Cyclones eager to reverse 10-game losing streak

Iowa State football players have waited almost 9 1/2 months for the chance to end a double-digit run of disappointment.

It's finally game day, and Paul Rhoads' head coaching debut at Jack Trice Stadium is set for just after 7 p.m. Kickoff can't come soon enough.

“I'll be so anxious,” said quarterback Austen Arnaud. “Ten losses in a row ... we are looking to avenge that right away.”

It won't come easily against North Dakota State, which has become an FCS power during Coach Craig Bohl's six seasons at the school. The Bison are 49-17 under Bohl, who'll be plenty familiar with his surroundings.

“They are a football program that knows how to win,” Rhoads said.

Bohl was an assistant coach and later the defensive coordinator at Nebraska from 1995 through 2002. His last visit to Ames was an ugly one when ISU beat the Huskers, 36-14, and Bohl was fired later, a sacrificial lamb after NU's least successful season in decades.

He's done well for himself in Fargo, winning 10 regular-season games in '06 and '07. NDSU was 6-5 last year and has a lot of new faces on the depth chart.

The new-look Cyclones will be a difficult match-up.

“We're really looking forward to it. It's going to be a big challenge for us,” Bohl told reporters this week. “We have our game plan in place but I'm sure we'll have to adjust.”

The Bison have a first-year defense coordinator in former Wyoming coach Mike Breske, who figures to change things a bit.

Offensively, they return top running back Pat Paschall but lost a lot at the receiver position.

“We really don't know what we are going to get,” Rhoads said.

Fans who expect Iowa State to win convincingly haven't done their homework on NDSU.

Since 2006, the Bison have a 3-2 mark against FBS teams. They've beaten Minnesota, Ball State and Central Michigan and nearly upset Wyoming last season, losing 16-13.

“It's hanging all over our locker room,” Arnaud said. “We don't take that stuff lightly. To come in and beat us is not an upset to them.”

The Cyclones won their first two games a season ago and finished 2-10.

They're eager to get a victory and end their long drought. Kickoff can't come soon enough.

“No one was happy with last year,” Arnaud said. “That's in the back of guys' minds, but it's a new era, new everything. Guys are ready to go.”

When Iowa State has the ball

Fans will want to pay close attention. Plays are going to come quickly in the no-huddle, spread attack. The offense always has the edge because it knows where it's going, and defenses have to react. ISU has bigger and better athletes, and most importantly an experienced quarterback in Austen Arnaud. It could be a big night for the offense against a defense that's just not equipped to face the kind of sets the Cyclones are going to put out there.

When North Dakota State has the ball

The Bison are much more traditional offensively and with a strong group up front figure to rely heavily on the running game. Tailback Pat Paschall averaged 5.6 yards last season and just happens to be the team's leading returning pass catcher with nine catches for 51 yards. NDSU's top six receivers from a year ago are gone. The Cyclones have a lot to prove after allowing opponents 35.8 points a game. A couple of new starters in the secondary could help that.

Special teams

The Cyclones are set in the kicking game with four-year starter Mike Brandtner punting and sophomore Grant Mahoney booting field goals. If Josh Lenz is half as exciting as he sounds returning punts, the Cyclones will have that position locked up for the next four years. NDSU kicker Shawn Bibeau is pretty accurate from inside 40 yards (15 of 18 in '08) but not so much from beyond that (0 of 4). Receiver D.J. McNorton can do some things in the return game on kickoffs and punts.

Scoreboard

They have a history of knocking off FBS teams, but the Bison had better teams when they pulled those upsets. This is a younger team with a lot of new faces. Iowa State, with more depth and better athletes, should get the monkey off its back and snap that ugly 10-game losing streak with relative ease.

When Iowa State has the ball

Fans will want to pay close attention. Plays are going to come quickly in the no-huddle, spread attack. The offense always has the edge because it knows where it's going, and defenses have to react. ISU has bigger and better athletes, and most importantly an experienced quarterback in Austen Arnaud. It could be a big night for the offense against a defense that's just not equipped to face the kind of sets the Cyclones are going to put out there.

Advantage: Iowa State.

When North Dakota State has the ball

The Bison are much more traditional offensively and with a strong group up front figure to rely heavily on the running game. Tailback Pat Paschall averaged 5.6 yards last season and just happens to be the team's leading returning pass catcher with nine catches for 51 yards. NDSU's top six receivers from a year ago are gone. The Cyclones have a lot to prove after allowing opponents 35.8 points a game. A couple of new starters in the secondary could help that.

Advantage: North Dakota State.

Special teams

The Cyclones are set in the kicking game with four-year starter Mike Brandtner punting and sophomore Grant Mahoney booting field goals. If Josh Lenz is half as exciting as he sounds returning punts, the Cyclones will have that position locked up for the next four years. NDSU kicker Shawn Bibeau is pretty accurate from inside 40 yards (15 of 18 in '08) but not so much from beyond that (0 of 4). Receiver D.J. McNorton can do some things in the return game on kickoffs and punts.

Advantage: Iowa State.

Scoreboard

They have a history of knocking off FBS teams, but the Bison had better teams when they pulled those upsets. This is a younger team with a lot of new faces. Iowa State, with more depth and better athletes, should get the monkey off its back and snap that ugly 10-game losing streak with relative ease.

- Eric Petersen