I think the 2014 squad will be the best cyclone football team since the 1977 Peach Bowl squad.
Year 6 for Rhoads, I think we win 8 regular season games. It will be the year of Home Field Advantage. Conference rivals Kansas State, West Virginia, Baylor and Texas Tech have proven to be toss-up games; all of these games are at home in 2014. I think with the talent that returns from the 2013 squad, this team will take the next step in the conference and compete with the big boys. 8-4 may not be conference title material, but a bowl win would tie the all-time win total for the program (9). Since this staff is about as solid as ever assembled at Iowa State, good things will come in the future if they are able to rack up an 8 or 9 win season. Junior QB Sam Richardson + RBs DeVondrick Nealy and Aaron Wimberly + WR Quenton Bundrage and Allen Lazard + TE EJ Bibbs could make for one of the most dynamic offenses in school history. The Defense will be led by Senior DE David Irving (who i think will become our first pass rushing threat since berryman) and Senior Safety Jacques Washington. There are only 3 seniors listed on the defensive Two-Deep Roster for 2013. The rest will return for the 2014 season.
Wins: NDSU, @Iowa, Toledo, Texas Tech, Baylor, Kansas State, @Kansas, West Virginia