Iowa State football report
File this under unusual Kucinich sightings in completely unrelated articles
Sports Columnists
Keeler: No more games to lose, so let the changes begin
ISU's miserable season is over; now what?
By SEAN KEELER
Register Sports Columnist
11/30/2003
Columbia, Mo. - Maybe we should thank Brad Smith, who pulled out the shotgun and put the old pooch out of its misery. And ours.
It's over. Burn the media guide. Hide the poster in a closet. Replace the schedule magnet with a kitty or Dennis Kucinich or something.
Smile. That's what Lane Danielsen did outside the visiting locker room at Faurot Field late Saturday afternoon, a season of slumped shoulders finally in the rear-view mirror.
"Well, we don't have to lose another game," Danielsen said, sighing with relief after the Cyclones dropped their 10th straight, a 45-7 season-ending mercy killing at the hands of Missouri. "It's definitely sad."
Sad? The Cyclones don't need a new offensive line coach.
They need a witch doctor.
Running back Stevie Hicks finally starts to live up to his April hype with 123 high-stepping yards - and the Cyclones turn it over four times.
Quarterback Waye Terry hits Danielsen for a long gain - and it's negated by two penalties at the line of scrimmage.
Smith, Mizzou's Senecaclone of a quarterback, is pressured into misfiring on five of his first nine throws - and makes up for it with 102 rushing yards in the first half.
And so on. Defense steps up; offense punts it back. Three steps forward, six steps back. You know the drill.
"Coaches and players alike," coach Dan McCarney said, "have to do all we can to make sure it doesn't happen again."
All assistant coaches will be under review, we've been promised. A handful should consider themselves in danger. The survivors should consider themselves lucky.
Tyson Smith is on the move, from defensive end to linebacker. Austin Flynn may be next. After spending a season getting knocked around under center, the freshman quarterback said Saturday that he would consider a switch to another position if asked.
Quarterbacks Terry and Cris Love are seniors next year. Bret Meyer, a freshman out of Atlantic, has generated more online buzz than one of those "Lord Of The Rings" sequels.
"I don't care," said Flynn, who threw for 1,238 yards with five scores and 10 interceptions this season. "If we went 0-12, it doesn't matter. I signed that piece of paper, and I'm going to be loyal to this university. I'm going to stay no matter what."
Either Flynn is being extremely noble, or he sees the writing on the wall. In 2004, the Cyclones will be deep in unproductive quarterbacks and deep in unknowns at safety and receiver. You need Flynn, one of the best athletes on the roster, on the field somewhere.
And yet something about this smells of knee-jerk, of replacing the steering wheel when it's the transmission that's shot all to hell.
It may be premature to pull the anchor on the Good Ship Austin. Too many of the variables of 2003 were stacked too highly against him. We still have no clue what the kid can do with a serviceable offensive line in front of him. Or a healthy Hicks behind him. Or if Hi Rutland had not opened the season in the doghouse and had not been maimed at Northern Illinois on Sept. 27.
"It's not just the quarterback," Danielsen said. "It's everybody."
Staff included. What of the playcalling? Are the Cyclones - and their fans - so enamored with what Seneca Wallace did in two seasons that offensive coordinator Steve Brickey's scheme cannot function without another one?
Didn't Sage Rosenfels used to thrive here? Or was that because Steve Loney was running the offense?
We've had it rammed down our throats for two seasons now that the talent in Ames dwarfs that of late Walden/Early Mac eras. All right. So how does that talent show up in Columbia ranked 111th in the NCAA in total offense and 114th in scoring offense?
What of youthful exuberance? Why did they lay Easter eggs, quarter after quarter, week after week?
Did the coaches adapt fast enough to injuries? To the unexpected?
What if Nathan Chandler had been the successor to Wallace and not Brad Banks?
"Our system works," McCarney said. "It got us to three bowl games. We've just got to be a lot more consistent."
Consistency was not a problem with the 2003 Cyclones. It was everything else.
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