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Iowa State began the year with a narrow win over an FCS team on a hot September night. The Cyclones ended 2011 with a disappointing 27-13 loss to Rutgers on a frigid December afternoon in Yankee Stadium.
In between those two dates, they managed to produce a roller-coaster 6-7 season.
Iowa State won their first three games with thrilling fourth-quarter rallies, then crashed hard with four straight losses to open Big 12 play. The Cyclones stunned Texas Tech behind new quarterback Jared Barnett and turned the national title picture upside-down by beating then-No. 2 Oklahoma State in overtime on Nov. 18.
Though Iowa State never sniffed the top of the Big 12 or reached the Top 25, it managed to become nationally relevant just three years after Gene Chizik's jump to Auburn left the program in turmoil.
The Cyclones drew at least 50,000 fans to every home game at the 55,000-seat Jack Trice Stadium for the first time. That's where they beat Iowa 44-41 in triple overtime, and defeated Oklahoma State two months later.
Iowa State's magic against the Cowboys didn't carry over, and it lost its last three games to fall below .500. Still, the program appears to be on an upswing heading into 2012.
The true measure of Rhoads' building efforts at Iowa State will come next season.
The Cyclones have a lot of holes to fill by next September.
Tackle Kelechi Osemele, a possible first-round pick in the NFL draft, and guard Hayworth Hicks are gone. Ditto for receivers Darius Reynolds and Darius Darks and three of Iowa State's starting defensive linemen; Jake Lattimer, Patrick Neal and Stephen Ruempolhamer. Cornerback Leonard Johnson, whose defense on Oklahoma State star Justin Blackmon was crucial in the win over the Cowboys, departs as well.
The Big 12 schedule doesn't promise to get any easier either, even though Texas A&M and Missouri - which both beat the Cyclones handily this season - exit for the Southeastern Conference. Iowa State will have to face TCU and likely West Virginia instead.
There is some returning talent for the Cyclones, led by star linebackers Jake Knott and A.J. Klein. Both could be preseason first-team All-Big 12 picks - quite a rarity for Iowa State - and should provide leadership for a defense that will have more than a few new starters.
Barnett will be a sophomore, and he can already claim he was behind center for the greatest win in Iowa State history - the 37-31 victory over Oklahoma State.
Barnett's numbers weren't great: He threw for 1,201 yards and six TDs with six interceptions in six starts. But he showed remarkable poise and maturity after taking over for Steele Jantz in October - right up until he got pulled for Jantz in Friday's bowl game.
Despite a rough outing in New York, Barnett likely will head into spring ball ahead of Jantz on the depth chart.
Rhoads agreed to a new 10-year contract worth roughly $20 million in December, a sure sign that Iowa State's administration is willing to give Rhoads all the time he needs to turn the Cyclones into a consistent Big 12 title contender.
