When the announcement was made, I was the first to grab a sign and head to the front of the picket line.

Illinois State? What in the name of all that is right and fair in the world was Iowa State doing opening its football season against Illinois State?

And then I sat down and thought about it. The fact that Iowa State will open its season against a I-AA opponent isn’t the end of the world. Actually, it was a rather smart choice.

The main problem scheduling critics have is that it forces the Cyclones to win an extra game to be eligible for a bowl game. A team can use a I-AA team for bowl eligibility once every four years, and Iowa State did that last year with its victory over Northern Iowa.

Although the move could keep Iowa State out of the postseason for just the second time in the last six seasons, that seems rather unlikely.

The way I see it, the Cyclones should get wins over Army, Baylor, Kansas State, Colorado and Kansas. They should also beat Missouri, exacting revenge over the team that kept them out of the Big 12 Championship game.

That right there is six wins. Problem solved. It is also not far-fetched at all to think that the Cyclones might be able to pull a major upset.

Why not Nebraska? The Huskers are still getting used to their new West Coast offense and — let’s face it — I’m a better quarterback then Joe Dailey.

Not Nebraska? Try Oklahoma State. It could happen.

And finally, why not Iowa? Many experts have the Hawkeyes ranked in their preseason top five. But you can’t count Iowa State out of this game no matter what the circumstances.

If the Cyclones could only win one game a year, I would have them annually beating Iowa. No matter how good Iowa will be next season, you can’t count the Cyclones out because of the nature of the rivalry.

There is also pending legislation before the NCAA that would allow teams to count a victory over a 1-AA team toward its bowl eligibility every year. If this passes — and ISU Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde is confident it will — the scheduling point is moot.

The policy might not be implemented this season, but my previous argument stands.

The other alternative for the Cyclones was to schedule their season opener on foreign soil. There were many teams who were willing to play Iowa State, but none willing to come to Ames.

As great as it would have been to play a 1-A team, it’s not worth making a trip to the West Coast to face USC.

The Big 12 holds a difficult enough schedule for the Cyclones, and there is no reason to add the two-time defending national champs to the schedule.

By bringing Illinois State to Ames, the team has a chance to build momentum and work out the kinks in a season that could bring unprecedented success to an Iowa State program on the verge of a breakout season.