HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.
BY WESSEL-KROESCHELL, D. OLSON, DEYOE, and HEDDENS
1 1 A Resolution congratulating the Iowa State University
1 2 football team for its victory at the Insight Bowl.
1 3 WHEREAS, In 2009, the Iowa State football team, the
1 4 Cyclones, was in its first season under head coach Paul
1 5 Rhoads, an Iowa native; and
1 6 WHEREAS, Coach Rhoads told the members of his team
1 7 before the season that they would win a bowl game; and
1 8 WHEREAS, the Iowa State Cyclones posted their first
1 9 winning season since 2005; and
1 10 WHEREAS, the Cyclones were invited to play in their
1 11 first bowl game since 2005, appearing in the Insight
1 12 Bowl in Tempe, Arizona; and
1 13 WHEREAS, the Cyclones beat the Minnesota Golden
1 14 Gophers of the Big Ten, 14=13, on December 31 in the
1 15 Insight Bowl; and
1 16 WHEREAS, the Big 12 media picked the Cyclones
1 17 to finish last in the North Division before the
1 18 season; and
1 19 WHEREAS, the Cyclones beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers,
1 20 9=7 for its first win in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 32
1 21 years; and
1 22 WHEREAS, the team was led by captains Reggie
1 23 Stephens, Austen Arnaud, James Smith, Derec Schmidgall,
1 24 and Nate Frere; and
1 25 WHEREAS, middle linebacker Jesse Smith was the
1 26 national defensive player of the week after the
1 27 Nebraska win, making 12 tackles and the game=clinching
1 28 interception against the Cornhuskers, finishing his
2 1 career with 305 tackles after leading the Big 12 with
2 2 135 stops in 2009; and
2 3 WHEREAS, video of Coach Rhoads' postgame speech with
2 4 his team after the Nebraska win has been viewed nearly
2 5 250,000 times on YouTube; and
2 6 WHEREAS, Coach Rhoads coached the Cyclones to seven
2 7 wins in his first season, the most victories by a
2 8 first=year head coach since 1907; and
2 9 WHEREAS, Coach Rhoads is the first head football
2 10 coach to lead the Cyclones to a winning season in his
2 11 first year since 1931; and
2 12 WHEREAS, the Cyclones beat Kent State for its first
2 13 road victory since 2005, with the win at Nebraska being
2 14 its first road conference win since 2005; and
2 15 WHEREAS, the Cyclones held three conference
2 16 opponents to 10 points or less for the first time since
2 17 1965; and
2 18 WHEREAS, the Cyclones were one of the most improved
2 19 teams nationally among NCAA Bowl Championship Series
2 20 schools; and
2 21 WHEREAS, the Cyclones were 68th nationally in the
2 22 red zone in 2008, and in 2009, ranked second=best
2 23 among 120 football bowl subdivision teams in that
2 24 category; and
2 25 WHEREAS, the Cyclone defenders were ninth nationally
2 26 in forced turnovers; and
2 27 WHEREAS, the defense's anchor, linebacker Jesse
2 28 Smith, earned first=team all=conference honors, strong
2 29 safety David Sims was named by the league's coaches as
2 30 the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year, and punter
3 1 Mike Brandtner and running back Alexander Robinson
3 2 earned honorable mention all=Big 12 honors; and
3 3 WHEREAS, the Cyclone punt return defense ranked
3 4 fourth nationally; and
3 5 WHEREAS, running back Alexander Robinson became the
3 6 Cyclone's first 1,000=yard rusher since 2004; and
3 7 WHEREAS, quarterback Austen Arnaud drove the
3 8 Cyclones to success despite injuries that forced him
3 9 and Alexander Robinson to miss parts of several games
3 10 this season, while offensive lineman Reggie Stephens,
3 11 first=team all=conference honoree, led a rejuvenated
3 12 front in the trenches, and offensive lineman Kelechi
3 13 Osemele was a second=team all=conference selection; NOW
3 14 THEREFORE,
3 15 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
3 16 That the House of Representatives honors the 2009 Iowa
3 17 State University football team and their coach, Paul
3 18 Rhoads, for their dedication to excellence, for their
3 19 strength of spirit, and for their unwavering effort,
3 20 which culminated with a win at the Insight Bowl.
LSB 6262HH (1) 83
jr/rj
