Editor’s note: In preparation of the upcoming football season, K-Stated will look ahead to all 12 games on the Wildcats’ 2011 schedule. We start at the end with Iowa State. Next up, at Texas
As fun as Farmageddon was to watch at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas State won two exciting games over Iowa State by close scores of 24-23 and 27-20) the former Big 12 North rivals are moving their annual meeting back to campus.
That’s bad news for anyone hoping for K-State/Iowa State to turn into the next Red River Rivalry. But, hey, at least it won’t become the next Baylor/Texas Tech, where neither fan base seems interested in driving to a neutral site for the game.
Overall, the switch back to Manhattan and Ames should be a positive for the matchup. The move away from a pro stadium will mean full – or at least near full — crowds watching from the stands, and the unusual scheduling date of December 3 gives the game a sense of added importance.
These are two similar teams that were picked to finish in about the same spot of the final Big 12 standings. Paul Rhoads looks like a real up-and-comer. Bill Snyder is the most established coach in the conference. The Cyclones and Wildcats have played each other tough for the past five seasons, and there’s no reason to think this year will be any different.
Under Rhoads, who is in his third year, the Cyclones have been on an upswing. Despite facing incredibly hard schedules, they have stayed right under .500 (Rhoads is 12-13) and won a bowl game in 2009. They were predicted to do much worse in both seasons.
They have beaten two powers (Nebraska in 09 and Texas last year) and fought back from some tough losses. Looking back at last year’s schedule, I’m not sure there was a bigger turnaround than Iowa State going from a 68-27 loss to Utah and a 52-0 humiliation at Oklahoma to a 28-21 victory at Texas.
Sure, last year was the year to beat Texas. But who saw that one coming?
Two weeks later they came within a failed fake extra point of knocking off Nebraska and becoming bowl eligible.
Can they come that close again this season? Can they do even better? It won’t be easy, especially with the departures of Austen Arnaud at quarterback and Alexander Robinson at running back from an offense that ranked 11th in the Big 12 with 317.4 yards per game.
Jerome Tiller will compete with Jared Barnett and James Capello for the starting quarterback job. Shontrelle Johnson should handle most of the carries at running back, but it might be up to Iowa State’s defense to carry the team.
A.J. Klein and Jake Knott give Iowa State two of the better linebackers in the Big 12. And Leonard Johnson and Ter’Ran Benton should anchor the Cyclones’ secondary.
But they could be tired by the time December rolls around. Iowa State limped through the home stretch of last year’s schedule, scoring just 14 points in its final two games after missing out against Nebraska.
The Cyclones will be blessed with a bye week before their game with K-State, but so will the Wildcats. The only true advantage in this game (other than home field) may be who is still fighting for bowl eligibility.
Everything else you need to know about this game:
When: Dec. 3
Where: Manhattan, Kansas
Iowa State in 2010: 5-7 overall, 3-5 Big 12
Iowa State schedule: Northern Iowa, Iowa, at Connecticut, Texas, at Baylor, at Missouri, Texas A&M, at Texas Tech, Kansas, at Oklahoma, Oklahoma State at Kansas State
Series Record: Iowa State leads 49-41-4, but K-State is 17-4 against the Cyclones since 1990.
Other Factoids: Iowa State last won at Snyder Family Stadium in 2004 … This will mark the second straight season in which K-State has played a regular season game after Thanksgiving. Last year the Wildcats beat North Texas on Nov. 27 … Rhoads has made a name for himself in the viral YouTube video department. Go search for his postgame speeches at Nebraska and Texas and you can see what I’m talking about … Iowa State was good about limiting turnovers a year ago. It ranked 30th nationally with a turnover margin of plus six … Will this series ever go back to Arrowhead? Not as long as Snyder is coach. Well, that’s not entirely true. If Iowa State wants to move its home game in the rotation to Kansas City, Snyder says he is all for it.
