Tuesday, October 2, 2007

He who hesitates.....

Let’s be honest, life really isn’t getting much easier for Cyclone’s coach Gene Chizik. He’s never been though a stretch of games like this.
At Texas and Auburn, his teams were either mounting historic comeback wins against USC or closing the deal. Now, he’s watching his team blow 11 point leads in Toledo in Nebraska.
No one said it was going to be easy but we’re at the halfway mark of the season and you can see it’s starting to drain. At his Monday press conferences, we’re used to seeing an upbeat, the glass is half full kind of guy. This Monday, it took him awhile but Chizik finally opened up to reporters.
When he did, he brought up one of the most interesting things he’s said all season. Asked if he could pinpoint one thing that’s led to his team’s four losses this season, the first year coach said one thing, turnovers.
Opponents this season have scored 51 points off 15 Iowa State turnovers this season.
“I think they play a huge role in why we’re 1-4,” Chizik said.
To show just how big of a role, he said he has sat his team down and watched every single turnover this season. Every interception, every fumble, they have watched every single mistake.
On a young team you wonder if that takes a toll on them. I asked Chizik if he thought if it was now becoming a mental situation for them.
He didn’t think so. He doesn’t think they’re hesitating but he made it clear they know what’s causing them to lose games.
While they might not be worried after every run, every catch, or

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