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Cy's Cyclone Critique


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My view from the sidelines:

 

Okay...it was only South Dakota State, not exactly a football powerhouse, but for a team with as many young guys as the Cyclones has, a great learning opportunity:

 

First, on the good side:

 

5 picks and over 200 return yards and a TD. That's already more interception return yards this year than the Cyclones had all last season. The coverage was really quite good all over the field especially considering all the redshirt and true freshmen that got thrown in there. Some people were commenting that the SDSU QB must really suck but to me it just looked like most of his options were taken away by the coverage. Didn't like the fact that they stuck with a four man DL and just 2 LB when they went to their Nickle Coverage (leading to a burn or two underneath) but that may be a question of depth (lots of DB's...not so many LB's)

 

Depth looks to be good in most other positions. Lots of young WR, RB, OL and DL guys shuffled in and out without a drop off in performance. That includes QB where Arnaud turned in a very good game. I think he held Bates off for another week though Bates did a good job too. Either one could run the team without a lot of problems. Running game was solid and the OL opened up some big holes. Didn't see a lot of imagination with the play calling but I'm sure that will change as the season progresses.

 

Nice to see a kicker who doesn't turn every field goal into an adventure. Mahoney could be a good one. Perfect game to get his feet wet. No punts for the entire game? When was the last time THAT ever happened in Ames

 

Enthusiasm and Chemistry looked great. Nothing like a win to help jell a team. Lots of confidence, some real hard hitting...everybody pumped up. 50,000 in Jack Trice Stadium to watch SDSU on a Thursday night??? What the hell?

 

On the minus side:

 

3 fumbles (one that killed a nice scoring drive) weren't something you really wanted to see. Backs were a little jittery in the first half. They did somewhat better as the game progressed but giving up points on turn overs (even if the game was out of reach late in the second half) kinda sucks.

 

The middle of the DL needs to suck it up. If a guy from SDSU can gain 100 on you, B12 guys are going to eat your lunch big time. Again, a lot of it was in the second half against 2nd and 3rd string freshmen, but still....

 

Stupid penalties. Four unsportsmanlike conducts on the defense? You can play with emotion without playing like an idiot out there (one thing to note though...the offense had only one penalty...a holding call that, of course, killed a Bates 35 yard TD run)

 

Summary:

 

A real good learning game where the young guys can get some time in against real opponents (of a sort... <_< ). No real downside (losing Banks at CB with a broken wrist could hurt but there is a lot of depth there) but a lot of little things you could spot to work on for next weekend. Very encouraging to see the enthusiasm from both the players and the fans. This looks to be a very competitive team this year...

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i was in the stands last night and overall not too bad playing what i believe is a 1AA team.

 

However, if SDSU had a better qb it would have been a game. there were waaaay too many times that there was an open receiver (or two) and he would throw it into double coverage. another thing that i noticed was that SDSU appeared to be much faster than ISU as a whole, too many times did i see players get run down from behind.

 

ISU looked improved but i dont know about the 6 win season that i predicted earlier this month.

 

good luck cy

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...

Stupid penalties. Four unsportsmanlike conducts on the defense? You can play with emotion without playing like an idiot out there (one thing to note though...the offense had only one penalty...a holding call that, of course, killed a Bates 35 yard TD run)

 

Ah, you're just jealous YOU didn't manage to get flagged for a penalty. Maybe next time...

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My view from the sidelines:

 

Okay...it was only South Dakota State, not exactly a football powerhouse, but for a team with as many young guys as the Cyclones has, a great learning opportunity:

 

First, on the good side:

 

5 picks and over 200 return yards and a TD. That's already more interception return yards this year than the Cyclones had all last season. The coverage was really quite good all over the field especially considering all the redshirt and true freshmen that got thrown in there. Some people were commenting that the SDSU QB must really suck but to me it just looked like most of his options were taken away by the coverage. Didn't like the fact that they stuck with a four man DL and just 2 LB when they went to their Nickle Coverage (leading to a burn or two underneath) but that may be a question of depth (lots of DB's...not so many LB's)

 

Depth looks to be good in most other positions. Lots of young WR, RB, OL and DL guys shuffled in and out without a drop off in performance. That includes QB where Arnaud turned in a very good game. I think he held Bates off for another week though Bates did a good job too. Either one could run the team without a lot of problems. Running game was solid and the OL opened up some big holes. Didn't see a lot of imagination with the play calling but I'm sure that will change as the season progresses.

 

Nice to see a kicker who doesn't turn every field goal into an adventure. Mahoney could be a good one. Perfect game to get his feet wet. No punts for the entire game? When was the last time THAT ever happened in Ames

 

Enthusiasm and Chemistry looked great. Nothing like a win to help jell a team. Lots of confidence, some real hard hitting...everybody pumped up. 50,000 in Jack Trice Stadium to watch SDSU on a Thursday night??? What the hell?

 

On the minus side:

 

3 fumbles (one that killed a nice scoring drive) weren't something you really wanted to see. Backs were a little jittery in the first half. They did somewhat better as the game progressed but giving up points on turn overs (even if the game was out of reach late in the second half) kinda sucks.

 

The middle of the DL needs to suck it up. If a guy from SDSU can gain 100 on you, B12 guys are going to eat your lunch big time. Again, a lot of it was in the second half against 2nd and 3rd string freshmen, but still....

 

Stupid penalties. Four unsportsmanlike conducts on the defense? You can play with emotion without playing like an idiot out there (one thing to note though...the offense had only one penalty...a holding call that, of course, killed a Bates 35 yard TD run)

 

Summary:

 

A real good learning game where the young guys can get some time in against real opponents (of a sort... <_< ). No real downside (losing Banks at CB with a broken wrist could hurt but there is a lot of depth there) but a lot of little things you could spot to work on for next weekend. Very encouraging to see the enthusiasm from both the players and the fans. This looks to be a very competitive team this year...

 

 

Hey, I think your a funny dude in all, but don't post, of all things, ISU highlights in the Husker football forum :rollin No seriously don't :thumbs

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Hey, I think your a funny dude in all, but don't post, of all things, ISU highlights in the Husker football forum :rollin No seriously don't :thumbs

 

Don't think of it al ISU highlights....think of it as a super secret scouting report by an undercover Husker fan...

 

Bo wanted me to tell you that he reads these and will be VERY upset with you if he doesn't get his "report"...if you know what I mean <_<

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