Cyclones looking in good shape with one game to go
Sure, it helped that the Iowa State football team took care of business Saturday with a 17-10 victory over Colorado to move to 6-5 on the season.
The win made the Cyclones bowl eligible for the first time in four years, and it helped the team get off a two-game losing skid. One of those losses was to who Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads called the best team he’s faced in his first year as head coach.
“I still believe Oklahoma State through 11 games is the best football team we’ve played,” Rhoads said. “I give them a lot of credit, but we did not play very well last week. That’s where your mindset is all week long in preparation, where it is when game day arrives and it’s where it is every single drive you take the field.”
But what happened around the Big 12 might have helped clear up the bowl projections when it comes to the eight conference bids. Heading into Saturday, all 12 teams in the conference still had a chance at becoming bowl eligible.
Colorado is now eliminated, Baylor has to win out and two more teams are in serious trouble — Kansas State and Kansas. The Wildcats must win at Nebraska this Saturday to become bowl eligible (they need seven wins due to playing two subdivision schools). The Jayhawks need to win against either Texas or Missouri.
If there are more than eight schools eligible, bowls to look at would be in Mobile, Ala., Washington D.C., Detroit or Albuquerque, N.M.
If neither school from the state of Kansas becomes eligible, that leaves eight teams for eight spots. Right now, the Cyclones are just glad to be in the conversation for a bowl game.
It felt pretty good for Iowa State after ending last season on a 10-game losing streak.
“We expected a bowl game, and we expect to win every game we play,” middle linebacker Jesse Smith said. “That’s how we practice, and that’s how the coaches plan — we just have to go out there and execute. We still haven’t played our best game yet. We have some work to do.”
After the game, Rhoads said this was the goal all along — to be in position to play in a bowl game this season.
“We established that January 12 when I had the first team meeting in this very room right here,” Rhoads said. “We’re thrilled to be 6-5, and we’re thrilled to be at this point in the season and never had a losing record with this football team.”
But back to the bowl outlook. Texas looks to be in solid position for a BCS bowl berth, and Oklahoma State might be in position to take an at-large BCS berth. If the Cowboys don’t make it, they’ll most likely play in the Cotton Bowl.
Nebraska and Oklahoma would follow in the Holiday and Alamo Bowls, with Texas Tech taking the spot in the Sun Bowl. That would leave Iowa State, Missouri and Texas A&M to split up the spots in the Insight, Independence and Texas games.
“College football is all about bowl games and the pageantry and what goes along with them,” Rhoads said. “You start the season and work for one. At this particular point, we’re bowl eligible, and we’re thrilled with that.”
With one game left, the Cyclones still have plenty to play for — bowl position. Win on Saturday at Missouri and the Cyclones could climb as high as the Insight Bowl — the site of Iowa State’s first bowl win against Pittsburgh.
“Our goal is to win a bowl game,” Smith said. “Everybody is doing their job, and I think we’re going to get there.”
From 2-10 to bowl eligible in just one year?
It’s been a nice surprise for Rhoads, the first-year coach. He’s having the largest turnaround in the nation by a first-year coach. Iowa State also is third in the nation for largest turnaround from 2008 to 2009. Idaho and SMU have both improved by five games this season, while the Cyclones have improved by four games.
Who would have thought it, especially at Iowa State.
