Offense
QB Grade: C-
This year was supposed to be Arnaud's year. He's had time to learn and absorb Tom Herman's offensive scheme and has two full years of experience. He still doesn't seems comfortable with the offense however. Austen has 2 TDs to 5 picks on the year, and is completing under 60% of his throws which is worse than 2009. His legs have provided some first downs in designed QB runs and scramble situations, but his arm and decision making are not where they need to be for this offense to have any success.
Line: B
The line seems to be gelling fairly well. Against Iowa, possibly the best defensive front in football, they looked suspect, but Iowa will make many teams look that way this year. The running game is averaging over 4.5 yards per carry (not including QB rushing stats), and haven't given up many sacks.
RB: C+
ARob was listed on some pre-season watch lists, but that seems like a long shot at this point. His 65 yeard TD run against Northern Illinois was exciting and nice to see, but otherwise he hasn't been able to break anything open. We'll need ARob to run lights out to have any chance of becoming bowl eligible. It would also be nice to see Shontrelle Johnson and Jeff Woody get some additional carries in relief.
WR: C
This position was highly anticipated before the season with the return of several key receivers from injury. ISU has playmakers and speed. They need to catch the ball! ISU does not have a good enough QB to overcome dropped balls. If a ball is thrown anywhere near the receiver, it needs to be caught. Missing passes that turn into pick-6s isn't acceptible. Still I can't mark them down too far as I think much of the blame lies on the passer. It is nice to see the ball getting spread fairly evenly around to the receivers - this should help keep defenses guessing.
TE: A
This seems to be the brightest spot on offense. Collin Franklin is averaging roughly 50 yards and 5 catches per game, which leads the entire receiving corps.
Overall: C The offense was supposed to be the strength of this year's team with a senior QB, talented running backs and receivers, and a big and experienced o-line. The offense has scored 54 points in three games, an average of just 18 points per game. That includes 7 points against Iowa's reserves. However, excluding Iowa, which many believe has one of the best defenses in college football, Iowa State has averaged 23.5 points per game. Either way, this isn't enough production to win many games in the high scoring Big XII. The entire offense looks out of sorts, even moreso than last year. The line has pretty good pass protection, but just hasn't been able to produce the holes needed for a good ground game. The passing attack has focused on short dumps, and the few downfield opportunities have been missed by Arnaud. ISU has been able to sustain some drives, but mistakes including dropped balls, penalties, and poor throws have led to stalled drives or turnovers.
QB Grade: C-
This year was supposed to be Arnaud's year. He's had time to learn and absorb Tom Herman's offensive scheme and has two full years of experience. He still doesn't seems comfortable with the offense however. Austen has 2 TDs to 5 picks on the year, and is completing under 60% of his throws which is worse than 2009. His legs have provided some first downs in designed QB runs and scramble situations, but his arm and decision making are not where they need to be for this offense to have any success.
Line: B
The line seems to be gelling fairly well. Against Iowa, possibly the best defensive front in football, they looked suspect, but Iowa will make many teams look that way this year. The running game is averaging over 4.5 yards per carry (not including QB rushing stats), and haven't given up many sacks.
RB: C+
ARob was listed on some pre-season watch lists, but that seems like a long shot at this point. His 65 yeard TD run against Northern Illinois was exciting and nice to see, but otherwise he hasn't been able to break anything open. We'll need ARob to run lights out to have any chance of becoming bowl eligible. It would also be nice to see Shontrelle Johnson and Jeff Woody get some additional carries in relief.
WR: C
This position was highly anticipated before the season with the return of several key receivers from injury. ISU has playmakers and speed. They need to catch the ball! ISU does not have a good enough QB to overcome dropped balls. If a ball is thrown anywhere near the receiver, it needs to be caught. Missing passes that turn into pick-6s isn't acceptible. Still I can't mark them down too far as I think much of the blame lies on the passer. It is nice to see the ball getting spread fairly evenly around to the receivers - this should help keep defenses guessing.
TE: A
This seems to be the brightest spot on offense. Collin Franklin is averaging roughly 50 yards and 5 catches per game, which leads the entire receiving corps.
Overall: C The offense was supposed to be the strength of this year's team with a senior QB, talented running backs and receivers, and a big and experienced o-line. The offense has scored 54 points in three games, an average of just 18 points per game. That includes 7 points against Iowa's reserves. However, excluding Iowa, which many believe has one of the best defenses in college football, Iowa State has averaged 23.5 points per game. Either way, this isn't enough production to win many games in the high scoring Big XII. The entire offense looks out of sorts, even moreso than last year. The line has pretty good pass protection, but just hasn't been able to produce the holes needed for a good ground game. The passing attack has focused on short dumps, and the few downfield opportunities have been missed by Arnaud. ISU has been able to sustain some drives, but mistakes including dropped balls, penalties, and poor throws have led to stalled drives or turnovers.
