Clever

It looks like the only way to make Iowa fan (and, presumably, the football team) care about "ISU's Super Bowl" is to play the gimmick card.

At least ISU saves its gimmick games for B12 opponents that might have more talent than ISU.

I guess ISU should be flattered. "We're worthy of a gimmick! We're worthy! We're worthy!"

h/t Clone Chronicles et al.

Peterclone

Game Rankings

Every game on the Big 12 composite schedule is ranked by the Daily Oklahoman.

The good news? ISU is not involved in either the worst NonCon game (that distinction is reserved for Chattanoga at OU) or B12 game (Baylor at Tech).

The Bad News? ISU's highest ranked game is #35 at Baylor. (Huh?) Four more games are ranked in the 40's.

Perception is reality.

Hat tip: Wizard of Odds

Peterclone

Gur-Run-Teed

This new rule will somehow screw ISU this season.

Somehow it will magically help keep a Have from losing to a Have Not.

BTW- In the lineup of helmets on the top of the page, ISU's helmet is the toughest to read. Not enough contrast. But I'm just some blogger in his pajamas, right?

Peterclone

Dream Matchups

ESPN has a fun article of Dream Football Matchups for every school in the Big 12. Most of them are spot-on. While I don't think our Clonies are ready to take on Florida, the Gophers would be a great home-home to renew.

I love the digs that Griffen gets in, too: Dogging KSU for canceling a game against Fresno and Mizzou for dodging Iowa (in hindsight, Iowa may have gotten the better of that deal).

An annual Texas-USC game would be epic. It's a good read.

Peterclone

Exception

It has been noted that the ISU-OU "rivalry" is one of the most lopsided in college football.

I bring this up only to gloat for a moment.

I was in Norman in '90 for the one ISU win over OU since '61. I have witnesses too. I may still be carrying a touch of the hangover from the night after.

Here's hoping we can bring an end to that streak the next time we meet OU.

Peterclone

Madness

We have officially entered the End Times.

While Vegas has the ISU win total Over/Under at 3, our own Ron Maly, the man who never misses a chance to take a cheap shot at ISU, sees ISU finishing with 4 wins.

Something ain't right. I think I'm going to go lie down with a stiff drink until the world rights itself.

Peterclone

Make Or Break?

Is this year really Make Or Break for KF? Are you kidding me?

The Black and Gold crowd must have gotten more spoiled by that crazy 31-7 run they put together a few years back than I thought. KF has earned the right to go Joe Paterno on them if he wants.

Sure, a string of .500 season is no fun, but ISU fan has a few 2, 3 and 4 win seasons they would happily trade.

No deal? Didn't think so.

Peterclone

Money Talks

The Wizard has an interesting chart of SEC ticket prices with all the extra donation costs figured in.

All I can say is that skyboxes and seats between the 30s must require a HUGE donation at Florida.

Perhaps someoone with better knowledge of the ISU ticket policies can estimate the ISU average. I suspect it is pretty cheap in the global perspective, which is both a reflection of ISU football's lousy track record, and an indicator that it might not get much better soon.

Peterclone

Preview Overload

Everything you ever wanted to know about everybody.

Hat tip to the Wizard of Odds.

Peterclone

Turning Points

It's funny how a win here or a loss there can have a huge impact on a program long tern.

I shake my head at a program that would consider firing a coach after losing a bowl game, win or lose.

Then again, I don't know what it's like to cheer for a winner, so I guess I just don't understand.

peterclone

You Get What You Pay For

Should we really be surprised with what happens on the field when this is the competition?

We're a stepping stone at best. But the only way to fix that is to win consistently, which will bring in more money, but winning is hard without lots of money.

Peterclone

Marketing Opportunity

There's gotta be a way to tap into this.

It's better to look good than be good, I suppose.

Peterclone

Make The Facts Fit The Narrative

The Register pulled off a Reverse one and a half somersaults with three and a half twists in a pair of stories over the weekend. (Sorry, no link; anything more than 36 minutes old gets scrubbed from their website it appears.)

In a big front section story they blame high gas prices on a slight decline in football season ticket sales in both Ames and Iowa City, but then list gas as the primary reason for an increase of ticket sales in Cedar Falls.

Here's the interesting bit of gymnastics: while last season's success at UNI is listed as a possible reason for an increase, nowhere in a loooong article is lousy football listed as a reason for declining sales for the big schools. Nope, not a chance. Move along- nothing to see here.

Never mind that ISU is 14-22 over the last three years, and KF's crew a slightly better 19-18 over the same span. Dropping $50 to watch lousy football is becoming a tougher and tougher sell every day.

But it's easier to blame the cost of gas.

Peterclone

Generous

I often forget how generous the Hawkeye fans around us are.

I see that two games on their home schedule sold out before single game tickets even went on sale: Wisconsin and Iowa State.

Since no serious SUI fan puts the ISU game ahead of any Big 1011 game, and there are tickets available for the Purdue, Northwestern and Penn State games, this can mean only one thing:

SUI fans purchased all of the single game tickets for the ISU game so that ISU fans can use them.

Wow.

That is unbelievably generous. No ISU fan would ever return that favor.

It is appropriate that SUI fans would gladly provide tickets to Cyclones fans since Iowa State builds it's season around the game with the Hawkeyes (or so Hawkeye fan tells us). How big of them. It's downright giant.

So- where's mine? Something between the 30's would be nice.

Peterclone

Once JV, Always JV

So Billy Packer was let go. That call was only 20-odd years too late.

Packer was always a shill for the power teams from power conferences, and unlike most of the sports press seemed to hate the underdog.

Somewhere I have a VHS of the '86 ISU upset of Meeeshigan where Billy dropped his infamous "It's the Varsity vs. the JV" when ISU fell behind in the first half. He sounds downright mad when ISU wins in the end.

I'm sure Billy won't stay out of work for long, there's a lot of hoops on the Telly each winter. He would be a nice hire for ESPN or Fox Sports.

I hope the next game I witness him call he acts as if that job is in a tiny way fun. It should be.

Peterclone

Memories

A UK fan remembers a win over a scrappy ISU team in the '92 tourney.

It's always interesting to get the outsider's perspective.

I was there, and Jamal Mashburn was clearly a man among boys. The crazy part of that all-offense game was that I walked out feeling that Orr's boys did a nice job holding Mash to "only" 27 points.

I now feel very old seeing Mash doing studio analysis for ESPN.

Peterclone

Larceny? Ouch.

Love or hate Danny Mac, nobody ever accused him of grand larceny.

I've read complaints of KF's salary, but putting it in that context is really startling. More than Tressel? Tressel need KF's agent.

Don't get me wrong, KF is a solid coach, but paying a guy $500K per win each year is pretty steep, especially when few of those wins come against Silo Tech.

Here's hoping Gene goes 31-7 so we can then have the honor of overpaying him, too. It looks like fun.

Peterclone

Stepping Up

This will be cool once built, but I find it a bit odd that it's way the heck out on the edge of town.

The cynic in me says it is a perfect location. Plenty of cheap apartments around for the players to live in, as part of a "mixed use" plan they will will have shopping and food options close by, and an easy trip to Hilton for games.

And given that they facility is closer to Ankeny than campus, it will be that much easier for players to ignore their studies. Just what a hoops program with a perfect 0% graduation rate needs- further academic isolation.

If your program is going to be an academic embarrassment, at least win some dang games.

There is study hall space in this new gym, I hope. A couple hundred square feet should do, especially if it lacks windows.

Peterclone

Streaks

Wow- Does ISU really have an 11 game road losing streak? Feels like 30. Anyway, even playing ISU at home and a road game at Pitt, SUI gets the schedule punked by ESPN. I heard some on the radio state that SUI has the easiest B1011 schedule overall, and anything less than 8 wins would be a disappointment. Here's hoping for disappointment.

Really, though, ISU will have plenty of chances to end that oh-fur: in Iowa City (you know the drill- ISU's Super Bowl, SUI doesn't care), at UNLV, at Baylor (won the last trip to Waco), at CU (which Buffalo team will show up?), at KSU (Prince is on the hot seat already? Patience, folks, patience).

The crazy thing is that you can make a decent case for ISU winning more games in their white jersey's than their red ones this year. How very odd.

Peterclone

No Surprise

So the big ISU-SUI clash will be on the Big 1011 Network. It is a big drag that most people will have to scramble to see it on TV, since Mediacom still doesn't carry the thing, but I'm not surprised.

Check out the Big 1011's composite schedule for that week, and let's eliminate the TV optionis for ISU-SUI:

OSU at USC- that has ABC Prime Time written all over it. One of the best games of the year from here.
Michigan at Notre Dame- NBC, of course.
Oregon at Purdue- nice game, probably an ESPN
Wisconsin at Fresno State- ditto

I'm assuming that ABC/ESPN gets first pick most weeks, so ISU-SUI is the only decent game left of the remaining choices. The BTN probably had to make lemonade out of what they had to choose from.

The one positive- the game will be produced in full HD for those who have BTN in their HD package. A picture so clear you'll be able to smell the Hawkeye indifference!

Peterclone