It's not a talent issue.

[ManBearClone]

After watching the end of the Okie State - Florida State game I think it is painfully obvious that the main problem is a lack of team speed. You can't coach speed. Short of hiring a Blue Blood coach who can bring in substantially better talent we need to figure out how to make Ames more attractive to top recruits. Can't keep just running coaches out of here. The stadium and facilities improvements are a start.

 

[RustShack]

I think we have the staff in place to fix the problem finally, unfortunately it's not a quick fix and there's no telling how much longer we can keep this great staff.

 

[NEICyFan]

After watching the end of the Okie State - Florida State game I think it is painfully obvious that the main problem is a lack of team speed. You can't coach speed. Short of hiring a Blue Blood coach who can bring in substantially better talent we need to figure out how to make Ames more attractive to top recruits. Can't keep just running coaches out of here. The stadium and facilities improvements are a start.

Team speed is at least average.

Linemen in both sides if the ball are a much bigger issue. Too small and untalented on D and too soft, chubby, slow, etc on O.

 

[LesGoCY]

It's absolutely a talent issue. Rhoads won the first 3-4 seasons with more talented teams (at least 1st stringers) recruited by Chizik and staff. Now that those players are gone there is an obvious talent gap (especially on the lines). We have had different o-line coaches and the results are the same. I have heard people on this site say that development has not been an issue and Yancy McKnight is not the cause--well, the only thing left to blame is talent.

I agree; talent issue. The lack of talent issue is on CPR, not Mangino. Bad news boys and I'll catch flack for this comment, but this 2015 class is void of talent too. Sans Ozigbo these 2015 kids are all projects. Recruiting has been lazy with too much reliance on JUCOs. My point is, the program is in trouble and the talent in immediate future is the same - mediocre.


Shouldn't complain without offering a solution. Well, after watching that NDSU team, I think about the architects of the NDSU program moving on to Wyoming...we missed a great opportunity to oust CPR et al, with an entire new coaching g staff regime. How about bringing in Farely or Woodley's staff. ******!

 

[Me State]

After watching the end of the Okie State - Florida State game I think it is painfully obvious that the main problem is a lack of team speed. You can't coach speed. Short of hiring a Blue Blood coach who can bring in substantially better talent we need to figure out how to make Ames more attractive to top recruits. Can't keep just running coaches out of here. The stadium and facilities improvements are a start.

Guys recruited to an FCS school in North Dakota were faster then our guys yesterday.

 

[FarminCy]

Guys recruited to an FCS school in North Dakota were faster then our guys yesterday.

There are a ton of very fast people at the lower divisions. Getting out ran is concerning but not end of the world. Getting out ran AND manhandled is inexcusable.

 

[Knownothing]

It is a talent issue. Do you honestly think we have had talent over the last 115 years of cyclone football? Do you think cpr just forgot how to coach the last two years. We have some talent. Just not enough and no depth.

 

[rholtgraves]

Yes it is

 

[FanatiClone]

It's not a talent issue. Position by position, give or take a couple, we match up with NDSU. Plug in our players one at a time into the Bison system and they would more than hold their own. NDSU plays football as a unit, and each buys into a system that has been effective for a good 6-7 years, if not more. We are like amnesiacs in that as a program we are in a constant search for an identity. We got our ***** kicked, not because the Bison have more talent, but because they have their **** together and we don't.

 

[CycloneNorth]

So basically it's everything.

 

[ManBearClone]

Guys recruited to an FCS school in North Dakota were faster then our guys yesterday.

No not necessarily but they are more experienced. Look at their record last year blow out after blow out. This means second and third stringers get lots of playing time. This is the same reason Boise had a good run. As players left experienced players took their place. If they played in a major conference they wouldn't have this benefit they would have to play their top players the majority of the minutes.

 

[cyatheart]

It's a bunch of new starters on defense. They have plenty of film to go over this week and see what they did wrong and can fix it.

No, it can't be fixed. That is why the mood is so bad, people know it's a total mess now, especially on defense, can't be fixed...not this year, not next year.

Basically everything is broken.

 

[SpokaneCY]

Not yet, we're working on it. But for some reason people don't want to give Mangino time.

We have not had an identity ever during the CPR era. His bold promise of hitting ya coming off the bus was the closest thing to a vision. And the fans have given LOTS and LOTS of time and millions upon millions of dollars.

 

[SpokaneCY]

No not necessarily but they are more experienced. Look at their record last year blow out after blow out. This means second and third stringers get lots of playing time. This is the same reason Boise had a good run. As players left experienced players took their place. If they played in a major conference they wouldn't have this benefit they would have to play their top players the majority of the minutes.

With all our injuries on the OL last year there were LOTS of opportunities to gain that game day experience.

 

[SpokaneCY]

ISU has finished LAST in average recruiting stars back to 2007. You know who WAS worse than us back then? Baylor. What did Baylor do? Hired a new coach and blew away the competition.

Flat last in recruiting each and every year under CPR and prior. Yes Virginia, there IS a talent issue.

 

[deanvogs]

It's not a talent issue. Position by position, give or take a couple, we match up with NDSU. Plug in our players one at a time into the Bison system and they would more than hold their own. NDSU plays football as a unit, and each buys into a system that has been effective for a good 6-7 years, if not more. We are like amnesiacs in that as a program we are in a constant search for an identity. We got our ***** kicked, not because the Bison have more talent, but because they have their **** together and we don't.

It is a talent issue, and your post kind of shows that. If you think it is ok that the ISU talent is only "just as good" or "match up well" with a FCS school, that is a HUGE PROBLEM.

 

[Peter]

It is a talent issue substantiated by the FACT that NDSU--a FCS school---has more talent on its roster than ISU, a big XII school. THAT is more than an issue; it means this program is in serious doo-doo.

 

[acgclone]

It is a talent issue, and your post kind of shows that. If you think it is ok that the ISU talent is only "just as good" or "match up well" with a FCS school, that is a HUGE PROBLEM.

Exactly. It's a huge problem. Obviously K-State came out last year and played really badly (against probably a better NDSU team) and they lost, but they lost CLOSE. We were dominated, which tells me that our talent alone should have at least kept us in the game.

 

[temperflare]

There were some other problems out there...

Conditioning
Discipline

Perhaps Klenakis wasn't liked because he was big on discipline? It's plausible.

 

[WIB]

It is certainly a talent issue.

Ill compose a list of players that have no buisness playing in the big 12. Not saying its these guys fault, I love the team but I'll call a FCS player an FCS player.

Mitchell Meyers
Devlyn Cousins
Ferch
Meeks
Miller
Sam E Richardson
Kamari Moya

Right now in their careers these guys should not be on the field. Expecting a defense to hold teams under 30 with 7 of 11 players that wouldn't play a down at any other big 12 school is silly.