 In his final three seasons, the Cyclones won just four Big 12 games (including a winless conference record in 2014) and went 8–27 overall.The 2015 season proved to be particularly difficult, as the Cyclones held double-digit halftime leads against both Oklahoma State and Kansas State only to lose both games late in the fourth quarter.Following a 38–35 loss to Kansas State on November 21, in which he came under heavy criticism for play-calling in the game's final 90 seconds, Rhoads was fired as head coach, effective at the conclusion of the season.