In Iowa All We Do Is Win (Except in Basketball), Miss The Murph Stache?

By Zach Borg:

Great SoundOFF tonight.  From content to callers, even the critical ones who went against the grain (little debate is good for the show). 

I said it two weeks ago when the four division one football teams all won on the same day, and I'll say it again as three won this week and two (Drake and UNI) won conference titles at the FCS level.  In Iowa, all we do is win.

Leading up to the Iowa State game, one thing kept getting to me.  Everybody was ready to build a temple to Mike Gundy and worship that Oklahoma State offense, but was anyone paying attention to the fact their defense was average at best?  Though they came in off their best defensive effort at Texas Tech, for the most part the OSU strategy is to simply jump out on teams and never look back.  What happens if the offense has a bad night or runs into a strong defense?  It nearly happened at Texas A&M earlier, but A&M turned the ball over far too many times and didn't force enough.

With that in mind, when ISU isn't giving the ball away, or making stupid penalties, the Cyclones have shown they can at least hang with or beat most teams they line up with.  Looking at their worst losses (Texas, Baylor, Mizzou) early turnovers helped things snowball out of control.  It's why Steele Jantz went from legend to the back of a milk carton.

And the kicker in it was that Iowa State played far from a perfect game.  A missed field goal early and a pick six by Jared Barnett were the type of things that killed the Cyclones over and over again.  But this time their defense made a few more plays, and the Cyclone offense wore down the Cowboy defense.

It's been kind of funny to look back on critical comments regarding Paul Rhoads past upsets now.  When he beat Nebraska it's because the Cornhuskers were down.  Same deal at Texas.  The Iowa win?  Clearly not a great Hawkeye team, and they gave it away.  Texas Tech?  Clearly they just got lucky at Oklahoma and were spent.  And of course some will try to excuse this one with the OSU women's basketball tragedy distracting the team or perhaps OSU getting screwed on a close field goal call late.  Haters gonna hate, but hard to beat those five wins, especially when Rhoads predecessor (who went on to win a national title) managed just 5 wins TOTAL in his two years.

We will see how committed Rhoads is to ISU in the coming months.  He will be getting a nice raise very soon, and I think his hometown roots might even lend to a hometown discount.  But there will be big programs after him very soon with bigger checkbooks than Ames has.  One such example?  Penn State.  Unless Rhoads has skeletons in his closet, he's the perfect kind of coach needed to rebuild the mess out there (that said I don't think he'd take that job, heck I don't think many people will want to take on that cesspool).

That this guy ain't up for WR of the year is a JOKE

Not pretty and not against a good team, but I still think Iowa's win at Purdue is a statement win of sorts.  A lot of people, fans and media (myself included), thought the Hawkeyes might quit after seeing their division title hopes flame out on senior day, especially with the memory of how a more talented team last season laid down at the end at Minnesota.  Guys like Marvin McNutt and Broderick Binns weren't going to let that happen again, and there's real reason to believe they can go into Lincoln and beat Nebraska Friday.

Bowl possibilities are fun to think of now.  Chances were slim that we'd get a CyHawk Bowl to begin with, and now that both teams won't finish 6-6, chances are they'll move up the bowl pecking order.  However, I do think we will see a familiar face and get a matchup that us media folks think is TV gold-AUBURN.  Some projections have Auburn and Iowa in the Gator Bowl.  If ISU can win another game, I wouldn't be shocked if they get the Tigers.  ISU-Auburn would certainly be the more interesting matchup, but I think the entire state will unite behind whoever has a chance to stick it to Gene Chizik.

They Got Screwed

Northern Iowa wins a share of the Missouri Valley title, yet gets saddled with the #5 seed and arguably the toughest road of anyone to the FCS national title.  UNI hosts a tough Wofford team in two weeks.  If they get through that, they'll likely have to win road games at Montana and at top seed Sam Houston State just to GET to the title game.  I think the Panthers got hosed.  Certainly they deserved to be seeded below an NDSU team they lost to, but couple that loss with the one point defeat to Iowa State that looks better each week, and the Panthers body of work deserved better.

You Know It's Hoops Season When The Local Teams Get Drubbed

For all the positive vibes of football, the reality of what's to come in hoops season hit hard this weekend too.  Iowa was outclassed in every way by Creighton at the Well.  With former Ames High product Doug McDermott leading the way, Fran McCaffery had to be envious of the Creighton program.  That's the kind of team that McCaffery probably wants to build.  Weapons inside and outside, likes to play fast, and is experienced.  The Hawkeyes are getting better, but still have a long way to go.

I hope Drake and UNI prove me wrong, but I think Creighton is far and away the cream of the crop in the MVC.  Wichita State and Indiana State will have something to say about that, but barring injuries Creighton has too many weapons.

And then there's Iowa State.  When all is said and done I think they will be the best of the Big Four, and I think they'll actually have a decent season.  But right now it's clear they are still trying to find some chemistry and sorely lack presence at point guard.

In other words, it's another year of hoping we have a team good enough to make the NIT.

Since we're near the end of November (and our ratings book), Keith's mustache will be coming off soon.  I've got to admit that it will be weird seeing him WITHOUT one.  I think after time we've all gotten used to it.  Kind of like we're used to the state of Nebraska.  It's ugly, but it's there.

MurphStache-It Will Be Gone, But Never Forgotten