2008 Iowa State Cyclones
Written July 2, 2008 by Jason Lowry
With only a couple of months till the season gets ready to kick off, Jason Lowry is ready to make his 2008 Iowa State Cyclones football predictions. The Cyclones are coming off a rough year where they finished just 3-9 overall and just managed to put together 2 wins in the Big 12 North. There is hope that head coach Gene Chizik can get things turnaround in the Hawkeye state, but its likely going to take another year or two before fans start seeing a real result. The team does bring back 14 starters this season, and they should be able to improve on their performance from a year ago. Lets take a look at what the Cyclones will be returning to both sides of the ball in the upcoming season.
Offense:
The team returns 7 starters on this side of the ball, but the team will be handing over the reign at the quarterback spot to sophomore Austin Arnaud who was unable to throw a touchdown in limited action last season. The team is likely to use the same 3 backs as it did last season with senior JJ Bass getting the majority of the carries, but don’t be surprised if sophomore Alexander Robinson doesn’t win over the starting spot at some point in the season. The team returns two of its 3 starters at the wide receiver spot, but will be without big time target in Todd Blythe who ended his career at Iowa State as the leading receiver in school history. Someone is going to have to step up as there were only 3 other touchdowns caught last season besides the ones that went to Blythe. Junior tight end Derrick Catlett had two of them, so maybe he can figure into the mix a little more this season. The Cyclones do return 4 starters on the offensive line, and they got a pretty good one in junior left guard Reggie Stephens.
Defense:
The defense also returns 7 starters, and it could be in for a rough year if the offense struggles as much as it did last season. This unit was torched for 31.8 points a game, and will have to step it up if this team wants out of the cellar in the Big 12 North. The defensive line brings back both its starters at the end spots, but will be counting on the new faces of sophomore Bailey Johnson and junior Nate Frere as the starters at the tackle spots. With only 1 returning starter at linebacker, it will be up to junior MLB Jesse Smith to lead the way. Senior Michael Bibbs and junior Josh Raven will like take over at the other two spots. The secondary will likely be the strong point of this side of the ball as it returns all 4 starters from last year’s team, and junior corner Allen Bell has the talent to be something special this season.
Prediction: 6th in the Big 12 North
Sorry Cyclone fans this team is still a couple years away from back to bowl games and winning seasons. While we don’t see them at the bottom of the North for much longer they will likely end up there again this season. There is a chance that this team can surprise us and some of the teams in the Big 12, but in order for that to happen they are going to have to play some really good football on the road.
If you are looking for a head start on the upcoming football season, head over to Bodoglife.com and get an account up and running today. Also be sure to check back often for more team preview and predictions as the season continues to get closer.
