 |
|
| Sunday, August 12 Updated: August 13, 10:45 PM ET Iowa State aims for back-to-back bowl bids By Todd Cooper Special to ESPN.com |
||||||||||
|
Iowa State Cyclones Record: 9-3 (5-3). Coach: Dan McCarney (7th year, 22-45). Starters returning: 6 offense, 4 defense. Overview: Last year, you recorded your first nine-win season and your school's first bowl victory. Then, you scored a nice, $600,000-a-year contract. So, Dan McCarney, what are you going to do next? Answer: Guard against a letdown. McCarney is already talking about a lack of respect, noting that Iowa State went from 80th in one preseason poll last year to 76th this year. But posturing and psychological ploys will only take his team so far this year. Thirty of Iowa State's top 46 players are freshmen and sophomores. The inexperience, especially at quarterback, won't translate into an encore season. Offensively, juco transfer Seneca Wallace will try to replace Sage Rosenfels, the highest-picked Big 12 quarterback in this year's NFL draft. Wallace, who began his career at Oregon State, has blades and should help take the load off running back Ennis Haywood. Haywood led the Big 12 with 1,237 yards in 10 games last year. Iowa State's offensive and defensive lines desperately need depth. The O-line returns only Marcel Howard and Lorenzo White. The D-line returns no-one -- which left McCarney on the recruiting trail for linemen in late July. Talented Tyson Smith, a sophomore, could help the Cyclones on the line or at linebacker. The Cyclones' inexperienced secondary will depend on playmakers like Marc Timmons, who had three interceptions last year. Keep an eye on: Haywood's backup, Ja'Maine Billups, who is a flier who will break things open on special teams and in special situations on offense. McCarney said he's going to make sure he gets Billups, who returned a punt for a touchdown against Pittsburgh in the Insight.com bowl, on the field more. Key game: At Missouri (Oct. 13). After a win against Baylor and a loss to Nebraska, this will be the reality check for Iowa State. If they can beat the new-attitude Tigers, they can set the tone for a good run through the Big 12. If they lose, they'll be fighting for a winning season. It's a good year if... The Cyclones figure out a way to muster a winning season. It's an even better year if they follow their first bowl victory with a trip to another bowl. Todd Cooper is a staff writer for the Omaha World-Herald. |
| |||||||||
