It’s only a few days away.

A season full of expectations from the coaching staff and anticipation from Cyclone fans begins Thursday night against Northern Illinois.

Coming off a bowl win and dramatic improvement over the previous two years, coach Paul Rhoads and his team have their work cut out for them with one of the toughest schedules in the nation.

But despite a schedule in which the Cyclones face four teams ranked in the top 10 in the AP preseason poll, there is optimism coming from coaches and players.

“Our football team will be prepared, our football team will be ready, and whoever’s in that slate we’re going to have to play,” Rhoads said. “You’ve got to be ready to play every single game against every single opponent no matter what the prognosticators think about them, no matter what level of a school they are.”

Last season the team came in with no expectations. And that meant no pressure.

This season, the daunting schedule has analysts and experts predicting a rough year. But what that could be for a young team is motivation.

Just look back across all the major sports in this country. When a team has the “they don’t respect us” attitude, a lot of times it works in its favor.

I believe coach Rhoads and his staff will use that to motivate the players and get the best out of them, whether it’s against Iowa or Northern Iowa.

What they have to begin the season is potential. The offense especially has a few big-time playmakers. Alexander Robinson is coming off a near-1,200-yard rushing season and is primed for another outstanding season if he can stay healthy.

Keeping players healthy is vital. No matter how much potential the offense might have, an injury can derail the team in a hurry.

On paper, with a healthy team, I think the Cyclones have the potential for eight wins.

It’s not a guarantee, but with this core of players, there is the potential for eight wins.

But this is football, and by October or November we could be talking about a very different team. It all depends on how it reacts to adversity.

And that could come as early as week two. The Iowa game will show a lot about what the Cyclones have and could be a good predictor of how they’ll play against Texas and Oklahoma.

The games in which the Cyclones will struggle the most will obviously be against the four teams in the AP top 10. Three of the four are on the road — traditionally a big weak spot for ISU football — and the fourth is a home game against Nebraska, a team that will be out for blood after the upset in Lincoln last year.

But upsets happen. And if there’s any coach in college football who can get his team to do it, it’s Paul Rhoads.

I expect the Cyclones to go 6-6 again this season, and I don’t think that would be a disappointment at all. It would get them to back-to-back bowl games, something that hasn’t happened since the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

But if the team gets down after a few potential early losses to Iowa and Utah, I could see things spiraling down to four or even three wins.

No matter what happens, it will be a very interesting season to watch, even if it does end up imploding in front of our eyes. 

I just don’t think the players will lay down or give up with Rhoads as their coach.

Because as proud as he is to be their coach, they’re just as proud to be his players.

“Not one of these guys in here would trade any position coach or coach Rhoads for anything,” said quarterback Austen Arnaud. “We’ve been through a lot in a short time with coach Rhoads, and we’re very excited about the things coming in the future.”