Iowa St. tries to cap its unlikely reversal of fate with title

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State had just lost to Texas A&M 34-3 early last month and coach Dan McCarney was scrolling through his e-mail. Up came one from a fan in California.

"He said, 'Coach McCarney, I really appreciate what you've done at Iowa State,"' McCarney said. "'You've had a great 10-year run. Things probably aren't going to work out for you this year, but I think you belong on the search committee for your replacement.'

"I think he was trying to be positive, but it sure didn't come across to me like that," the Iowa State coach said.

Well, there will be no search committee this year, only the possibility of a boisterous championship celebration. If Iowa State beats slumping Missouri in its regular-season finale today, the Cyclones win the Big 12 North and go to Kansas City to play Oklahoma for the conference title.

And they would be the most improbable of champions, going from worst to first in just 12 months. Iowa State was 0-8 in the Big 12 last season and by mid-October, its conference losing streak had reached 13 games.

Then a last-minute victory at Baylor started a four-game winning streak that has put the resilient McCarney and his team on the verge of the school's first football championship of any kind in 92 years.

"I'm going to be proud of them whatever happens Saturday, but I want to bring a championship to the Iowa State fans," McCarney said. "I can picture nothing that I would enjoy more than to be able to hold the Big 12 North title up here in our stadium with these kids on Saturday."

Because of Colorado's 26-20 victory over Nebraska on Friday, Iowa State (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) must win to advance to the Dec. 4 championship game in Kansas City. A Nebraska victory would have sent the Cyclones against the Sooners regardless of what happened Saturday.

No matter, ISU defensive back Ellis Hobbs said. He said he and his teammates weren't paying attention to that game anyway.

"We have the best of both worlds because we have control of our destiny," said Hobbs, one of the leaders on a unit that has 13 takeaways in the last four games. "Whatever we do on Saturday affects everybody else. Everybody else doesn't affect us and that's the beautiful thing about it."

The Cyclones will try to cap their title run against the team that was supposed to win the Big 12 North. Missouri returned 13 starters from an 8-5 team, including quarterback Brad Smith, who had been one of the nation's most dynamic players for two years.

But Smith, turned into a pocket passer by coach Gary Pinkel, slumped and the Tigers (4-6, 2-5) tumbled along with him, losing their last five games after a 4-1 start.

Now they enter one of the most significant games in Iowa State history with nothing to lose -- but nothing to play for, either.

"We never thought we would be this low," Missouri wide receiver Thomson Omboga said.

Still, some of the Tigers are putting up a brave front, insisting they'll be ready to play when everything else suggests the contrary. Last week, the Tigers fell behind 28-0 to a Kansas team using its fourth-string quarterback.

"Even though somebody says something is meaningless, there's some kind of meaning to this game," wide receiver Sean Coffey said. "If you love football and this is what you do and you have a game, you should be geeked up to play."

Emotion will not be a concern on the Iowa State side.

"I can't wait to come down that tunnel," offensive lineman Cale Stubbe said. "I hope everyone shows up and I hope to see a lot of fans out there going crazy."

Imagine how crazy they'd get if Iowa State wins. The goal posts at Jack Trice Stadium are supposed to be indestructible. A championship assault might be too much.