Cyclones storm into big game

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Iowa State coach Gene Chizik hasn’t exactly turned the Cyclones into a national powerhouse in his first year at the helm.

Iowa State, who plays at Kansas on Saturday, is ranked last in the Big 12 North Division with a 3-8 record. But Kansas coach Mark Mangino, who knows a thing or two about inheriting poor football teams, said Chizik had done a good job in his first season.

“They are much, much improved from the beginning of the season,” Mangino said. “That’s what you look for when you are a new head coach, and that’s something they are doing.”

No one would argue with Mangino’s feelings on the Cyclones’ improvement because the team has clearly played its best football in the last two weeks. After a 1-8 start, it looked like it would be a winless conference season for Iowa State.

But in consecutive weeks, Chizik’s team has upset both Kansas State and Colorado. The Cyclone offense has started to click, scoring 31 points in each of its last two games, and the defense has come up with big stops at critical times. So what does Chizik think is making the difference for his players?

“I don’t really know,” Chizik said. “I think you get into the season, and they have a certain comfort level with what you’re doing and the system. They become more familiar with what we’re running.”

They also learned how to overcome major deficits. The Cyclones started disastrously against the Buffaloes last week and trailed 21-0 at halftime.

Chizik described his team’s first half as uninterested and said nothing was working, offensively or defensively. But Iowa State came out in the second half calm and determined and scored 31 points to defeat Colorado, 31-28. Chizik even said he was surprised by the game’s final 30 minutes.

“We kind of refocused and regrouped in the second half,” Chizik said. “We really didn’t see this particular team being able to come back from a 21-0 deficit and win the game after basically sleepwalking in the first half.”

Iowa State’s victory the week before, against Kansas State, came in a completely opposite fashion. The Cyclones jumped out to an early 21-3 lead in the first half behind two touchdowns from freshman running back Alexander Robinson.

But Iowa State found itself holding on by a thread in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats cut the deficit to a touchdown with one quarter left before falling 31-20 to the Cyclones.

The past two weeks prove that Chizik’s team knows how to win games. The Jayhawks wouldn’t have it any other way. Kansas junior defensive end John Larson said the Cylcones’ victories have kept him and his teammates focused.

“Now we’ve seen what they’re capable of, which is good,” Larson said. “We’re not going to be caught off balance.”

Edited by Chris Beattie

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