Iowa State Preview

It's been kind of awkward the last few days.  I always find it's awkward to get what you want; "Oh, OK, now what do I talk about...."  Hawk is out, having put the program in it's most tenuous situation since Chuck Fairbanks prowled the sidelines.  No doubt, Hawk left with class, denying some in Buff nation the explosive exit they wanted so they could continue to hate the man; the dude knew it was coming, and took the axe-fall with grace.  In his place, for the time being, is True-Buff Brian Cabral.

 

(I see pride, I see power, I see a bad ass mother, who don't take no crap off of nobody!)

The last time Coach Cabral lead the team, he never coached a game.  In the wake of former-coach Gary Barnett's comments, where he relayed his player's concerns over the kicking abilities of that girl kicker we once had, Coach Cabral guided the team through spring practice.  By the time the season rolled around, Coach Barnett was back on the sideline, and Cabral went back to churning out quality linebackers.  This is all a round-a-bout way of saying, I have no idea what to expect from the team on Saturday.

Losing you coach, even one who lost as much as Hawk, is not an easy thing to take.  Sure, some players couldn't stand the man, but others lived and died on every word that Hawk uttered.  Regardless of how the players as individuals perceived Hawk, his absence over the final 3 weeks of the season will be noticeable and jarring.  How the players approach Hawks removal over those 3 weeks is as much a guess as to me as it is to everyone else.

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Bird-in-a-Blender

Lost in the shuffle of Hawk getting fired is that fact that the Iowa State program that is coming into Boulder is quickly passing us by.  New-ish head coach Paul Rhoads is kicking their program into gear; his players play hard for him, and they are pulling some upsets.  Weeks after beating Texas in Austin for the first time ever, The Cyclones were taking the Huskers to the brink.  Having just scored the tying touchdown in overtime last week against the Huskers, Coach Rhoads called for a potentially game winning 2-point conversion.  While it failed, and cost the Cyclones their first win in Lincoln since 1977, Rhodes assertive style is giving Cyclone fans hope for the future. 

 

(Coach Rhoads is getting the ISU program fired up)

With two games to go (@-Colorado, Home - Missouri) they need one win to attain bowl eligible status.  Considering how tough Missouri is, they're going to really want and win this weekend; I expect their full effort.

Offensively, ISU is lead by Senior Austen Arnaud.  It feels like Arnaud has been around for ever; this is his 3rd season as the starter behind center for the 'Clones.  When Coach Cabral was asked yesterday about how Arnaud and ISU, and how much they've improved, he mentioned that they were running the same offense they ran last year, but that now they're just running it better.  Point-in-fact; they kind of aren't.  Somewhere along the way, they've lost about 40 yards per game from last season's offensive output.  Arnaud, in fact, has seen dropped production in each year, having gone from 232 yards per game in '08, to 168 yards per game in '09, to 156 yards per game so far in '10. 

 

(Arnaud hasn't had the breakout season many predicted)

Their offense as a whole seems like it's not all that potent; no receiver averages over 40 yards a game, and leading rusher Alexander Robinson adds only 83 yards per contest.  Overall, they don't even find the endzone that much, only scoring 24 points per game this season.  Honestly, their offense reminds me a lot of ours; above average, but not good.

Defensively, they've been inconsistent.  Last week they held the Huskers to 140 yards under their season's average, yet a stretch of 3 games in October saw them give up 35+ points each week.  Overall, the unit gives up over 420 yards each week, and that's never a good sign.  CU could find some space against these guys, and might have a similar offensive game to last week where we piled up 35 points in the first half.  (CU has had a hard time putting 2 halves of football together in the same game; last week is a prime example.) Defensive leaders are Jr DE Jacob Lattimer, and So LB's Jake Knott and A.J. Klein.

Prediction Time

Good Lord, I have no idea.  Is CU going to show up on Saturday?  Are the coaches going to be able to cobble together a gameplan in only 4 days?  Who knows... but I'll try and take a guess.

The road team hasn't won this matchup since CU dominated ISU 44-10 in 2003.  While the games have mostly been close, last 3 years the game has been decided by a touchdown or less, home field has usually made the difference.  We're also talking emotion; the players have, for the most part, taken the downfall of Hawk a little personally.  As a result I think we come out fired up and playing free.

In light of those two points, I'll take the Buffs to win in a nail-biter.  CU 21 - ISU 20

GO BUFFS!