A slew of intriguing Big 12 matchups today:

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Earlier today, quarterback Phillip Bates notified the ISU Athletics Department he was going to transfer. Despite going about it in kind of a classless manner, without actually facing Coach Chizik, the ramifications should not be too bad, unless Austen Arnaud were to go down. 

It's become clear at this point that Arnaud is the leader of this team, and that Bates would continue to see diminished playing time. He didn't like that, so he decided he wanted out.

Jerome Tiller will step in at QB if Arnaud were to go down for an extended period of time. Brett Bueker could see playing time in blowouts.

This last week's showdown with Kansas paid off  immediately, as Iowa State has since picked up two 2009 football commitments in RB James White and WR DJ Beshears. White is a three-star on Rivals, while Beshears has yet to receive a rating.

White rounds out what should be a solid runningback corps next year, joining Alexander Robinson, Bo Williams, Jeremiah Schwartz and fellow commit Beau Blankenship in the backfield. 

Beshears will have a bit more congestion in front of him at wide receiver, but it is possible the coaches are envisioning him in a Devin Hester like role, with a focus on returning kicks.

Iowa State now has ten commitments for the class.

First off, apologies. I've got my computer somewhat healthy again. I've still got a bit of a conflict of interest that affects what I can commentate on, but I figured, at the very least, I should get my blogpoll ballot back out there....as always, commentary welcomed.

Tomorrow, at 11:30 AM on Versus (a channel we're 2-0 on, by the way), begins a pivotal stretch for the Iowa State Cyclones and any possible chance at the post season. By all accounts, this team could very easily be 4-0 right now. Both the Iowa game and the UNLV game were very winnable, but, the offense could not get it going. So what does this mean for tomorrow?

The Big 12 opener against Kansas is the beginning of a second season, so to speak. Winning tomorrow would effectively cancel out one of the last two games (that we should have won with one we shouldn't have). And, even though Kansas is ranked 16th, tomorrow has the ingredients of an upset.

For starters, Jack Trice Stadium is starting to become a home field advantage, with Iowa State winning their last four straight at the Jack, as well as six of their last eight (with the only losses to Texas and Oklahoma, with wins over Missouri and Colorado). It's hard to deny the fact that Cyclone fans, including the student section, has truly stepped up in the past and has created a stadium experience that is moving up in BCS football.

To that end, Iowa State has not been playing its best football. It's frustrating at this point - if we were playing up to our capabilities and had a 2-2 record to show for it, it'd be one thing, but this team is MUCH more talented than last year. Most of the mistakes are due to youth (personal fouls, for example), as well as the pressure of the first two road games for a very young team. An Iowa State team running on all cylinders can beat any team on its schedule this year.

So why are publications such as FoxSports and CFN singling out tomorrow morning's matchup as an upset special? Kansas has racked up 90 points on ISU the last two years, and, despite having a bye last week, probably expects to roll once again. However, to anyone who has watched this team, and has not simply followed through newspaper and internet reports, it's readily apparent that this year's team is showing some ability (and swagger) not shown in year's past.  And I guarantee you the ISU coaching staff plans to win tomorrow. 

And really now, why the hell not? I mean, if we're not going to upset Kansas in basketball anymore, we might as well just win tomorrow....

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True Freshman

Darius Darks, 1 catch, 18 yds, TD
Sedrick Johnson, 1 catch, 14 yds, TD
Carter Bykowski, 1 catch, 8 yds
Leonard Johnson, 1 return, 23 yards; 6 tackles
Grant Mahoney, 5-5 XP, 3-3 FG
Ter'ran Benton, 3 tackles
Ernest Ferguson, 1 tackle

Redshirt Freshman

Jerrod Black, 1 TFL

Sophomores

Phillip Bates, 5-8, 61 yds, TD; 9 rushes, 55 yds
Austen Arnaud, 8-11, 98 yds, TD; 2 rushes, 4 yds
Alexander Robinson, 15 rushes, 74 yds; 1 catch, 1 yd
Collin Franklin, 1 catch, 24 yds
Devin McDowell,  2 punt returns, 13 yds; 1 INT, 3 yds; 2 kick returns, 64 yds; 1 BrkUp
Michael O'Connell, 2 tackles; 1 punt return, 16 yds
Cameron Bell, 1 tackle
Austin Alburtis, 1 INT, 61 yds
Zac Sandvig, 1 tackle, 1 forced fumble

Not to mention guys that didn't rack up stats, such as Zach Guyer, Scott Haughton, Steven Ruempolhamer, Dakota Zimmerman, Trey Baysinger, Kelechi Osemele, Hayworth Hicks, Alex Alvarez, Jason Carlson, Matt Hulbert, Bailey Johnson, Ben Lamaak and Taylor Mansfield.

Excuse me if the future looks bright. The future appears to be now. Over 12 starters are sophomores and younger. And these guys are contributing RIGHT NOW.

Earlier this week, the Cyclone football team received some good news in the form of two JUCO commitments. Safety Troy Butler and defensive end Taylor Martin, teammates at Antelope Valley Junior College, decided to ink with the Iowa State football program. Both are former teammates of Cyclone offensive lineman Hayworth Hicks. Both are two-star prospects on Scout.

Both should be expected to immediately contend for starting spots. Both were getting interest from Kansas State, while Martin was also getting interest from Kansas and Oregon State.

Troy Butler:

Rivals Info
Scout Info
ESPN Info

Taylor Martin:

Rivals Info
Scout Info
ESPN Info