Thumped both physically and mentally

Notre Dame exposed our Cyclones deficiencies in the same ways that Iowa, Baylor and Kansas State did: a lack of ability on the lines, and an inability to make the important plays on offense.

The progression of growing a better offensive line is easy to understand, but in Year Four they may be considered behind schedule compared to the turnarounds at other programs.

The failure on important plays and inability to score TDs after crossing the 50 has become A Problem for the offense, and must be fixed quickly or this staff will not reach their goals for the program. ISU scored zero touchdowns on six trips across the 50, while ND was only 2/7 (not including the 86 yard TD run). Score TDs rather than kick field goals and the game is interesting, rather than an emotional rout.

But complaining about a bad bowl performance beats complaining about a 3-9 team. Progress of sorts, but changes need to be made while the bottom half of the league is still in flux. Seize the moment.

Forecast: Fugly

Check out the quote in this article:

“We have had games where we’ve held teams to 40, 50 points,” Irish forward Pat Connaughton said. “I think that’s what we want to do in order to come out with this win.”

In other words, ND would prefer to the final score look like a halftime total for a typical ISU game.

That's everything wrong with college basketball.

I expect the game to be painful to watch. Lots of fouls, ND mugging ISU at every opportunity, and as a result, clean open looks will be hard to find. It's tough to get open when the defender is holding your arm.

The good news is that if ISU can get a ~10 point lead, ND will have to do things they don't like. Advantage: ISU. Score early, score often. First team to 60 probably wins.