Football Season Postmortem

[CycloneVet]

The issue is they are bad.

I agree and I think every ounce of talent was rung out of those guys. They played to what their ceiling was. Now for the second wave of increased talent level starting next year. I bet it will get to the level that we saw this year as a floor with a much higher ceiling.

 

[Rogue52]

I’d like to see the bowl game before judging the season.

 

[Cat Stevens]

Is it?!? He’s been worth by himself 4-5 wins.

Think about his individual plays these last two years.

It’s a terrible assertion, and a completely disingenuous argument.

you really should go back to defending hawk basketball. You’re better there.

 

[CycloneVet]

I’m real scared the line might be even worse next year. Losing Spears hurts but it seemed like he didn’t have the greatest year compared to what he did in the past. Enyi had a really disappointing season as well.

Check Spears tackle numbers and you will be surprised

 

[madguy30]

Sure, why not just win them all. It's just that simple.

The point is ISU is losing games due being flawed fundamentally. Last night was another example.

 

[Cat Stevens]

That's asking Cat for too much. Why read when you can just start attacking other people faster?

So quoting your emotional breakdowns and dumb comments as a result is attacking?

Makes sense when you dont ever take accountability for your words. Don’t worry there are a lot of you.

 

[Cat Stevens]

Lord would you just shut up and let people reasonably vent after a loss.

If people were venting reasonably you may have a remotely decent point.

tell you what, sign your name to your comments about the players and coaches and then you can have your reasonable vent.

 

[Cat Stevens]

Why is it easier to stop teams on 3rd and short vs 3rd and long. Seriously that is probably the most frustrating thing this season

because we only rush 3 and drop into zone coverage. It gives the receivers extra time to find space in the zone, and a decent quarterback a lot of time to find them.

 

[Cat Stevens]

As big of a Campbell homer as I am, this is the kind of mindset we have to get over as a fanbase.

The next step for our program is a Big 12 Championship game. To accomplish that, beating Texas is almost a must, not just an accomplishment.

Here’s a ******* fan folks.

he absolutely refuses to accept mediocrity.

You should look at the timelines in all the recent program builds, k state, Colorado. See how long they took and see how smooth the progression was.

 

[CycloneVet]

This team was defined by their mistakes. Almost every game. Opposite of winning in the margins like the HC preaches.

Maybe he is preaching to his team that is what was needed and not just to the fans? This was Campbell’s way of publicly calling out his team without pulling a Scott Frost. He is classy like that and not a ***** like Frost.

 

[Cat Stevens]

Completely agree. Five years ago would you have taken an uneventful 7-5? Absolutely. But at some point I think that mindset has to change. The reality of this year is we beat one FBS team with a winning record, and that was a very marginal Texas team. We beat very bad ULM, Kansas and West Virgina teams. We beat TCU and Tech who are somewhat competitive, but still had losing records. I think you could argue the highlight of the season was a loss to OU.

7-5 is what it is, but the whole thing just was very unfulfilling. Not a lot of great, exciting moments, not a lot of memorable performances. We won the ones we should, and that's really about it.

So do you take it as opposed to where we were 5 years ago? Absolutely. But I think next year will be time to really turn the corner and decide if we really are a top 3 Big 12 program.

What. The. Literal. ****?

 

[CycloneVet]

Obviously a better product than our last staff and 7 wins is not bad. We match up better with the stereotypical explosive Big 12 style of football, and that is important for our long-term performance. But does it bother anyone else that we struggle to stop physical downhill running attacks, even when we know it's coming? Do we have to choose between matching up with one over the other?

How would this game have gone without 40 mph winds? I would have expected it to be better offensively to at least try and outscore them. The weather made us too predictable.

 

[Cat Stevens]

Obviously a better product than our last staff and 7 wins is not bad. We match up better with the stereotypical explosive Big 12 style of football, and that is important for our long-term performance. But does it bother anyone else that we struggle to stop physical downhill running attacks, even when we know it's coming? Do we have to choose between matching up with one over the other?

Yes. You really do. Do you want to beat Iowa? Or do you want to have winning records in the conference?

 

[Cat Stevens]

I didn't think an NBA team would take a college coach who just had his butt handed to him by a decidedly mediocre team, but they did.

how bad do you want him to leave? I will bet you hit your knees every night hoping for him to leave, and Iowa state to go back to being 3-9 don’t you?

 

[Cat Stevens]

Our new O-Line will be quite new and mostly unexperienced. D-Line should be good next year, but we will miss Johnson. I do not worry about receivers, because we still broke records this year even after the loss of Butler. Linebackers should be good. Lewis will be the only notable departure in the secondary this year.

You are saying the exact same thing that many said about us this year. We were hyped in the offseason to be a great, 9-3, 10-2 team this year, but we fell quite short of expectations. I myself am expecting another 7-5, 8-4 type season until we prove that we are better.

how long have you been an Iowa State fan?

 

[heitclone]

This season had its ups and downs, we should have won 2-3 more games but I think you can look at this team see its will be the least talented group we'll have for the next couple of years. The only thing I'm bummed about is that in all but one loss, we were beat by the exact same strategy. Manning needs figure this out, the TCU game was the only game we seemed to adjust our play calling to teams playing us this way.

We all wanted to keep make strides but the reality is, there are going to be set backs when building a program. We still have a shot to win 8 games for the 3rd straight year, if that is our "rebuild'down" year, I'll take it. It's easy to pick out the negatives but there were lots of bright spots from this year. There is a ton to look forward to next season and beyond. We'll get to see a Heisman candidate under center, one of the top RB's in the country, most of the DB group back, Rose and Vance at LB and as good a DL as we've ever had. I can't wait.

 

[Cat Stevens]

Nowhere did I suggest fan expectations have any effect on the team. I'm sure Campbell isn't satisfied and will spend the next 9 months making sure next year is better.

What I am saying is the fan rhetoric of "hey, at least we won more than 3 games" is going to get old. It's fine for a few years, but expecting people to be satisfied with what was, by all accounts, a very "meh" year simply because it's better than where we were 10 years ago is unreasonable. At some point I think it's fair for expectations to change.

Where are people saying this? Can you link those posts for me please?

thanks in advance.

 

[Cat Stevens]

This season had its ups and downs, we should have won 2-3 more games but I think you can look at this team see its will be the least talented group we'll have for the next couple of years. The only thing I'm bummed about is that in all but one loss, we were beat by the exact same strategy. Manning needs figure this out, the TCU game was the only game we seemed to adjust our play calling to teams playing us this way.

We all wanted to keep make strides but the reality is, there are going to be set backs when building a program. We still have a shot to win 8 games for the 3rd straight year, if that is our "rebuild'down" year, I'll take it. It's easy to pick out the negatives but there were lots of bright spots from this year. There is a ton to look forward to next season and beyond. We'll get to see a Heisman candidate under center, one of the top RB's in the country, most of the DB group back, Rose and Vance at LB and as good a DL as we've ever had. I can't wait.

Bill Snyder was 5-6 his fourth year.

Bill McCartney was 6-6 his 5th year.

Closest examples to what Iowa State is.

but this team sucks because they won 7 games and had a winning record in conference play.

 

[Cat Stevens]

Completely average team with average results.

I know there is a hot debate as to whether or not you are actually an Iowa State fan.

but if you have been a fan for any length of time, and someone says to you an average team with average results is 7-5 with a bowl game to play, you take that every ******* year until you die.

 

[CycloneVet]

When was the last time that 7-5 wasn’t a peak for the kids we had and then they were graduating and we were looking at starting from scratch. We have had 3 really good years and it looks to be very sustainable because of the level of recruiting. We have tons coming back and the area that is about to be decimated is likely going to be replaced with more talented kids who have had the chance to grow in the program for 2 years, get stronger and really learn what expectations are without getting their asses kicked by playing before they were ready. We have a top juco Dlineman to shoulder the loss of 2 future pros to go along with what has been recruited and developed currently in the program. We have an actual sustainable program for the 1st time in my lifetime and I am 43. Last night sucked ass.