Iowa St Cyclones 2016 NCAA Football Preview
IOWA ST CYCLONES
Big 12 Conference
2015 Record – 3-9
ATS – 7-5
2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank
Big 12 Conference #9
2015 Recap
It was another disappointing season in Ames. This time it was another 3-9 campaign bringing their record to 8-28 the past three years. The wins over Northern Iowa and Kansas were nothing to get too excited about but plastering Texas 24-0 had to feel good.
2016 Preview
OFFENSE
We imagine Cyclone fans were fairly pleased with what they saw out of QB Joel Lanning last season. He looked pretty good at times and should improve in his first full season as starter. There just might be an emerging star in RB Mike Warren if he is not a star already. Warren was the Big 12 Off POY and rushed for over 1,300 yards and 5 TDs last season while averaging 5.9 yards a pop. WR Allen Lazard led the team in receiving yards and receptions and is back for his junior season.
Our biggest concern about the entire roster is the inexperienced offensive line that returns only one starter from the 2015 team. New HC Matt Campbell and OC/OL coach Tom Manning worked some magic at Toledo so they just may be a surprisingly good unit. Iowa St will have no shot at making a bowl game if the OL is a mess.
DEFENSE
Iowa St will have an improved defense this season with eight starters back from last year’s squad. The Cyclones switch to a 4-2-5 alignment which should suit the personnel just fine. The DL is still a bit of a worry but it does feature DL Demond Tucker who had 6 sacks and 13 total TFL in 2015.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Cyclones were ranked 2nd in the FBS in punt returns last season and bring back TWO players that averaged over 15 yards per return in 2015. PK Cole Netten hit 14/19 FGs last year. This unit is going to be pretty good.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 7.0
MEGALOCKS says:
The Paul Rhodes era has come to a merciful end and the folks in Ames can look forward to some better football ahead. Maybe we are a bit biased because we hold HC Matt Campbell in very high regard. While it is true the Big 12 is not the MAC, Campbell has a proven track record as somebody that can win games (35-15 record at Toledo, including two bowl wins) and cover the point spread (three out of four winning seasons ATS).
Overall, we give the CYCLONES a 7.0 ATS Value Rating (Good) this season. Oh, the offensive line. Matt Campbell and his staff may work some magic once again but we cannot just assume the unit will not experience some growing pains, especially facing Iowa and TCU in the first month of the season. The Cyclones are on our watch list and we may get some value starting in week four if they indeed do get pasted by Iowa and TCU. Intrigued.
Want more Iowa St football ?
Website
http://www.cyclones.com/index.aspx?path=football
Forum
http://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/forums/football.9/
http://iowastate.247sports.com/Board/Iowa-State-Cyclones-Message-Board-Forum-101486
News
http://www.thegazette.com/iowa-state-cyclones
http://amestrib.com/sports/isu-cyclones
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/sports/cyclone-insider
http://bleacherreport.com/iowa-state-football
http://www.widerightnattylite.com/
https://twitter.com/CycloneFB @CycloneFB
https://twitter.com/RandyPete @RandyPete Randy Peterson