Hawkeye Meltdown, Cyclone Letdown

• With great expectations come great disappointments---sometimes. And this is one of those times for Hawkeye fans. You should see our SoundOff emails. Wow. Hawkeye fans are TICKED, at least some of them are, and they're taking it out on their keyboards. "Fire O'Keefe... Ferentz is overpaid... Defense is Overrated... What's wrong with Stanzi?... The team is out of shape... We're too predictable... We never make adjustments... Time for serious changes... etc." It's brutal. Iowa is 7-3! May go 9-3, 8-4 at worst. Fans thought this could be the dream season, and it sure started with that potential, but great teams find a way to win, not lose.
• Perspective is needed. Iowa once had 18 straight losing seasons. Now 8-4 and a January bowl is a disappointment.
• It's easy to see why Kirk Ferentz doesn't like talking about his enormous salary. Frustrated fans go to the overpaid card quickly.  The money has gotten ridiculous, but Ferentz is making market value. Some Hawkeye fans don't understand, and never will, it's much harder to win at Iowa than it is Ohio State, Michigan, or Penn State. Iowa has several top ten finishes the past decade. That's impressive.  Plus, Ferentz and Hawkeye football make the U of I, and Iowa City, a fortune.
• Still, I do understand the frustration. Iowa wasn't ready to play at Northwestern, and with all it had on the line, that's inexcusable. Fans can complain about how predictable Iowa is, but so were Lombardi's Packers. That's Ferentz's style, and he's not going to change.
• Complain all you want about Ken O'Keefe, he's not doing anything without Ferentz's blessing.
• Iowa State had a disappointing Saturday too. The Cyclones were flat, sloppy, and manhandled by a bad Colorado team. The Cyclones were favored, but learned something they should have already known: they're not good enough to come with anything less than maximum effort.
• Paul Rhoads is easy for fans to love, and media to respect, but it's been a mixed season for ISU. Great program wins against Texas Tech and Texas, a near upset of #7 Nebraska. But there's also an embarrassing home thumping at the hands of Utah, a 52-0 loss at Oklahoma, a beat-down at Iowa, and a loss at Colorado with bowl eligibility on the line. Much work ahead and it starts with an upgrade in talent, especially speed.
• At least UNI won. Another conference title for the Panthers.
• I tried to watch a little basketball Sunday, not ready, but it's time. Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg still hasn't lost as a coach. Fran McCaffery still looking for his first win at Iowa. Hawks lost to South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits. Not a good start. It will be a season of transition at both places.
• It's 1:47 a.m.  NBC's Sunday Night Football pushed SoundOFF to an 11:30 p.m. start, a near record. Since the Patriots ripped the Steelers, I almost didn't mind --- until the post game show went on... and on... and on.