Our Cy-clone football team is obviously having a dismal season, and the only consistent bright spot has been the passing game. The scary thing is that next year, most of the existing fire power will be gone. This season, Todd Bandhauer has had the luxury of throwing to one of the most talented receiving corps in Iowa State history, but the top five on the depth chart are all seniors.

So who will Bandhauer throw to next year?

Iowa State, which already has 17 freshman on its two-deep roster, will still lack depth, especially after Tyrone Watley, Ed Williams, Daman Green, Gerrick Bivins and Tom Radke leave school.

Bandhauer and his receivers currently have the top passing team in the Big 12. Bandhauer is also on pace to break (or has broken) a number of Cyclone season and game records.

This year, Williams and Watley are among the conference leaders in almost every receiving category.

Watley has 42 catches for 692 yards, which leads the Big 12. He also has eight touchdowns, which ties a single-season ISU record, and averages 69.2 receiving yards per game. He ranks third in the conference with 151.2 all-purpose yards per game.

Williams has 39 catches for 534 yards and five scores. He currently sits second all-time in career receptions and yardage with 132 for 1,850. He has also had 15 touchdown catches in his four years at ISU.

These two are one of the most prolific receiving duos ever at ISU. They will cap off their careers with nearly 100 catches for almost 1,500 yards this season.

As for the rest of the seniors, Green has been used primarily in three-receiver sets while handling much of the punt return duties. Bivins has been hampered by injuries much of the season, although he did have a touchdown reception at Kansas.

Next year, Coach McCarney will once again be able to use inexperience as an excuse for the team’s futility. They will have to rely on sophomore Mike Brantley and freshmen Chris Anthony, Adam Runk and Darryl Taylor.

Unless ISU is able to sign some junior college players or convince some players to move to the receiver position, Bandhauer will go through his senior year throwing to ISU’s pups while battling the “Big Dogs” of the Big 12 and Big 10.

Sometimes this season, ISU has gone exclusively to the passing game, but still, the results have not led to victories. Next year the team will probably return to the days of Troy Davis — giving it to Darren and running all the time.

The offense will probably continue to rack up points. The only question is whether they will put up the points when it counts and consistently. At times, ISU’s 1997 offense has appeared unstoppable, but all too often it has bogged down because of its own mistakes.

I hope for Bandhauer’s sake those young receivers come through. Bandi has put up with a lot of crap from the fans and the media and certainly has taken his share of hits. Just as this year’s seniors, he, and his mates deserve to go out with respect.

I’m always an optimist, though, who roots for the underdog. Hell, I thought ISU would have a shot at a bowl game at the beginning of the season.

These guys put in so much work at take so much grief, I would love to see next year’s team do well so the players could tell everybody to stick it.

Scott Johnson is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Holstein.