Football One Third Mark - Team Grade

[Jer]

I think the C for special teams is a little harsh. I didn't see anything that they did that I thought was bad other than maybe trying to return a kickoff that probably should have been fair caught.

It feels like Dekkers is only going to get better as the season goes on and he gets more trust in his receivers not called Hutchinson.

I think they were an A this past game, the C was for the YTd.

 

[CyCloned]

I think they were an A this past game, the C was for the YTd.

Okay, that is fair. Not sure you can raise that F from the Iowa game to a C, but we can go with that.

 

[superiorcyclone]

A lot of players/units are kind of better than I expected, because so many unknowns. But also a lot more errors than I expected. Turnovers, punt blocks, lack of touchbacks, penalties, etc.

Just get killed in the margins and make winning harder on themselves

We are missing running plays from the QB spot. I sure thought we would see Deckers use his feet more than he has. He has been pretty good with his arm.

 

[t-noah]

I don't know how you can rate us any other than a B. We could stay there the rest of the year, win more than we lose, etc.

Or we could improve, play better than expected, maybe still contend. To do this, we must win tomorrow, and play very well for our confidence.

We could also lose more than expected from here on.

Really, I think it's too early to tell what this team (and Big 12) will become.

 

[cyfan92]

I voted B, slightly closer to B+ than B-. I was at an A after the Ohio game. We fall to a B- if we lose to KU and a C if we fall to K-state.

If we can somehow find a way to be 5-2 or better going into the bye That is an A. 4-3 would be a low B or high C.

The next 3 weeks are MONUMENTAL! If we go 3-0 over the next 3. That likely means a top 15 ranking before hosting OU in late October. Expectations turn to the Alamo Bowl or better. If we go 2-1, there is a small chance we are still in the conference title conversation and a fringe top 25ish team. Expectations turn to a good bowl game. If we go 1-2 before the bye.. Things get super noisy and a bowl game becomes a questions mark..

I'm beyond nervous for KU and I HATE not having a layup on the schedule...

 

[t-noah]

I voted B, slightly closer to B+ than B-. I was at an A after the Ohio game. We fall to a B- if we lose to KU and a C if we fall to K-state.

If we can somehow find a way to be 5-2 or better going into the bye That is an A. 4-3 would be a low B or high C.

The next 3 weeks are MONUMENTAL! If we go 3-0 over the next 3. That likely means a top 15 ranking before hosting OU in late October. Expectations turn to the Alamo Bowl or better. If we go 2-1, there is a small chance we are still in the conference title conversation and a fringe top 25ish team. Expectations turn to a good bowl game. If we go 1-2 before the bye.. Things get super noisy and a bowl game becomes a questions mark..

I'm beyond nervous for KU and I HATE not having a layup on the schedule...

What he said!!! Good post.

Well stated! That's just what I wanted to say (and didn't)! LOL

 

[cytor]

I'll go B+ overall. The only loss being to Baylor/refs.

 

[cyfan92]

QB - B (Would be higher if not for the TO)
RB - B+/A- (my expectations were LOW)
TE - D
OL - C-

DL - B-
LB - C
CB - B+
S - B

ST - C

 

[gocy444]

B+/A- for me. Super young team who beat their biggest rival on the road and wiped two bad teams. Stood up against the reigning Big 12 champs, just made some dumb mistakes. If your expectations were for us to go 10-2 than I could see disappointment. I had us going 7-5 based on returners and schedule. We are right on track to that.

 

[t-noah]

QB - B (Would be higher if not for the TO)
RB - B+/A- (my expectations were LOW)
TE - D
OL - C-

DL - B-
LB - C
CB - B+
S - B

ST - C

Did we ask for this kind of detail?

And, I love it!

 

[cyclone1209]

Overall: B

This is probably the hardest an ISU team (and Big 12 conference) has been to judge this far into the season in a long while. The league doesn’t have a killer at the top or a pushover at the bottom. The matchups haven’t told us much about anybody yet with the ways the wins and losses have gone. Iowa State is no exception. I don’t take much away from the Baylor game due to the first half “issues” setting the tone.

Offense: B

I think the big unknown is how good our offense can be reliably. SEMO was a traditional cupcake. We looked bad against a strong Iowa D. Ohio gave up 50+ to Fordham this weekend so that doesn’t tell us anything. Baylor was stiff and slowed us down. The two cupcakes we looked good against. The two good defenses slowed us down considerably and youth showed.

I like our RB room, of course, but they aren’t getting any help with penetration up front, especially in the middle. Dekkers is getting some time but looks flustered after his first read – inexperience likely. His hesitation to take off running, and his lack of speed on the first step or two has hurt. Our WRs aren’t getting much separation, apart from X. Stanley had a good play and Noel has shown some flashes, but we need consistency and haven’t had it.

Our play calling between the 20s on 1st and 2nd down have been really good this year. Our 3rd down play calling and redzone offense has been suspect again. The designed QB runs have been at bad times and have shown as much. Dekkers has completed a high percentage of his passes, but the average yards per completion hasn’t been stellar.

Defense: B

We have a good rush defense – no concerns for the most part. Our pass defense still plays off too much on 3rd downs and we’ve had a number of blown coverages on the backside. The lack of speed might be forcing us to play softer coverage. As we face more potent offenses, my concern is we’ll give up more big plays. We don’t yet know if we can overcome with our offense.

Special Teams: C

The unit played their best game of the season by far against Baylor. Yes, the bar was basically laying on the floor, but they had good punt protection, coverage, and kicking.

i agree,
Offense: B
- Pro's: Hunter has been fairly accurate, Jihrehl Brock is dependable although not a gamebreaker
- Cons: we need a second receiver to start torching people more consistently and I think we got a glimpse of that with Dmitri Stanley against Baylor. More post patterns deep to that guy please

Defense: B
- Pro's: The corners have been terrific Purchase and Tampa. Interior DL has been awesome with Lee/Singleton/Dominique Orange
- Cons: lack of a pass rush when teams double Will McDonald is hurting us. We rush 3 so often it seems "passive". Wish we'd be more aggressive earlier in the game but I know that is Heacocks style. WE got completely jobbed in Baylor so I don't ding them for that game.

Special Teams is also a B. New kicker is pretty good, no complaints with punting when they actually get it off, punt return game has sucked.

 

[DSMCy]

I went A. I think any of us would have signed up for 3-1 in a second before the season.
With all the new guys, and unknowns, I’m happy with how competitive these guys are.
Obviously disappointing to lose to Baylor at home, but man that’s a close, 1 score loss to the big 12 champs.

 

[t-noah]

I went A. I think any of us would have signed up for 3-1 in a second before the season.
With all the new guys, and unknowns, I’m happy with how competitive these guys are.
Obviously disappointing to lose to Baylor at home, but man that’s a close, 1 score loss to the big 12 champs.

I like this post! It is so easy to focus on the negatives in life. Why not look at the bright side.

And you're right, 3-1 is pretty good for us at this point. Of course, we all want more, who doesn't.

Fingers crossed that today will be another step forward and we will be excited to be 4-1. Next 3 games will tell us a lot about who we are.

 

[ClonesTwenty1]

C+

 

[Lineup]

B-

 

[ISUAlum2002]

I want to revisit my B grade.

 

[8bitnes]

Judging by the opening of 8 melt down threads in the past 90 minutes, one would think F is is the grade. however, we are a young team, defense is pretty darned good, and we collected a win over iowa. So, I am rating them a C.

I think both Baylor and Kansas were winnable, so that's the frustrating part

 

[IcSyU]

Defense: A-
Offense: D+
Special Teams: F