm.
I'd like to see us pursue the Stanford & Wisconsin formula. Pro style power football. Slow the game down so we can at least keep it close & not get blown out all the damn time. Take skilled quarterback play out the equation and make him a game manager. We'll never consistently beat Texahoma in a game of speed.
Next: F U N D A M E N T A L S. Sound tackling & ball control. Winning the turnover battle and preventing big plays is how you can overcome a talent deficit.
Talent: Win the battle in the trenches. Quality interior linemen must be developed. This CAN be done with local kids. Supplement the edges with the best DE & TE JUCO talent you can find.
Next: F U N D A M E N T A L S. Sound tackling & ball control. Winning the turnover battle and preventing big plays is how you can overcome a talent deficit.
Talent: Win the battle in the trenches. Quality interior linemen must be developed. This CAN be done with local kids. Supplement the edges with the best DE & TE JUCO talent you can find.
Jucos. Need to recruit well upfront on both sides of the ball and I don't care where they come from. Iowa does it. So I know it can be done in this state.
They hired a good coach that stayed and changed the program. That is basically what it boils down to.
ISU was running a pro style power football in the first part of the Mac era. Fan didn't like it then and ******* about it. Iowa runs that same system now, do you see the results they are getting. It is not about the system, it is about running the given system well and doing the little things that well.
So was every other team in the Big 8/12 but with superior athletes.
Now we are still trying to play football the same way as the rest of the conference (minus KSU) who have superior athletes and always will.
Good points. I should have mentioned power football (with the exception of the Kansas schools) would be going against the grain in our conference. During Mac's tenure, Colorado, KSU, the OKs, Texas, & aTm were still running pro style power football. When Herman arrived, everyone else transitioned to no huddle zone read as well. They have the skill players to thrive in it.
When Rhoads took over, I remember him stating we don't need to be the best- we need to be unique. Well we're not. We're trying to do the same thing as Oklahoma, Baylor, WVU, TCU, and they're light years ahead of us. Mangino, Leach, & Pinkel opened some eyes in the league. Look what happened after their departures.
As far as the turdeyes are concerned: kirk's certainly not a coaching genius, but his O-line and interior D-line are always serviceable to exemplary at times. It's obvious to me their program has suffered most at the skill position level- as has most of their conference as they continually over-mine the great lakes area.
ISU's skill positions are actually what gave us the edge last fall, but it's still obviously not on par with the rest of the Big 12. That's why I believe a slowed grind tempo and improved fundamentals- ESPECIALLY in the trenches would give us a better shot from week to week.
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There is a coach who has done this method with extraordinary success. He is young enough to still coach and do a great job. I don't know if he still wants to coach (he is currently a university president or AD I believe) and I don't know for sure he would want to come to Ames.
His name is Jim Tressel.
...with an historically easier schedule to boot.
Most of us love McCarney (I teared up at his last Cyclone Club luncheon) and appreciated what he did for ISU, but nothing about his tenure as coach of ISU suggests he could have done anything more than what CPR and Co have accomplished. Season after season comparsion of strength of schedule compared to what McCarney coached teams played vs. the current brutal Big XII, isn't even close.
Let it go, let it go...
Oh but for that pesky "show cause" penalty in effect until December 2016 for Tressel.........
And the fact that Tressel announced his official retirement from coaching a while back.
