Randy Peterson

rpeterson@dmreg.com

DALLAS – We gather today to further Bryce Petty's Heisman Trophy campaign with words of praise and to applaud his greatness.

We'll listen intently as Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby explains the approaching Power Five Conference autonomy that will rock college athletics like we haven't seen since Title IX.

We'll hear at the annual Big 12 Media Days about how Oklahoma or Baylor will rule. Someone will ask Charlie Weis if there's a hotter seat in Kansas.

And, by the way, Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads will address his team being picked to finish toward the league's bottom – when he's not saying for the umpteenth time that he won't name Grant Rohach the starting quarterback until at least the second week of practice.

Petty, Baylor's prolific passer, will be the conference's player of the year, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops might say something controversial, the West Virginia Mountaineer mascot will walk around the hotel lobby shouldering his musket (I doubt that it's loaded) ...

And the Cyclones won't be as bad as the ninth place outsiders are expecting them to land. Prognosticators forget that five of Iowa State's nine losses last season were by eight points or less. They assume the Cyclones will be bad again, because, quite frankly, it's Iowa State.

And, quite frankly, they'll be wrong. The Cyclones won't be great -- but ninth?

If the transfer defensive players are as good as we've been told ... if Mark Mangino is still Mangenius ... if center Tom Farniok doesn't miss games because of injury ... then expect a Return of the Upset.

It's been a while since Rhoads' team has beaten a ranked opponent – Oct. 6, 2012, to be exact. On the road against a TCU outfit that was No. 15.

Shocker? Not exactly, but it's not every day Iowa State beats a top-25 squad, regardless of stadium.

The 2011 Oklahoma State head-turner on a wonderful Friday night in Ames, however, doesn't seem like it happened yesterday anymore.

It's been too long, but that's going to change – although my colleagues down here won't buy it.

Certainly on paper, this doesn't look like anything more than a four-win season – assuming the Cyclones win a couple nonconference games. But if this Mangino guy can win at Kansas, he certainly can win in Ames with an offense that will be the school's best since 2009.

At home against North Dakota State? 1-0. Cyclones win with a big fourth quarter.

At home against Kansas State? 1-1. Too early to expect full transition to six new assistant coaches.

At Iowa? 1-2. Hawks eye a 10-0 start.

At home against Baylor? 1-3. Petty pads his Heisman Trophy stats.

At Oklahoma State? 2-3. Not a misprint. The Cowboys lost too much defense.

At home against Toledo? 3-3. Allen Lazard scores his first touchdown.

At Texas? 3-4. I'm telling you, the Longhorns are back.

At home against Oklahoma? 3-5. Not certain Iowa State will ever beat the Sooners.

At Kansas? 4-5. Big offensive day for Rohach and Aaron Wimberly. Mangino's Revenge.

At home against Texas Tech? 5-5. Nigel Tribune gets a pick-six.

At home against West Virginia? 6-5. Thankfully, this one won't take three overtimes.

At TCU? 6-6. All Iowa State if the game was at The Jack. TCU by a field goal since it's not.

Iowa State's offense was horrible last season, and because of that the defense got a pass. Seven Big 12 teams had more first downs, with the Cyclones placing just ahead of TCU and Kansas.

Iowa State was third in time of possession, which basically is meaningless when you're not going anywhere, anyhow, in a league where teams routinely score from long range.

Furthermore, how long does it take Baylor or Texas Tech guys to sprint the length of the field? Don't blink.

Touchdowns? The Cyclones were eighth in the conference, with 35.

Still, they played close games. Still, they should have beaten Texas.

Therefore, 6-6.

Pass the Kool-Aid. I'll take another.

Randy Peterson covers Cyclone athletics and has been with the Register for parts of five decades. Follow him on Twitter @RandyPete.







