![\"Kyle](\"http:\/\/www.sportscapping.com\/new\/cache\/capper_photos\/366_service_photo.jpg\" "\\"Kyle")
<\/a>Big 12 2011-2012 Football Previews: Iowa State Cyclones The Cyclones shocked Texas last year, but they were unable to finish the deal against Nebraska in overtime. The team lost its last three games, so they were not eligible for a bowl berth in 2010. The offense lost several key players from last year, so there is quite a bit of rebuilding to do in 2011. The defense will need to step up and keep this team in the game.<\/p>\n The offensive line is the clear strength of the offense. Kelechi Osmele is the anchor of this front line, and he certainly has the skills to be an NFL star. This is a unit that has proven they are very capable in pass protection, but they are extremely strong in run blocking schemes.<\/p>\n The linebackers are the strength of the Iowa State defense. Jake Knott and A.J. Klein both pursue the football extremely well. Knott finished with 130 tackles in 2010, while Klein racked up 111 tackles. I fully expect this unit to help the defense improve against the run. <\/p>\n To be frank, there are plenty of weaknesses to choose from right now. While Austen Arnaud wasn\u2019t a star at the quarterback position, Iowa State doesn\u2019t seem to have anyone who is ready to step in this year. Jerome Tiller has the most experience, but this position is wide open at this point. [soliloquy id=”82219″]<\/p>\n The Cyclones also lost their top two wide receivers from a year ago, which means the starting quarterback will lack explosive play makers on the outside. Iowa State will need tight end Kurt Hammerschmidt to play a large role in the passing attack if they are going to move the football.<\/p>\n The defensive front isn\u2019t very good against the run, and they virtually never pressure the quarterback. In fact, Iowa State managed only 11 sacks the entire season in 2011. That number is quite amazing when you consider that most teams finished with at least 30 sacks. The front four must take some pressure off the secondary. In addition, they allowed 180 yards per game on the ground last season. The team has plenty of defensive linemen returning, but they must improve over the offseason.<\/p>\n I think Iowa State fans are in for a long season. Losing both Austen Arnaud and Alexander Robinson from an offense that was already the second worst in the Big 12 will be tough to overcome. The defense isn\u2019t terrible, but it isn\u2019t the type of defense that shuts down the opposition and wins games. It\u2019s tough to find a game on the schedule that you would feel extremely comfortable saying Iowa State will win. If they are going to shock the experts and get to a bowl game, they\u2019ll need to upset a couple conference foes at home. Iowa State\u2019s first seven games are extremely tough, and since they will be breaking in plenty of new players, I expect a 1-6 or 2-5 start. Rhoads is dedicated to the job and I expect the team to turn it around, but 2011 will be a rough ride.<\/p>\n 2011 Iowa State Wildcats Schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n Sat, Sep 03\t – Northern Iowa College football preview guide for the 2011 Big 12 Iowa State Cyclones CFB betting season. Kyle Hunter weighs in with his ncaa football predictions, and BCS championship handicapping analysis\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":24341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[49955,44530,49957,49954,16473,191,50155,50156,18309,50157,50158,50159,50160],"class_list":["post-39951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ncaa-football","tag-2011-big-12-football-previews","tag-2012-bcs-lines","tag-bcs-sportsbook-odds","tag-big-12-football-predictions","tag-big-12-odds","tag-big-12-picks","tag-cyclones-bcs-futures","tag-cyclones-picks","tag-iowa-st-cyclones","tag-iowa-st-football-predictions","tag-iowa-st-gambling-odds","tag-iowa-st-schedule","tag-iowa-st-season-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39951"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40040,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39951\/revisions\/40040"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHead Coach: Paul Rhoads
\n2010 Record: 5-7
\nIowa State Gambling Odds from BetOnline to win BCS: +1,500 (Part of the Field)<\/strong>
\n Iowa State Team Page – Players Stats – Roster – 2011 Schedule –><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nTeam Strengths:<\/h3>\n
Team Weaknesses:<\/h3>\n
2011-2012 Iowa State Football Prediction: 3-9<\/h3>\n
\n Sat, Sep 10 – \t Iowa
\n Fri, Sep 16\t – Connecticut
\n Sat, Oct 01 – \t Texas
\n Sat, Oct 08 – \t Baylor
\n Sat, Oct 15 – \t Missouri
\n Sat, Oct 22 – \t Texas A&M
\n Sat, Oct 29 – \t Texas Tech
\n Sat, Nov 05\t – Kansas
\n Fri, Nov 18\t – Oklahoma State
\n Sat, Nov 26 – \t Oklahoma
\n Sat, Dec 03 – \t Kansas State <\/p>\nClick here to check out MORE 2011 college football previews for the 2011-2012 NCAA Football Season!<\/a><\/h3>\n
CLICK HERE TO VIEW KYLE HUNTER’S DAILY EXPERT SPORTS PLAYS –><\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"