Failure

Iowa Fan- anything less than a NC is definitely a failure now. Accept nothing less.

Just sayin'.

Peter

13-0

Iowa fan: Given your 3-0 start, anything less than an undefeated season and a national championship should be considered a huge failure.

You have settled for just being good for too long. Turn up the heat on Kirk: NC or new coach.

Just sayin'.

Peter

Dark Side Week

It's best that UNI lost to UNI- had UNI beaten a ranked SUI team in Iowa City, the embarrassment would have caused SUI to cancel the remaining series and to refuse to play UNI for the next 40 years.

As a friend posted, UNI should be ranked #22 16/17th.

Clearly, SUI was looking ahead- to Arizona in two weeks. The first to dates on their schedules were just scrimmages, right?

I'm not sure that I have seen a program whose effort swings more than the Goblas. Drop an undefeated Penn State? Done. Lose 3 of 4 to Northwestern? Done that too. Push Ohio State as far as they can go? Always capable. Lose at home to Indiana? Got that.

Which brings us to this week. Saturday's outcome depends on whether our lowly Cyclones are worthy of a quality effort out of the Goblas. Certainly this would be a good chance for them to make a "statement" now that the national press is dogging them as pretenders. (One ESPN voice said they "slept walked" through the whole game) On the other hand, what kind of statement can they make against Iowa State? If they win by 40, so what?

I expect ISU to get a solid effort out of SUI, but it still won't be what they would deliver to a real program. In their heads, they should always beat ISU, so the effort will never be 100%. Perhaps we'll see 85%.

The mental advantage clearly swings to the home team. Whatever doubt they might have had going in has now evaporated, as they can see on tape that SUI is fallible. The questions are in the black and gold camp. How good are we? We usually struggle in our white jerseys, especially in Ames. Mentally the season has already begun to unravel. ISU only lost to UNI in the years they were terrible- now, a team that is a darkhorse for the Big 1011 title almost got beat. How can that be?

The pressure is all on the SUI sideline, too. Loose this and the fan base goes nuts- every game on the schedule is now in question. The goal becomes another second tier bowl trip, not the National Championship they deserve. That's not the kind of return a $40 Million investment is supposed to bring.

At least Gobla fans care about our game. That's something.

Peter

Dan the Villain?

I guess the 2002 game still leaves a mark.

Peter

Red Crows?

Really?

That's all the better you can do?

At least Goblas took a tiny bit of thought.

A 42-10 prediction? I'm not surprised.

Peter

No-Shows

SUI fans are so confident they will beat ISU this year they returned 1200 tickets from their allotment to the game.

Now that's confidence in the outcome.

Those 1200 tickets are being used as the anchor for a 3 game mini- pack.

Peterclone

Shakedown

Clearly every other business using the word "Hawkeye" or a black and gold color scheme in IC needs has been put on notice.

I assume Hawkeye Family Dental is next on the cease-and-desist list.

Peter

Confused

You average about 65 fans at your home games.

You are an 8 seed.

Yet you get to be a host site for the NCAA tourney.

Odd.

As long as the WBB tourney has crazy scheduling like that, they will always be a little bush league. I thought your team had to be a #4 or better to play on your home floor. Apparrently not.

If GT doesn't roll them like they did last season, I hope OU smacks them around a bit.

Perhaps more than 110 tickets will be sold. Maybe.

Peter

Boozing

I'm finding the whole Podolak situation quite funny, since the hypocrisy is overwhelming.

Iowa City literally revolves around getting drunk. Walk around the ped mall on a Friday and you understand why SUI has a Party School reputation around the Big 1011. It's no accident that the drunk guy in an Iowa sweatshirt is a punchline in Chicago. Iowa City without alcohol is Webster City.

If the SUI administration was really serious about changing the image of the school for the better they would declare the campus- especially the parking lots around Kinnick- dry. The school would demand the wink-wink-nudge-nudge "19 ordinance" be repealed, and the police crack down on underage drinking they way they do in Ames. Make IC so boring New Liberty looks like New Orleans.

Until then it's all lip service, and Ed was the fall guy. Good for him for saying F.U. to the hypocrisy. That will buy him a few drinks from the fan base at his next tailgate.

Peterclone

Second-Worst Ever

Gene ends his ISU career with a winning percentage of .263.

Only Vince DiFrancesca in 1954-56 was worse: 6-21-1 .232.

So close to being the worst, and yet finished 1-1 vs. the Goblas.

Peterclone

Concern

I still chuckle every time I see a Gobla fan in a "Beat State" shirt. I remember when they didn't care.

Judging by the "announced" crowd 3,000 short of capacity, perhaps the don't.

Peterclone

El Foldo

It appears the playbook that will defeat the WBB team is effective on the men, too.

Push them around on defense, take away their rhythm, and they are done.

It is frustrating to see the Goblas playing better in year two than our Cyclones in year three. Nothing comes easy for us.

Peterclone

Clinch

The Goblas can clinch the trophy ISU should never win this weekend.

Wins in wrestling and WBB would require a near-impossible run for ISU to come from behind.

Not that ISU should should ever win, it's still interesting to watch.

I'm always surprised the Goblas play along. It's so beneath them.

Peterclone

The Meet

I hope our Cyclones can leave Iowa City with a win tonight, but I'm never optimistic when wrestling the Goblas.

Cael and crew have shown they can take on anyone and give them everything they want, often winning in tough buildings. But they still show signs of an annoying habit that always bugged me when Douglas was coaching- if the ISU wrestler was better than his opponent, he was aggressive and went for extra points. If he was even or an underdog, he was guarded, tentative, defensive. While the underdog was sometimes able to avoid giving up a pin or major, he never, ever got the upset win. It was great in theory, but often bit the team in practice. The Goblas seem to be the last team the Cyclones wrestle scared against, especially in Iowa City.

With some big underdogs in the Cyclone lineup tonight, I assume we'll see some defensive wrestling.

Peterclone

Boring Games

Whaddya do when your team is up 55-0?

Find some action that isn't your spouse.

I'll let you finish the joke.

Peterclone

Development

The Goblas are consistent if nothing else: they either improve during the season or get worse, no in between.

To think that the on-the-verge-of-bad team that squeeked by bad-and-about-to-get-worse Iowa State in September is taking the wood to a Gopher team that a month ago looked to be all that and a bag a chips, but now is, uhm, stinky is a little odd. The Goblas had 4-8 written all over themselves even after the ISU win.

Sorry, Gobla fan, it's not a "hangover" if your team isn't any good before a loss. Congrats on the nice finish- your self esteem was starting to lag.

Peterclone

Pull The Trigger

Clearly, KF needs to be fired. Trust the Wisdom Of The Crowd!

At least Kirk saved us from another Big TenEleven school boring us on National Championship Night. with yet another blowout.

Clearly, his program is in decline.

Peterclone

Hangover, Week Three

Clearly, the hangover continues in Iowa City.

Keep this up and you will never shake the reputation for placing too much emphasis on the game against Silo Tech.

Peterclone