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AMES, Iowa — Barring a collapse in Iowa State’s final two games, Paul Rhoads is going to get at least one vote for Big 12 coach of the year.
Mine.
But isn’t Rhoads the darn fool who gambled on a failed two-point conversion try in overtime Saturday to lose 31-30 to Nebraska?
All the more reason to vote for the man who, against the nation’s most difficult schedule, has led a modestly talented, big-hearted team to within one win of bowl eligibility.
That win was only 3 yards away early Saturday evening against the No. 9 team in the country.
Just to get into overtime was huge for ISU (5-5, 3-3). In three previous games against Top 15 foes this season (Iowa, Utah, Oklahoma), the Cyclones had been outscored 154-35.
Then after less than 10 minutes against Nebraska, quarterback Austen Arnaud suffered a badly twisted right ankle. But Iowa State overcame that and a 24-10 deficit in the fourth quarter to reach overtime.
In the extra period after a Nebraska touchdown, Arnaud hobbled 14 yards for a first down, then hit Jake Williams with a 9-yard scoring pass to make it 31-30.
Rhoads said he never hesitated to call for a special fake extra point, a play he has never shown in a game.
“We had it in the game plan, and I had studied it throughout the game,’’ he said. “It was there.’’
Oh, was it there. Tight end Collin Franklin slipped into the end zone, and waited for holder Daniel Kuehl to rise up and toss him the ball. But the pass from Kuehl, a fifth-year senior from Sioux City, wobbled off line and was intercepted.
In the big picture, the call made great sense.
Nebraska’s power running had started to wear down the ISU defense, and the Blackshirts had finally slowed the fourth-quarter bleeding with two good stops. For the Cyclones, trying to go possession by possession against a superior team wasn’t a good idea.
Still, it hurt. Big, bad, ugly hurt.
“I’ve got no problem with grown men crying,’’ Rhoads said. “And I’ve got a lot of grown men crying.’’
As crushed as the Cyclones were at the fake misfiring, they were equally united in backing Rhoads’ decision.
“Momentum was on our side,’’ Arnaud said. “We’re at home. It was there. We just didn’t execute it. We’ve worked on that play a thousand times. Coach is a great coach on fakes.
“It will be ridiculed. But we love playing for a man like him. We have all the confidence in the world in him.’’
It shows. Two weeks ago, Iowa State rebounded from back-to-back thrashings to thump Texas on the road and save its season. One of my longtime Iowa State friends called that “a bleeping miracle.’’
Rhoads isn’t claiming to have all the answers. He’ll get some negative chatter over taking a knee in the final 40 seconds of regulation while having three timeouts and the wind.
“With that far to travel against one of the nation’s top defenses that already had scored a defensive touchdown, there was too much to risk,’’ Rhoads said. “Our kids didn’t deserve to not have the opportunity to go to overtime.’’
You can’t help but like a man with a plan, a clear thinker under duress and an honest evaluator of the cards he holds in comparison to his opponent.
Those who think NU’s Bo Pelini and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy and yes, even Missouri’s Gary Pinkel, are good coach of the year candidates are absolutely right.
But none of them has faced close to the schedule or done as much with so sparse a cupboard of real playmakers as Rhoads.
That’s why a sixth win and a second bowl bid in his two years will earn him my vote.
Contact the writer:
444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
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• Video: NU-ISU game highlights:
• Video: NU coach Bo Pelini after the NU-ISU game:
• Video: NU's Cody Green after the NU-ISU game:
• Video: NU's Austin Cassidy after the NU-ISU game:
• Video: NU's Rex Burkhead after the NU-ISU game:
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