Jim Walden, the former Iowa State coach whose teams were often short on numbers but never short on fight, died Thursday at 88.
Walden guided the Cyclones from 1987 to 1994 and finished with a 28-57-3 record, but the raw total never told the whole story. He inherited a program dealing with scholarship reductions from the previous administration, yet still found ways to spring major upsets and keep Iowa State believing during a difficult stretch. His personality, as much as any result, gave Cyclone fans something to hang onto in those early years.
The high point of his Iowa State run came in 1989, when the Cyclones went 6-5 and posted the program’s first winning conference record since 1978. That team did it with only about 50 scholarship players available. Quarterback Bret Oberg and running back Blaise Bryant drove an offense that was among the most productive in school history, with Bryant rushing for 1,516 yards and the unit averaging 430 yards per game.
Even without a bowl bid - the postseason landscape was smaller then - Walden’s teams kept showing they could punch above their weight. Iowa State beat No.
16 Oklahoma in 1990, the program’s first victory over the Sooners in 29 years. The Cyclones also knocked off No.
18 Kansas State in 1993. But the signature moment came in 1992, when a 3-6 Iowa State team stunned No.
7 Nebraska 19-10 and held the Huskers to just 246 yards.
“It may sound silly, but it was so true,” Walden recollected years later and republished in a press release. “Our offensive goal was to make a first down every time we had the ball.
We were playing one of the best teams in the nation. With our limited amount of players and talent, we thought making a first down every drive would impress our fans and we could at least move the ball a little.
Secondly, we wanted to kill the clock. And that part we did so well.
It was just one of those magic days.”
Before Iowa State, Walden built his reputation at Washington State, where he won Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors twice and took the Cougars to their first bowl appearance in more than 50 years. His coaching path started at Nebraska, first as a graduate assistant and then as an assistant coach for four years under Bob Devaney during the 1970 and 1971 national title runs.
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Phil Steeles Early Iowa State Outlook Will Frustrate Cyclones Fans
Phil Steeles annual college football preview is not exactly handing Iowa State a warm welcome into the Jimmy Rogers era. The longtime analyst sees a roster that has been turned over almost completely, with only three returning starters and a heavy transfer influx, including a notable group from Washington State, which is why the Cyclones are being framed as a rebuilding team before the season even begins.
The projection that will sting most in Ames is the Big 12 placement, with Iowa State slotted near the bottom of the league as the new staff tries to piece things together quickly. Steele does at least identify Jaylen Raynor as the projected starting quarterback and sees the defense as the steadier side of the ball, but the overall outlook is cautious enough to leave plenty of room for Cyclones fans to wonder whether this first year under Rogers can outpace the early expectations. [Read more 🡒]