WRNL Predicts The 2023 Football Season

Levi Stevenson

What Makes or Breaks the Season -

Offensive line, offensive line, and offensive live. The defense has never been and will never be a concern as long as Jon Heacock is running the show, plain and simple. Are there questions at basically every position group on offense? Yes, but none of them are more pressing than the offensive line, which has routinely been subpar or worse in the Matt Campbell era. Word on the street is that Ryan Clanton has this group headed in the right direction, but we won’t know for sure until we see them on the field against UNI. If the line is bad, the offense will be bad, pure and simple. If the line is serviceable, that opens up the playbook and makes it much easier for the inexperienced, but talented offense to take significant steps forward from last season.

Overall Record - 7-5

UNI - W

Iowa - W

@ Ohio - W

Conference Record - 4-5

Oklahoma State - W

@OU - L

TCU - L

@Cincy - W

@Baylor - L

Kansas - W

@BYU - W

Texas - L

@Kansas State L

Offensive Team MVP - Jayden Higgins

Defensive Team MVP - TJ Tampa

Offensive Breakout Star - Eli Sanders

Defensive Breakout Star - Jeremiah Cooper

Breakdown of Season -If there’s one thing Matt Campbell loves being, it’s the underdog. For all of the times Iowa State has faltered in the spotlight, they’ve also exceeded expectations when they’ve been doubted or forgotten about. And, yes, we know Matt Campbell’s record in close games is bad, but he also plays in tons of close games.

Close games are often determined by plays in “the margins,” as Campbell so often refers to them, and Iowa State has gotten into a bad habit of not making good plays in those margins, whether it be special teams mistakes, untimely turnovers or penalties, or dropped passes. Some of that is self-inflicted, and some of that is plain bad luck. Iowa State was consistently on the wrong side of both of those factors last season, and a progression to the mean in terms of luck and consistent could make for a dramatic swing in the final record.

UNI and Ohio will both be tough outs, but Iowa State’s raw talent will be enough to push through. As for the CyHawk game, I genuinely don’t know what to expect. Both teams were atrocious offensively and downright elite defensively last season, and it remains true in 2023, at least as of right now. CyHawk is weird and weird things happen. Few, if any, Cyclone fans had us winning in Iowa City last season, but they went and did it. Here we are again likely coming into CyHawk as an underdog, but we’re playing at home, and Iowa will have very little film on Iowa State’s new offense under Nate Scheelhaase and whoever the starting quarterback is. I don’t feel remotely confident in this pick, but give me the good guys to enter conference play at 3-0.

Opening conference play at home against a rebuilding Oklahoma State squad that’s rolling the dice with a pile of transfers is a fairly good draw, and I think Iowa State can win a slugfest here. Oklahoma in Norman is actually a road upset I think is totally possible because I’m not a believer in either Brent Venables or the depth of that roster, but it’s still a road game with a super young team. I realize TCU is going to be down, but Sonny Dykes just feels like a coach that’s going to have Campbell’s number. I don’t know why, but that’s my gut feeling.

Nobody has a clue what Cincy will look like, but that’s a depleted roster and a new coach, and I think they’ll take a bit to get back to being a really good team. Iowa State does not play well at Baylor. L. Kansas is definitely headed in the right direction, but Iowa State should have won that game last season, and they’re at home this time around. BYU seems like a team that’s going to have a rough time in a power conference, and this should be a game Iowa State can steal on the road. Kansas State is going to be good again 2023 and this one is down in Manhattan, so chances don’t look great.

All in all, a 7-5 season would be a tremendous win for the program to demonstrate that it can be resilient after all of the offseason drama and in the face of a lot of inexperience. Look for the Cyclones to bounce back this fall before feeling like a contender again in 2024.

Dylan Coon

What Makes or Breaks the Season -

If I was a betting man, I’d say it’s already been broken. One of the biggest scandals in college sports this summer took out Iowa State’s starting QB, RB, a key tight end, a big piece of the D-Line among others. I think the program’s response has been an attempt to avoid or dodge the situation as much as possible. From the outside looking in, things do not seem to be running smoothly. Campbell can harp on culture and doing things the hard way all he wants, but he has to have players and performances that back those words up.

Overall Record - 3-9

UNI- L

Iowa- L

@Ohio- W

Conference Record - 2-7

Oklahoma State- L

@Oklahoma- L

TCU- L

@Cincy- L

@Baylor- L

Kansas- W

@BYU- L

Texas- W

@K-State- L

Offensive Team MVP - Cartevious Norton

Defensive Team MVP - TJ Tampa

Offensive Breakout Star - The Quarterback

Defensive Breakout Star - Dominique Orange

Breakdown of the season-

Not ideal. The scheduling gods were not kind to us, especially after an off-season of turmoil. I think our defense will be salty once again, but the offense will be frustrating and inexperienced. A lot of guys are going to have bigger roles than expected and a lot of things are gonna have to roll our way to get us to even 6 wins. This is probably the worst I’ve felt about a Matt Campbell team coming into the season since his first year.Iowa State is at their best as an afterthought and an underdog so hopefully we can settle into that mentality and be a “any given Saturday” team, especially at Jack Trice.

GIF to Culminate the Season -

Brownie

What Makes or Breaks the Season –

If we were playing blackjack, we’d be calling for a hit on a 19 and end up at 29. With the gambling issues and not knowing who is actually starting at QB and RB, it’s a pretty safe bet that we are in for a lot of pain this season. A more positive note on this being as painful as it is: it gets our younger talent gameday experience. What others might not also see, or remember, is that we do better being the underdogs than having some sort of high/decent expectations.

No plan for a bowl game while playing with a 3rd string QB? Sure, not a problem, give me that Liberty Bowl dubs. Greatest team that Iowa State has assembled and have the potential to break the 10-win season curse? Well…yeah…we don’t talk about that here. All I’m saying is that Cyclone fans should go in with the thoughts of 2 wins and everything past that is gravy. As for me? Matt Campbell better get this culture fiasco under control and I expect this season to be just as wild as that 2017 season. Bookmark it.

Overall Record – 8-5

UNI – W

Iowa – W

@Ohio – W

Conference Record – 4-5

OSU – L

@OU – L

TCU – W

@Cincy – W

@Baylor – L

KU – W

@BYU – L

Hornsdown – W

@KSU – L

Auburn (Liberty Bowl) – W

Offensive Team MVP – JJ Kohl

Defensive Team MVP – TJ Tampa

Offensive Breakout Star – JJ Kohl

Defensive Breakout Star – Drew Surges

Breakdown of Season – We start off with some super close games against UNI and Iowa but JJ Kohl comes out the primary starter. We roll through non-conference 3-0 and all I see are the fans thinking it was a 0-12 season start to over-hype the team because why not, they knew we were going to be good all along. The Oklahoma schools bring us back down to reality before we bring out Ames College to go 1-0 and smoke some Hypno-Toad for dinner. After our dominating performance there, I take Brownie Magic to Cincy where I will personally watch us manhandle some Bearcats. Eventually, the wild season will arrive with the hopes of bowling on our mind, but Baylor ain’t it. Just PLEASE don’t forget the tent permits. A sigh of relief falls on us as our kicker makes a game-winning field goal and gets us bowl eligibility against KU. BYU doesn’t suit us well since they apparently don’t believe in alcohol or something? I don’t know, but just like the Busch Lite cases, our offense doesn’t show up either leaving us all sorts of sad, but hey, we still bowling.

Then you know what happens? Something absolutely WILD happens. Texas comes to town on the most miserable of days in Iowa history (that still permits us to play) and we get a sound bit of Sark crying his eyes out because the weather messed them up. Suck it up buttercup and get out of my conference already! And what of Farmageddon? Yeah, the refs blew it for us and I already don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just take that Liberty Bowl bid and go beat the absolute crap out of Auburn (YOU KNOW WHY). I’m talking a 30-point difference and Gene Chiz(d)ik can be the guest picker so we can all boo him. We can also be reminded why Memphis doesn’t deserve to be in the Big 12. Boom. Roasted.

GIF To Culminate The Season -

Smdee

What Makes or Breaks the Season -

We’re all sick of talking about the gambling scandal that has buzzed around the program all summer, but there’s noise for a reason. Iowa State has real reason to be concerned losing guys like starting RB Jirehl Brock and Hunter Dekkers’ Mom’s Draft Kings Account (get ready for gambling jokes allllll year). It seems like the only discussion all offseason has been about, well, anything but football. The Cyclones will need to block out the noise, embrace the jokes, and hopefully put together a solid year.On the other side of this sits the very obvious “Iowa State can’t win close games” narrative that has been sadly pretty spot on as of late. Last year, Iowa State lost 6 one-score games and the season prior had 5 one-score heartbreaks. For a coach that preaches about winning in the margins, Iowa State, well, sure doesn’t win in the margins… Can special teams improve? Can whoever is QB1 take care of the ball and at the very least not turn it over at a high volume? We’ll see.

Overall Record - 5-7

UNI- W

Iowa- L

@Ohio- W

Conference Record -

Oklahoma State- L

@Oklahoma- LTCU- L

@@Cincy- W

@Baylor- L

Kansas- W

@BYU- L

Texas- W

@K-State- L

Offensive Team MVP - Jaylin Noel

Defensive Team MVP - TJ Tampa

Offensive Breakout Star - Tyler Perkins

Defensive Breakout Star - Tyler Onyediem

Breakdown of Season -

The Cyclones will open against UNI on a beautiful Labor Day Saturday with excitement in the air and Ames lagers flowing like the beautiful South Skunk River. That excitement will fade as Iowa State heads to the locker room down a touchdown against the Purple Hawks. Jamie Pollard, in a fit of frustration and desperation, steps to the 50 yard line at halftime and announces Busch Light will be available at the Iowa game the following weekend. The crowd goes so wild during the fourth quarter version of Juicy Wiggle that the game is called off and Iowa State is declared a winner after being up 3 when the small earthquake occurs. Next Saturday, the entire crowd is too intoxicated prior to kickoff and the CyHawk is played in front of 3 sober fans while everyone else sleeps. Iowa wins 3-0. The Cyclones head to Ohio the following week where Becht or Kohl throws for 350 yards and 4 TDs en route to a 35-12 beat down against the Bobcats.

In conference play, Iowa State struggles out of the gate and drops 3 straight one-score games to OSU, OU, and TCU. Coach Campbell tells the media how proud he is of his guys while praising their “togetherness”. In the Cyclones first trip to Cincinnati, Iowa State avoids eating Skyline Chili, much to the chagrin of Bearcats, who lace the chili with laxatives as a tradition. Feeling totally fine, Iowa State beats Cincy 21-10 but Jace Gilbert misses 4 FGS.

Baylor proves to be too much to handle in Waco and Kansas doesn’t even take the field in Ames. Sources later confirm the Jayhawks were too busy staring at their new stadium renderings like Andy Dufresne looked at his three posters in Shawshank. A trip to BYU for the first time proves unsuccessful, but the visiting ISU fans treat the trip to Provo as their own personal Missionary, introducing Ames Lager to the great state of Utah, corrupting the Mormon religion for the rest of eternity.

Iowa State beats Texas 69-0 in the Longhorns final trip to Ames. Steve Sarkisian cries tears of joy as he leaves Ames, knowing about the incoming raise he will receive with the future SEC money. Instead, he is fired at the end of the year after going 9-3 and goes back to Alabama to carry Nick Saban’s clipboard.

In the final game of the year, the Cyclones and Wildcats combine for 14 turnovers and Kansas State sacks Rocco Becht on the last play of the game for a safety to win 2-0. In a strange twist of fate, Iowa State is invited to play in a bowl game despite winning only 5 games, but declines as they lose half their players to NIL deals at other schools.

GIF to culminate season-

Ryan Harrison

What Makes Or Breaks the Season -

To me it will come down to the play in the trenches. How the offensive and defensive lines respond to losing Isaiah Lee and Jake Remsburg will be interesting and should have a major impact on the teams play and record. If this team is able to be competitive at the line of scrimmage they can be good, whichever young quarterback ends up starting, they’ll need decent run game and blocking to be successful.

Overall Record - 6-6

UNI - W

Iowa - W

@ Ohio - W

Conference Record - 3-6

Oklahoma State - W

@ Oklahoma - L

TCU - L

@ Cincy - L

@ Baylor L

Kansas - W

@ BYU - L

Texas - W

@ K-State - L

Offensive Team MVP - Jayden Higgins

Defensive Team MVP - T.J. Tampa

Offensive Breakout Star - Ben Brahmer

Defensive Breakout Star - Jacob Ellis

Breakdown of the Season -

The Cyclones start 4-0 with solid play from Rocco Becht at quarterback. The new offense looks better than expected for the first portion of the season and the Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes in Jack Trice by one score. After the hot start there is a losing streak and we end the season on a 2-6 skid to end the year at 6-6. T.J. Tampa proves himself as one of the best defensive backs in the country and declares for the draft. The wide receiver room shows out and Noel, Higgins, and Gaines III all contribute. Cartevious Norton distinguishes himself as RB1 and the offensive line holds its own to create holes for him to run through throughout the season.A couple of horrid special teams plays, phantom plays, or questionable penalties cost us at least a game or two as well.

GIF to Culminate the Season -

David Braga

What Makes or Breaks the Season -

Head Coach Matt Campbell. Iowa State isn’t unfamiliar with adversity heading into a season, but normally it’s in the form of “you just went 2-10 and your job could be on the line” and not “you just went 4-8 and lost a quarter of your starters to a gambling scandal” type thing. Campbell is going to have his hands full all year with “If you had *insert player lost to gambling here* would the game have been different” and all sorts of hypotheticals like that. He’s going to have the keep every single player, coach, and trainer locked in on the here and now. It’s without a doubt his toughest call to answer as the leader of this program... now it’s time to answer.

Overall Record - 7-5

UNI- W

Iowa- L

@ Ohio- W

Conference Record - 5-4

Oklahoma State- W

@ Oklahoma- L

TCU- W

@ Cininnati- L

@ Baylor- L

Kansas- W

@ BYU- L

Texas- W

@ Kansas State- W

Offensive Team MVP - Jaylin Noel

Defensive Team MVP - T.J. Tampa

Offensive Breakout Star - Benjamin Brahmer (TEU)

Defensive Breakout Star - Will McLaughlin

Breakdown of Season -

I don’t know of anyone that’s a fan of this non-con schedule WITHOUT all the distractions the offseason has been. I suspect we stumble and bumble our way to a 2-1 start by escaping UNI and Ohio by the skin of our teeth. After that, I love starting conference play at home. The Cyclones are going to be in every game this year with the strength of the defense, it’s just a matter of if they can get that 1 stop or if the offense can score that 1 touchdown. I think you add that with the magic of the Jack Trice Game win over TCU and sending Texass packing to SEC with a late November loss in Ames and you get yourself a bowl game come December. Matt Campbell answers the call, goes all in, and gets Iowa State back into a bowl game.

GIF to Culminate the Season -

Nate Scheelhaase Burner

What Makes or Breaks the Season-

I feel like we’ve been beating this drum since Matt Campbell arrived in Ames, but this year I truly think the offensive line is what pushes us forward or inevitably sinks the ship. Last year the OL was a major issue (along with many other things) but with new OL coach Ryan Clanton coming in and supposedly installing a new and violent mentality in the room this year I’m hoping for a good sized jump this year. Iowa State lost it’s starting QB and RB from last year due to the gambling investigation so it will be crucial the Offensive Line gives the new QB whether it’s Rocco or Kohl, and the RB’s some time and make life a little easier for them this year. If we see real improvement from the big guys up front it will help out the rest of this offense tremendously.

Overall Record - 7-5

UNI- W

Iowa- L

@ Ohio- W

Conference Record - 5-4

Oklahoma State- W

@ Oklahoma- L

TCU- L

@ Cininnati- W

@ Baylor- L

Kansas- W

@ BYU- W

Texas- W

@K-State L

Offensive Team MVP - Whoever is playing QB

Defensive Team MVP - Tyler Onyedim

Offensive Breakout Star - Jason Essex

Defensive Breakout Star - Domonique Orange

Breakdown of Season -

I really don’t know what to think of the season with how many unknowns we have right now. I am definitely on the optimistic side compared to most but this feels like a very 2017 type season. Backs are against the walls with everyone doubting us and that’s when Campbell and Co seem to thrive. I don’t think our schedule is quite as tough as everyone makes it out to be, the October slate is undoubtedly the most important of the season with some tough but very winnable games. I had a hard time picking against Iowa State vs TCU when they will be rocking the Jack Trice throwbacks but it will be a tough feat to be a team that just played in the national championship even if they do lose a good chunk of production. I think Iowa State has a better season than what people anticipate and have some real momentum going into next year with a ton of production returning on both sides of the ball.

GIF to Culminate the Season-

Matt Nelson

What makes or breaks the season -

Close game luck. Much has been made about our lack of finishing ability under CMC, and the record backs that up. My counterpoint is this - when you never get blown out, you’ll always lose close. Typically, with close games, your luck turns year over year. And last year it couldn’t have been worse. Close-game luck can be made with better situational football - red zone offense, penalties, special teams and a running game to ice clock. If Iowa State improves in these areas, they can easily rebound from last year’s 4-8 effort. I don’t even think it takes dramatic improvement; 30% improvement may be enough. Just be better in those areas. The Cyclones were very young a year ago, and those areas are not typically strengths of a young team. Iowa State is more experienced, and made changes in the areas with poor performance a year ago: new special teams coach, new offensive coordinator, new OL coach, and they’ll have a new QB.

Overall record - 7-5

Non conference record - 2-1

UNI - W

Iowa - L

Ohio - W

Conference record - 5-4

Oklahoma State - W

@OU - L

TCU - W

@Cincy - W

@Baylor - L

Kansas - W

@BYU - W

Texas - L

@Kansas State L

Offensive Team MVP - Norton/Sanders

Offensive Breakout Star - Jayden Higgins

Defensive Team MVP - Beau Freyler

Defensive Breakout Star - Dominique Orange

Breakdown of the Season -

Look, I’m down on the Big 12, and the gambling stuff has clearly made everyone else down on us. This team returns a lot and has a terrific defense. They fixed what they needed to address. The QB production they have to replace is pedestrian. I think Iowa State wins by 17 against UNI, and loses a comical farce of a game against Iowa, a game we’ve all seen before. I predict we fumble on a breakaway touchdown and also drop 7 interceptions. Ohio will be feisty but this team can handle them. Oklahoma State is a mess and Gundy is fired after the season, so that is an ISU win. Iowa State then loses close in its first true road test to an overrated Oklahoma, as road environments aren’t friendly to new QBs. A home win against a depleted TCU team follows, one where the Cyclones finally get to 40 points. A road win the ensues, albeit close, against a reeling Cincinnati team in their first season of Big 12 play before something dumb happens at Baylor. Idk what it will be. Maybe it’ll be 28 degrees and they won’t let us have heaters. Maybe Baylor swaps with the Dallas cowboys for one game. Idk. Who knows. They then rattle two tight ones off against KU and BYU, the latter of which is a high-scoring shootout in the mountains. They then drop their last two games, losing a hate-filled matchup in Ames by double digits before getting screwed by the refs in Manhattan again.

GIF To Culminate The Season-

DETEK Kramer

What Makes or Breaks the Season-

Basically all the things that make a ball control team good. Having a serviceable running game. Which means primarily having a serviceable offensive line. Don’t turn the ball over. Have good special teams. Good defense. A ballsy quarterback who can extend drives on third downs. Iowa State went 1 - 6 in those #metrics. When you rightfully lean on your defense and this is your style of play, those other five #metrics must improve if you wish to win games.There is a new Oline coach, new O Coordinator, new Special Team Coach, new kicker(maybe), new running back(s), and new quarterback(s). Right, wrong, or indifferent – changes were made to the areas that needed improvement. And unfortunately, I believe that’s gonna take some time.

Overall Record – 5-7

UNI - W

Iowa - L

@ Ohio - W

Conference Record - 3-6

Oklahoma State - L

@OU - L

TCU - L

@Cincy - W

@Baylor - L

Kansas - W

@BYU - W

Texas - L

@Kansas State L

Offensive Team MVP – Hunter Dekkers Jirehl Brock What matters most is that we all have fun

Defensive Team MVP - TJ Tampa

Offensive Breakout Star – Ben Brahmer

Defensive Breakout Star – Domonique Orange

Breakdown of Season –

Some might not want to hear this, but I think the offense is going to be a….let’s just call it a work in progress the first half or so of the season. I am predicting a W against UNI but that game is going to be pain. It always is. Mark Farley is gonna put the nipple clamps on again and scream with delight for 40 minutes. Ugh.

This is followed with the CyHawk game which should be as sicko of a game as ever. Two elite defensive teams with woeful inexperienced offenses trying to slam their heads into a wall over and over. If there were any WWI vets still around this game would give them PTSD. But as always, this game comes down to who is going to shit the bed less. Which I think Iowa will unfortunately shit less than ISU.

I think ISU showed enough last year against Ohio that they aren’t on the same level...even with gambling turnover. Then the conference grind starts. I think the learning curve will still be a bit to steep early on with three straight L’s. Okie State is apparently not Okie State of old, but I don’t think ISU’s offense is up to the task quite yet.

ISU finally gets a W @ Cincy cause they have an entire new team and I think ISU starts to settle in on a quarterback. After three straight conference loses, the team starts to give JJ Kohl more and more looks and he grows more and more comfortable. JJ and fellow true freshman Ben Brahmer develop a nice relationship together as the season rolls on and that becomes a big hype into the following season. That doesn’t mean there aren’t still some loses ahead against the proven teams in the conference. They falter against Baylor, Texas and KState. I can see a glimmer of hope if something terribly wrong has happened to Texas (likely) or KState and they don’t feel they have anything to play for. If my prediction holds up, then ISU is playing for a bowl game in those games.

But similar to last season, the defense will keep ISU in most of the games it plays. I think TJ Tampa will be the MVP of the defense not because of the stats he might compile, but the attention he won’t get. I think TJ is gonna strand his receivers out in the lonely waters of Tampa Bay (be sure to tell your friends about that one, kids). Then as a “newcomer” Big Citrus will more than fill in for Isaiah MLee.

This season will go down as a transition year and the Hype Machine will get kicked back into gear as the team showed promise to finish the season.

GIF to Culminate the Season -

Thom

What Makes or Breaks the Season-

O-Line and Linebackers are the two position groups that stand out the most to me. O-Line has gotten a lot of hype this season but I gotta see it. Everyone is talking them up and how they will take bigger steps than before but I’ve heard that one too many times. With the Linebackers the new guys gotta fill in. With the great secondary if the LBs can fall in line we sit pretty good.

Overall Record - 5-7

UNI - W

Iowa - L

@ Ohio - L

Conference Record - 4-5

Oklahoma State - L

@ Oklahoma - L

TCU - L@

Cincinnati - W

@ Baylor - L

Kansas - W

@ BYU - W

Texas - W

@ Kansas State - L

Offensive Team MVP - Cartevious NortonI think he separates himself by the rest of the backfield in a major way

Defensive Team MVP - TJ TampaEasy pick, next!

Offensive Breakout Star - Dimitri StanleyAfter a awful year last year he shows up in 2023 and helps out the WR room. Barley any drops, creates space, and makes a huge play in the season.

Defensive Breakout Star - Myles PurchaseWe have seen flashes but I believe he can truly show up this year.

Breakdown of Season - There is so many question marks with this upcoming season I don’t know how anyone could be confident in their prediction. I think there is some shine but also some dark times this season. I expect a major upset win but I’m going with a loss @ Ohio too.

GIF to Culminate the Season -

Austin Keeney

What Makes or Breaks the Season -

It’s probably cheesy to say but the program culture will be defined by what happens this year. 2022 was a challenging year for Matt Campbell without program stalwarts like Brock Purdy and Breece Hall. After a rough year on the field, CMC made some necessary changes to the staff while betting on internal improvement from his players. The gambling scandal also has the possibility of unraveling this whole thing. But, if the foundation is still right, and the team rallies together (I think they will) expect Iowa State to improve this fall.On the field specifically, it’s all going to come down to offensive line play. Poaching Ryan Clanton from UNI and bringing in a new strength coach were much needed. Nothing will help uncertainty and inexperience at the QB position like reliable pass blocking and an effective run game.

Overall Record - 5-7

UNI - W

Iowa - L

Ohio - W

Oklahoma State - W

Oklahoma - L

TCU - L

Cincinnati - L

Baylor - L

Kansas - W

BYU - L

Texas - W

Kansas State - L

Conference Record - 3-6

Offensive Team MVP - Jaylin Noel

Defensive Team MVP - TJ Tampa

Offensive Breakout Star - JJ Kohl

Defensive Breakout Star - Domonique Orange

Breakdown of Season -

We take care of business against UNI in a low scoring rock fight that is somehow close in the 3rd quarter. What’s the most painful way to lose the CyHawk game? I’ll go with that. But overall the schedule shapes up for a fast start. Put it this way, the team better be at a minimum 2-2 if there are hopes of going bowling.

I don’t see the middle part of the season going well. Inexperience at QB and lots of road games don’t mix well. I’m looking for somewhere around the Cincinnati game where the keys are officially handed to JJ Kohl, and the focus shifts to development for 2024. The Clones pick off Kansas at home and also pull a massive upset against Texas. At 5-6 and with bowl eligibility in sight, we fall just short in Manhattan.

This will be a season of plenty of improvement. The offensive line will show baby steps, and we’ll run the ball better. JJ Kohl will show a lot of potential but make plenty of freshman mistakes. For all the talk this offseason about a broken culture, this team is going to give us a lot to like on the football field and set up well for the 2024 season.

GIF to Culminate the Season -

Sam Phillips

What Makes or Breaks the Season-

How much time YOU the reader spend consuming WRNL content.

Overall Record - 8-4

UNI-W. It’s a not close game year.

Iowa-W. McNamara will be seeing ghosts.

@Ohio-W. Matt Campbell has never lost to Ohio as a head coach.

Conference Record - 5-4

OSU-L. Heat check.

@OU-W. Dabo’s coaching tree is NOT REAL.

TCU-L. Fits will be unreal though.

@CIN-W. Welcome to the Big 12. David Montgomery sends his regards.

@BAY-L. Bad vibes game.

KU-W. Jayhawks fall back to Earth this year.

@BYU-L. Tough road trip? Playing at elevation? No drunk fans? Loss.

TEX-W. Horns down forever.

@Farmageddon-W. 2nd biggest Iowa State rivalry win of thanksgiving weekend

Offensive Team MVP -

Jayden Higgins. Transfer WRs making an impact… it’s what we do.

Defensive Team MVP - TJ Tampa. He’s HIM.

Offensive Breakout Star - Tyler Miller. The o-line needs to step up if the Clones are going to have the season I’m predicting. Miller could be the anchor to that unit and Clanton’s best proof of concept.

Defensive Breakout Star - Malik Verdon. He was making waves before getting hurt last season. I expect him to get back on that trajectory.

Breakdown of Season -

I think this season is all about Iowa State getting back to its roots. No hype. “Key” guys missing from the roster. Coming off a bad season. It feels like 2017. Or 2009. This is where Campbell proves how great a coach he is. Time for his Act II.A lot of people are afraid to get their hopes up about this team but getting kicked in the nuts is a feature, not a bug, of being Clone to the bone.

GIF to Culminate the Season -

Adam Haluska

What makes or breaks the season-

This season will completely come down to the margins. In 2022, six of Iowa State’s losses were by a combined 24 points. They were one field goal and one dropped pass away from making a bowl game. On the flip side, in 2020, four of Iowa State’s wins came by a combined 20 points, if those went the other way, ISU goes from 9-3 to 4-7. Every season under Campbell comes down to the margins, for better or worse. The margins typically are more noticeable when they lose in the margins; missed kicks, inexcusable penalties, costly turnovers; those all have to be avoided, especially late in the game if Iowa State wants to return to a bowl.

Of course, the offensive line will need to improve, but it will be hard not to. I would grade the line in 2022 as a solid F, in 2023 I would expect an improvement up to a C- just with the presence of Ryan Clanton.

As far as the defense goes, I don’t think they need to be as good as they were in 2022, but they could still be better. This will be the best secondary in the Campbell era, mix that with a lot of young depth in the front seven and the mastermind of Jon Heacock, they should be a top three defense in the conference and (hopefully) cause more turnovers.

Offensive team MVP- Jayden Higgins

Defensive team MVP- TJ Tampa

Offensive breakout star- Ben Brahmer

Defensive breakout star- Jack Sadowsky

Overall record- 6-6 (4-5 in Big 12)

vs UNI: 21-16 W

vs Iowa: 13-9 L

@ Ohio: 35-10 W

vs Oklahoma State:

21-20 W@ Oklahoma:

27-17 Lvs

TCU: 20-17 L

@ Cincinnati: 31-13 W

@ Baylor: 35-20 L

vs Kansas: 31-14 W

@ BYU: 17-13 L

vs Texas: 21-10 W

@ K-State: 10-9 L

Season recap: No matter how this season, it’s going to take a few years off of Cyclone fans’ lives. The offense still won’t be great, but it should be improved and the defense will keep them in almost every game. The path to six will be harder than years past, but I think the team rallies around the gambling investigation similar to how the 2017 rallied around Jacob Park’s removal of the team.

GIF To Culminate Season-

Jacob England

What makes or breaks the season-

The season will come down to how fast we can find the QB in the room and how this new offensive staff/ Offensive Coordinator can get the offense to gel. We all know that Iowa State has a great defense. Heacock is a genius but our struggle has been offensive play. If we can get the ball rolling before conference play, I’m thinking this team will be a .500 team if not higher. But if there are too many hiccups along the way, well let’s just say we will need to have plenty of beer in the fridge.

Offensive MVP- Cartevious NortonI believe that the offense with this new offensive line coach will run the ball a lot. Here comes your knight in shining armor. I think Norton will be poised to take a lot of the snaps and make an impact.

Defensive MVP- TJ Tampa

He is a stud and I am sure he will have a fantastic career after college in the NFL!

Offensive Breakout Star- this might be cheating but I’m going to do it anyway the TE room. This room is so deep and there are so many talented TEs that it will be hard not to put them on the field. Expect multi-Tight End sets in this offense.

Defensive Breakout Star- Domonique OrangeThis guy is Uber talented and with some departures taking place, he is poised to take that next step and create havoc in the Big 12

Overall record 6-6

UNI: W

Iowa: W

Ohio: W

Oklahoma State: W

Oklahoma: L

TCU: L

Cincinnati: W

Baylor: L

Kansas: W

BYU: L

Texas: L

Kansas State: L

Conference record: 3-6

Breakdown of the season:This season is a big step forward or back for Matt Campbell and his staff. He lost his starting Qb, Rb, and DL to gambling and has a young team. My prediction is pretty simple. Yes, he will succeed but with a few bumps on the way. This coaching staff on the offense is new and is going to have to be a complete unit to compete at a consistent level. I believe that Matt made some massive hires but this will take time to fruition into something spectacular! Expect extremely challenging games and questionable play calls at the beginning of the season with it starting to really take off at the end of the season. I expect Iowa State to make it to a bowl game because Matt Campbell will be hungry to go back to one. The biggest keys to a very successful season comes back to QB play and if the line can be serviceable this year. If those two things line up then watch out! We know we can rely on the defense but if the offense takes off, we’ll be hard to beat!

GIF to Culminate the Season-

Matthias Schwartzkopf

What Makes or Breaks the Season-

Scoring or not scoring more than the opponent.

Overall Record - 15-0

Conference Record - 10-0

Offensive Team MVP - JJ Kohl

Defensive Team MVP - Big Citrus

Offensive Breakout Star -JJ Kohl

Defensive Breakout Star - Drew Surges

Breakdown of Season -Easy Ws all around. Central Florida in the dumps

GIF to Culminate the Season -