Clone Chronicles: FanPosts

Saturday Stadium Experience...Does Size Matter?

2012-09-07T22:31:49Z

In response to a reaction from a reader to a recent Iowa State article, I felt a second opinion regarding the impact of football stadiums on team success was in order. The question was raised whether Jack Trice Stadium provided its fans a home field advantage. By utilizing research information from Bleacher Report. com, the Sports Professor's assessment of the home field advantage for the Cyclones was validated. Iowa State and Clemson fans will be particularly pleased with this report. Read more at BCS.net.

ISU v Uconn in pictures

2011-09-19T03:28:49Z

After the ordeal of dealing with the Uconn ticket office who insist on earmarking the worst seats for visitors, I made my way to Rentschler field for what would turn out to be a surreal evening, which I documented with my point and shoot. I've included some of the pictures here with an explanation of why Rentschler felt like another world that night.

First off, Uconn doesn't deserve the "basketball school" label. Despite the stadium being over 20 miles away from their main campus, the grounds were packed with tailagters, trailers and other good stuff not normally associated with "Big Least" football. I take that back considering we may be be banging on their door once we're homeless.

This was my first away game and it can be pretty daunting when you're heavily outnumbered. Luckily, UConn fans are some of the best I've ever met. I was treated like an exotic traveler from a strange land, with people striking up conversation about football and the fate of both teams. They were also pretty tolerant and polite when I was the only person in the section cheering wildly at ISU scores and Husky mishaps. (More on that later)

My scoreboard's bigger than that.

Pregame huddle

Home section. Cy with an apparently intact arm.

Victory lap

Josh Lenz's flea flicker and Reynolds hurdling over two Huskies was a thing of beauty. There was no desperation or panic in what they did. Just calm, clinical, competent execution from a team that had seldom displayed those qualities. Keep in mind the Huskies are just removed from a BCS appearance.

I cheered widly, yelling like a moron at every score or forced error. Again, it must be said that the Uconn fans were great for tolerating my excitement. I feel my exuberance was justified given that i've seldom had a reason to feel the way I did. For once, to feel like I was backing the better team, to be able to talk trash, to not have to apologize for a Clone performance, to not have to ask what could have been, were feelings I was unaccustomed to. Hence, my unrestrained cheering.

Walking out of the stadium, I felt the emotion reserved for so many others could now justifiably be felt by me. How Paul Rhoads has engineered this rebuilding project where someone who went on to win a national championship failed is amazing. I can only hope the future will be as bright as that night in East Hartford.

Conference Realignment - when the music stops - where is your chair?

2011-09-18T05:31:02Z

With conference realignment looming on the horizon, it appears that there are a number of schools that are see the writing on the wall and are deciding where they want to be rather than wait for the conferences to determine who they want to add.
With the dust starting to settle, it appears that the big 4 conferences going forward may very well be the Big 10, ACC, SEC, and PAC 12. The movements toward this goal are as follows:
Florida State will join TAMU is asking for acceptance in the SEC and be approved. Pittsburgh and Syracuse have asked and will be invited to the ACC. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will request a formal invite from the PAC 12 on Monday. This will be quickly followed by Texas and Texas Tech requesting a PAC 12 invite. Texas will be required to modify the Longhorn Network to include Tech but will do so knowing that it is their best option.
This leaves at the following conferences:
ACC (13 teams) - Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami
Big 10 (12 teams) - Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska
SEC (14 teams) - Florida, Florida State, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas, LSU, TAMU
PAC 12 (16 teams) – Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, USC, CAL, Stanford, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State
This leaves 9 more seats at this game of musical chairs and a number of larger programs looking to get in them.
The following are AQ schools left looking to get one of those chairs:
Rutgers, Connecticut, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida, Norte Dame, TCU, Baylor, Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, BYU, Boise State
As strange as it may sound, some logic with respect to regional-ness of conferences for travel costs, and the ability to actually develop a sense of rivalries may be the underlying forces. These forces leave BYU and Boise State in relative bad situations because they are too remote from any conference looking to add members. With this approach, Rutgers, U Conn, and West Virginia complete the ACC. Without additional conference raiding (there will be raiding), the SEC will add 2 from the following Missouri, Baylor, TCU, Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida. Adding private schools would most likely be down the list along with adding a 3rd school from one state. This leaves Missouri, Louisville and Cincinnati as the better options. Louisville is already a rival of SEC school – Kentucky and seems to be a good fit. I believe Missouri would prefer to be in the Big 10 - the matchups are more historical and regional.

That leaves the Big 10 and its need for 4. Based on the direction things are moving, there are 5 realistic schools that could fill the slots, Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, and you guessed it Norte Dame.
In the end, it appears that there are either just enough chairs for us, or one of the conferences ends up deciding between ISU, Louisville and Cincinnati for 2 of the last 3 chairs. If that happens, I like Iowa State’s odds. In addition, there is a very real potential that even with the advent of the super-conference that Norte Dame remains independent - their situation is unlike any other program with their contract with NBC. It is entirely possible that they use that relationship to keep things just the way they want them. If that happens, ISU’s chances of remaining in an AQ conference are very good.
I do not profess to be a wizard or soothsayer so the final layout may be somewhat different. However, the winds do seem to be blowing in this direction, all I hope is that when the dust settles, ISU will remain a tier one program.

With conference realignment looming on the horizon, it appears that there are a number of schools that are see the writing on the wall and are deciding where they want to be rather than wait for the conferences to determine who they want to add. With the dust starting to settle, it appears that the big 4 conferences going forward may very well be the Big 10, ACC, SEC, and PAC 12. The movements toward this goal are as follows: Florida State will join TAMU is asking for acceptance in the SEC and be approved. Pittsburgh and Syracuse have asked and will be invited to the ACC. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will request a formal invite from the PAC 12 on Monday. This will be quickly followed by Texas and Texas Tech requesting a PAC 12 invite. Texas will be required to modify the Longhorn Network to include Tech but will do so knowing that it is their best option. This leaves at the following conferences: ACC (13 teams) - Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Miami Big 10 (12 teams) - Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska SEC (14 teams) - Florida, Florida State, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas, LSU, TAMU PAC 12 (16 teams) – Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, USC, CAL, Stanford, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State This leaves 9 more seats at this game of musical chairs and a number of larger programs looking to get in them. The following are AQ schools left looking to get one of those chairs: Rutgers, Connecticut, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida, Norte Dame, TCU, Baylor, Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, BYU, Boise State As strange as it may sound, some logic with respect to regional-ness of conferences for travel costs, and the ability to actually develop a sense of rivalries may be the underlying forces. These forces leave BYU and Boise State in relative bad situations because they are too remote from any conference looking to add members. With this approach, Rutgers, U Conn, and West Virginia complete the ACC. Without additional conference raiding (there will be raiding), the SEC will add 2 from the following Missouri, Baylor, TCU, Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida. Adding private schools would most likely be down the list along with adding a 3rd school from one state. This leaves Missouri, Louisville and Cincinnati as the better options. Louisville is already a rival of SEC school – Kentucky and seems to be a good fit. I believe Missouri would prefer to be in the Big 10 - the matchups are more historical and regional. That leaves the Big 10 and its need for 4. Based on the direction things are moving, there are 5 realistic schools that could fill the slots, Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, and you guessed it Norte Dame. In the end, it appears that there are either just enough chairs for us, or one of the conferences ends up deciding between ISU, Louisville and Cincinnati for 2 of the last 3 chairs. If that happens, I like Iowa State’s odds. In addition, there is a very real potential that even with the advent of the super-conference that Norte Dame remains independent - their situation is unlike any other program with their contract with NBC. It is entirely possible that they use that relationship to keep things just the way they want them. If that happens, ISU’s chances of remaining in an AQ conference are very good. I do not profess to be a wizard or soothsayer so the final layout may be somewhat different. However, the winds do seem to be blowing in this direction, all I hope is that when the dust settles, ISU will remain a tier one program.

Why I'm an Iowa State Fan

2011-09-11T06:27:52Z

With the state of flux that is the "Big XII" and the recent win over the Hawkeyes, I wanted to write up a piece as to why I am a fan of Iowa State Athletics. I seriously considered writing for this blog when they were looking for writers. Shit, as much time as I waste playing Call of Duty, I have the time, but I've never been overly confident of my writing. You see, I'm not even an Iowa State alum. I haven't taken one single class in Ames, but cardinal and gold is as dear to me as the purple and gold of the Vikings, and the white and black of the Sox.

I grew up 15 minutes outside of Ames and when my father took a job working at Iowa State University as an avid sports fan himself he bought season tickets for Iowa State basketball on a regular basis(Iowa State football in the late 80's was horrific, we went to games, but few and far between). Ever since, I've been a Cyclone. I will always remember the excitement of divvying up the games between my two older siblings. Being the youngest, they smartly chose games such as Missourri and Kansas while I picked games against the likes of Marathon Oil. I must have thought it was a cool name, who knows. I may have missed out on the chance to see the heated games against the Norm Stewart lead Tigers, but I didn't care. Any chance to experience the magic that is Hilton was enough for me. Terry Woods, Victor Alexander and Justus Thigpen became heroes to me as a child. I still rock the 24 in most of my handles. I'll never forget they way Hilton erupted when the announcer exclaimed, "there is Justus in the building!" It was electric.

I saved and still have to this day every single game program from 87-91. Must be the archivist in me. That's why seeing Nebraska and Colorado from the old Big 8 bolt for the "Big 10" and Pac 12 was so difficult. A part of my inner child died when that happened. I don't know what's going to happen to our current conference. More than likely it will dissolve and Iowa State will be left scrambling. It's going to be sad day, but no matter what, I will always be a Cyclone. Who knows, maybe the "Big 10" will miraculously let us in. That's about the longest shot, but it sure would piss off Iowa fans and I could handle that.

Hawkeye fans will deride us for our choice of teams. Claim we have an inferiority complex. Well, truth be told, we are inferior, athletically and academically. Money talks, and Iowa has much much more. They also offer more academically beyond Iowa State's agricultural school with the likes of medicine and law. More donors, more money, better athletics. Cut and dried. But you know what, I don't care. I love being the underdog. I love taking on teams that are able to recruit 4 and 5 star athletes, and beating them. That's what being a Cyclone is all about. We won't contend for national titles, but we play for the pride and I think there is something inherently special about that. A victory over U of I is always sweet, any Cyclone victory is. Some Hawkeye fans may try to dismiss the game as unimportant and wish to trash the rivalry for good, but I know deep down they get extra satisfaction in beating us, just as we do them.

So as the football season continues along and eventually runs into basketball and wrestling. I sit back and enjoy being a Cyclone fan. Whether we are FBS, FCS, or FML...I'll always be cardinal and gold.

In addendum: I look forward to the transition of the new blog here. I know State doesn't have the greatest athletics, but I've been a bit disappointed in the lack of passion shown here on the website. It's usually the same few posting and commenting. I don't expect the numbers that professional team's blogs or BHGP can put up, but I hope to see the fan base on here grow. Living in Maryland now I don't get to hang around any Cyclone fans anymore, so this is it. Hopefully the new blog can generate some growth on here.

Go Clones!

Oklahoma State Fan in Need of Travel Tips

2011-08-23T04:23:10Z

Howdy Cyclones,

I'm an OSU fan and in my effort to (eventually) visit every Big 12 campus I have decided it's time to venture North to lovely Ames in November. First off, how cold is it really going to be? Am I going to need to dress head to toe in North Face gear? Anyway weather aside i'm excited to visit your school and watch some football that Friday evening but I'm curious about what I should do with my Saturday? I'm traveling with my wife and another couple, and while the ladies will be good sports and go to the game they will also require some non football related activities to make the trip ~~nagging free~~ more enjoyable for them. I would really appreciate any suggestions you can provide in the comments. I'd love to hear about: best bars on/near campus to get some cold beer pregame, best restaurants in/around Ames, places to avoid, ANY touristy type of stuff near Des Moines/Ames that women might find interesting, etc. Any kind of "worlds largest _______", scenic view, historic ______ sort of thing will help a lot.

I'm looking forward to visiting your school, thanks in advance for your help in making our trip all the more enjoyable.

Something Witty

Howdy Cyclones,

I'm looking forward to visiting your school, thanks in advance for your help in making our trip all the more enjoyable.

Something Witty

Eponymous: Hammerschmidt vs. Omoile

2011-06-27T22:14:47Z

Eponymous is a name of the year competition and all-around pointless time waster. For a full bracket, click here.

O-Line Region: (4) Kurt Hammerschmidt v. (5) Oni Omoile

Profile:

#86 Kurt Hammerschmidt - TE
6'6" 265 lbs. Jr (RS)
Chesterfield, MO

Bid: At-Large (MST3K Manly Name Division)

Slab Bulkhead! Punt Speedchunk!
Flint IronStag! Kurt Hammerschmidt!
Brick Hardmeat! Thick McRunFast!

There are names, and there are manly names. And then, there's Kurt Hammerschmidt. Hailing from Chesterfield, MO (The manliest of all the "-field" cities) Kurt played on both sides of the ball and earned accolades as both a Defensive End (1st team All-State) and a Tight End. (2nd team All-Conference).

Kurt was suspended for most of the 2009 season after getting busted for a DUI. In 2010, he scored his first touchdown ever (High School included) in last year's real-life NCAA Football 2011 re-enactment with Texas Tech. With the departure of last year's starter, Colin Franklin, Hammerschmidt will likely be competing with Ricky Howard and fellow Eponymous competitor Ernst Brun, Jr for the starting Tight End spot.

Profile:

#77 Oni Omoile - OL
6'3" 280 lbs. Fr
Coppell, TX

Bid: Automatic (Named-After-Mythological-Creatures Division)
Ratio of Vowels to Consonants: 2 to 1

"Oni" is the Japansese term for "Demon" or "Devil." That alone would qualify him for the competition, even if he didn't pick up a ton of "Engineering School Cred" (read: Geek Cred) for also sharing a name with one of the most underrated PS2 games of all time, and the publishing company responsible for releasing Scott Pilgrim into the world. (Oh, and if that wasn't enough, he's majoring in Computer Engineering.)

It's a name that really has it all. Alliteration? Check. Ridiculous ratio of vowels to consonants? Check. High probability that some Fox Sports announcer will mis-pronounce his last name? Check. But what about the player behind the name?

Omoile is a 3-Star O-Line recruit out of Texas, and has apparently been clocked at 4.7 seconds in the 40. That's pretty damn fast for an offensive lineman. He's projected to red-shirt this year, but we won't know for sure until the depth chart is released this fall. He turned 18 last Thursday, so I'm sure the jersey chasers will be beating down his door any time now.

Eponymous is a name of the year competition and all-around pointless time waster. For a full bracket, click here.

O-Line Region: (4) Kurt Hammerschmidt v. (5) Oni Omoile

Profile:

#86 Kurt Hammerschmidt - TE
6'6" 265 lbs. Jr (RS)
Chesterfield, MO

Bid: At-Large (MST3K Manly Name Division)

Slab Bulkhead! Punt Speedchunk!
Flint IronStag! Kurt Hammerschmidt!
Brick Hardmeat! Thick McRunFast!

Profile:

#77 Oni Omoile - OL
6'3" 280 lbs. Fr
Coppell, TX

Bid: Automatic (Named-After-Mythological-Creatures Division)
Ratio of Vowels to Consonants: 2 to 1

*Late summer in the Jack Trice Stadium parking lot. The upperclassmen are watching the new recruits arrive at the stadium for the first time. Kurt Hammerschmidt grins as a heavily modified Honda Civic pulls up.

Damn, that's one tricked out Civic you've got there. Mind if I take her for a spin?

No way, man. They warned me not to let you behind the wheel. Coach says he can't afford to lose you for another season.

Aww, damn. Didn't know they were still upset about that.

Don't worry about it man. Honestly, it's mostly just cosmetic improvements anyway. I left the original motor and transmission in so it still gets great gas mileage when I have to drive back home to Texas.

Texas? I thought you were from San Fransisco?

Hell No! I was born and raised in Coppell, Texas! What gave you the idea I'm from San Fransisco?

Because you're driving a Ricer, Oni.

......

*grins*

......

*grins*

Poll

Who Wins?

(4) Kurt Hammerschmidt

18 votes

(5) Oni Omoile

8 votes

26 votes | Poll has closed

Eponymous: The Quest for Superior Nomenclature

2011-06-25T04:27:25Z

What's in a name? Chances are, if you're playing for Iowa State this year, it includes an apostrophe and some very high-scoring scrabble letters. Seriously, have you taken a look at the full roster for the upcoming season? There are some very... original names on that list. So, in the interest of having some football content that isn't related to our continued quest for 2nd place in the Fulmer Cup, I thought we could share some insight on some of the lesser known players on the team. Then, after I realized that would actually take some diligent research and insight, I decided it would be much easier to just make stuff up and see if anyone noticed. Also, the blog needs an obligatory bracket competition, because if there's one thing America loves, it's getting to choose between two completely arbitrary options and defending their choice to the death. (Coke v. Pepsi, Republican v. Democrat, Miracle Whip vs. Mayo, etc.)

So welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to "Eponymous," a thinly-veiled Name of the Year tournament ripoff that will go down in Cyclone history as "something we did because we were bored and football season was still two months away."

The rules are simple - the field has been chosen by an extremely partial committee and seeded according to percieved strength-of-name. The roster has been pared down to the 32 most outstanding names, broken into four regions based loosely on their on-field position. Every couple of days, we make some shit up about whatever matchup is at hand, and provide a two-option poll. The name with the most votes at the end of 48 hours advances to the next round.

With that in mind, I present to you the bracket for EPONYMOUS 2011:

Much like the real NCAA tournament, the bracket has some quirks. The "Defense" regional, despite a high concentration of superfluous apostrophes, is the weakest of the four, and a couple of names (Mulcahy, Lalk) on the Defensive side actually play offense. And at least one person was given an artificially high seed simply because their name would not have fit on the bracket otherwise. (And no, it wasn't Ruempolhamer.)

The time has come to take a side. Do you prefer the sheer manly sound of "Steele Jantz" or the alliteration of "Hayworth Hicks?" Will this be the dawning of the age of Ja'Quarius? Are hyphens better than apostrophes? Only time will tell. Until then, it's time to light the ceremonial flame. Gentlemen?

May the best name win.

(Sorry about the lame CH watermark, it's the only version of this I could still find on the tubes.)

Unaccustomed to Good News, a Wary Cyclone Nation Braces for Fallout

2011-06-21T22:45:53Z

Citing an abnormally long streak of good luck for Iowa State athletics, Cyclone fans around the nation began preparing for the inevitable disaster that is soon to befall them. The past month has unfolded without a single catastrophe within the major sports programs, and has even included a string of successes:

- May 15: Top 2012 target Georges Niang commits to play basketball for Iowa State.

- May 22: 2011 prospect Percy Gibson commits to play basketball for Iowa State, potentially filling the void left by Calvin Godfrey's early departure.

- May 31: Work begins on new sound & video board in Jack Trice stadium. Construction proceeds swiftly; with no construction workers decapitated or errant machinery destroying the Jacobsen building.

- June 8: New $20 M football facility announced. Jaime Pollard does not yell "PSYCH!" immediately after announcement.

- June 20: Top 2012 target Nkereuwem Okoro commits to play basketball for Iowa State. Big XII announcers knit brows in frustration at pronunciation of name.

- June 21: 2012 DT prospect Mitchell Meyers commits to play football for Iowa State, helping shore up a position of great need for the football team. A disappointed Tommy Tuberville ominously insists Meyers’ recruitment "isn’t over."

This run of good news has prompted certain sects of Cyclone fans to start preparing for the worst, as years of mediocrity and heartbreak have conditioned them expect a calamitous event to follow any triumph.

"It’s just my nature as a fan of Cyclone sports," Kansas City, MO resident Eric Cameron sighed. "Hell, last summer the football team was coming off its first bowl win in six years and a goddamn flood nearly destroyed the athletic complex."

His wife Jennifer agrees: "We’ve been supporters of Iowa State for twenty years and we’ve seen it all. Missed opportunities, winless seasons, coaches leaving, players transferring…it all adds up. After a while, you start to wonder if anything good can happen for ISU."

Some fans have even started searching for the next disaster, perhaps hoping to prevent larger misfortune by focusing on smaller events. "Duran Hollis was suspended, that’s something, right?" Des Moines resident Adam Lopez asked. "I mean, he’s fourth-string; but man, you can never have too many good running backs."

But not all Cyclone fans are focusing on the tragic side of Iowa State sports. Some, like Chicago, IL resident Jason Helm have chosen to embrace the run of good luck as an omen of ISU’s bright future. "Maybe, just maybe things are turning around for Iowa State," Helm said, gazing off at the horizon. "I’m pretty excited to see how the Clones do next year."

* Immediately following this story, Jason Helm’s car was towed, impounded and crushed into a cube for being parked in a fire lane.

- May 15: Top 2012 target Georges Niang commits to play basketball for Iowa State.

- May 22: 2011 prospect Percy Gibson commits to play basketball for Iowa State, potentially filling the void left by Calvin Godfrey's early departure.

- May 31: Work begins on new sound & video board in Jack Trice stadium. Construction proceeds swiftly; with no construction workers decapitated or errant machinery destroying the Jacobsen building.

- June 8: New $20 M football facility announced. Jaime Pollard does not yell "PSYCH!" immediately after announcement.

- June 20: Top 2012 target Nkereuwem Okoro commits to play basketball for Iowa State. Big XII announcers knit brows in frustration at pronunciation of name.

* Immediately following this story, Jason Helm’s car was towed, impounded and crushed into a cube for being parked in a fire lane.

Basketball Recruiting: North by North…East

2011-06-21T18:22:24Z

With the commitment of Nkereuwem Okoro Monday morning, Fred Hoiberg has pulled in his second promising 2012 recruit from the Northeast area of the country. Okoro is a shooting guard from St. Raymond high school in the Bronx with offers from Arizona, Pitt, St. Johns and others. Combined with Georges Niang, the 2012 power forward from Tilton, New Hampshire and Tavon Sledge, the 2011 point guard from Dix Hills, NY; it’s fairly obvious that Hoiberg and staff have made New York and the surrounding area a recruiting priority.

This is a promising trend, and a welcome change from recruiting efforts ISU saw in the GMac era. The prototypical New York player is a high-energy guard that can drive and get to the rim quickly (for an interesting read, check out this article about NYC playground basketball rims. It talks about how the design of the rim itself dictated the style of play in New York. It’s more entertaining than an article about metal working has any right to be). In a league like the Big XII, dominated by athletic guards and big men; New York has a lot of players that can make Iowa State competitive quickly.

The Northeast focus is a testament to the relentless recruiting of recently-promoted assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih. When first hired as a graduate assistant in 2009, Matt briefly served as a recruiting coordinator and helped bring hyped transfer Royce White and the aforementioned Tavon Sledge into the fold. A recent graduate of St. Johns, Abdelmassih knows the area well and is able to relate to high school players in New York.

With TJ Otzelberger transitioning to more of a game planning role in his fifth year with Iowa State, Cornell Mann was recently hired from Dayton as a recruiting complement to Abdelmassih. Most recently known for being charged with an OWI the week after he was hired by Iowa State, Mann redeemed himself somewhat by bringing in Percy Gibson, a 2011 power forward from Detroit, MI. A Michigan native, Mann’s recruiting focus seems to be the Ohio-Michigan rust-belt, an area that has been kind to Iowa State in the past (Jeff Grayer, Barry Stevens, Victor Alexander).

In fact, the renewed focus on the New York-Michigan-Northeast signals a kind of callback for Iowa State. Johnny Orr recruited Michigan heavily, and Wayne Morgan and Larry Eustachy built some of their best teams with players from New York and the surrounding area (Jamaal Tinsley, Curtis Stinson, Rahshon Clark, Will Blalock). For a coach like Fred Hoiberg, one who fully embraces the history of ISU basketball; this recruiting focus is probably wise move.

Iowa State Unveils New Plans to Crush Opponents in Red Zone

2011-06-17T23:03:00Z

-bumped for obvious reasons. It's tough to tell the size of the new board supports until you check out how tiny the workers look next to them. This new scoreboard will be obnoxious, and it is completely awesome. CC

Iowa State began building the gigantic new videoboard in the North endzone of Jack Trice stadium this month, and it looks impressive. The support structure is even more massive then envisioned, and you can follow progress on a webcam here; it’s as much fun as watching a crane erecting girders can be.

Lost in the excitement over the improved video and sound in Jack Trice is perhaps the biggest motive for ISU to install a new video board. It’s the Cyclone’s opponent’s red zone percentage. In 2010, ISU opponents scored 86.27% of the time they crossed Iowa State’s 20-yard line. That healthy percentage ranks ISU 89th in the nation and 10th in the Big XII in opponent’s red zone percentage. Not good.

But Jamie Pollard and Paul Rhoads have plans to improve this stat in 2011. Not by blitzing more or playing zone after the opponent crosses the 20. No, Iowa State is literally going to crush the other team once they enter the red zone. As you can see in the picture below, the supports for the videoboard have hinges at the base. If, say Texas or Iowa gets too close to Iowa State’s end zone, the videoboard’s going to swing down and obliterate anything underneath it. Obviously the defense is going to have to be pretty quick getting to the sideline to avoid getting squashed, but Wally Burnham has been working on special shuttle drills to get the team off the field in time.

This is an unconventional and somewhat controversial strategy to be sure, and Iowa State may end up facing several lawsuits from grieving parents. But it’s like the old saying goes; if you can’t beat ‘em, smash ‘em with a giant plasma screen TV.

Gene Chizik says God told him to leave ISU for Auburn; God says "Just leave me out of this, dude."

2011-06-17T21:39:38Z

As you may have heard by now, Gene Chizik has written a book. A book, that in the publisher’s words,

"Chronicles the remarkable journey of Gene Chizik, who in two short years went from being the much-maligned 5–19 coach of the Iowa State Cyclones to the undefeated, AP SEC Coach of the Year of the 2010 national champion Auburn Tigers…As he recounts his journey, he opens up about the pivotal role his faith has played in his life and career, and he shares his time-tested secrets to success, both on and off the field."

The publisher’s blurb also includes this tagline: "All In is an inspirational must-read for football fans everywhere and for anyone who has ever struggled to overcome their own 5-19 season of life." Besides being hilariously overwrought, that sentence doesn’t make any sense. A coach can’t even compile a 5-19 season record in the NFL (Yet. Stay tuned to see if the owners get their way).

So far, so boilerplate. It’s pretty standard for a coach to write a book after winning the national championship. This book usually contains frothy mixture of platitudes about the school, his players, his family, his religion and how the incredible faith he had in all of the above allowed him to work his way humbly to a national championship season. This is bullshit, of course. Most BCS coaches work 60+ hours a week going over film, running practice & planning for the next opponent. They are not leading prayer circles and taking their kids to the state fair. But these books sell because they give fans a peek behind the scenes of their favorite football programs and allow them to perpetuate the myth that their coach is a humble, upstanding citizen who just wants to do right by his players (this is totally true for Paul Rhoads & Fred Hoiberg though. They’re the best!)

So you can’t begrudge Chizik for following the standard national champion coach formula. But the part that’s truly repulsive about Chizik’s book is found in the following passage:

"Chizik wrote that after his first interview with Auburn, he was convinced he wouldn’t get the job. And, after news of his talk with Auburn had been leaked to the media, Chizik left Jacobs a phone message telling him he was bowing out of consideration.

Chizik told Iowa State assistant athletic director Steve Malchow of that decision and boarded a plane back to Des Moines. But when Chizik landed, he got a text message from Jacobs to call him back.

When he did, Jacobs offered him the job.

"Make no mistake; I was humbled by Auburn’s decision. And I knew this had to be a God appointment because this whole thing just didn’t make sense otherwise. I knew God had to be behind opening this door — there was no other way it would have been opened," Chizik said in the book.

Chizik thinks God paved the way for Auburn offering him the head coaching job. This raises numerous philosophical questions, including the following:

Did God also instruct Tommy Tuberville to hire Tony Franklin, sending the offense into a death spiral in his final season and hastening Tuberville’s ouster?

What was the divine inspiration to hire former fishing buddies Robert McFarland & Wayne Bolt to coach offense & defense at Chizik’s first BCS coaching stop?

Was God ever around to help Chizik game plan during his 5-19 tenure at ISU? Seems like he could have used the assistance.

This line of logic is infuriating, because it seeks to deflect all blame from the person by placing the decision in the hands of a third party. "I didn’t want to leave Ames," Chizik is effectively saying, "But God made me an offer I couldn’t refuse." So while Chizik left Iowa State in the worst possible way, he’s now trying to gloss over saying he never really wanted to leave, insisting Jaime Pollard handled his departure the wrong way and invoking the lord. Make no mistake; one shouldn’t begrudge Gene Chizik leaving Iowa State for his dream job at Auburn. But feel free to judge him for the terrible job he did while he was around.

As you may have heard by now, Gene Chizik has written a book. A book, that in the publisher’s words,

"Chronicles the remarkable journey of Gene Chizik, who in two short years went from being the much-maligned 5–19 coach of the Iowa State Cyclones to the undefeated, AP SEC Coach of the Year of the 2010 national champion Auburn Tigers…As he recounts his journey, he opens up about the pivotal role his faith has played in his life and career, and he shares his time-tested secrets to success, both on and off the field."

So you can’t begrudge Chizik for following the standard national champion coach formula. But the part that’s truly repulsive about Chizik’s book is found in the following passage:

"Chizik wrote that after his first interview with Auburn, he was convinced he wouldn’t get the job. And, after news of his talk with Auburn had been leaked to the media, Chizik left Jacobs a phone message telling him he was bowing out of consideration.

Chizik told Iowa State assistant athletic director Steve Malchow of that decision and boarded a plane back to Des Moines. But when Chizik landed, he got a text message from Jacobs to call him back.

When he did, Jacobs offered him the job.

"Make no mistake; I was humbled by Auburn’s decision. And I knew this had to be a God appointment because this whole thing just didn’t make sense otherwise. I knew God had to be behind opening this door — there was no other way it would have been opened," Chizik said in the book.

Chizik thinks God paved the way for Auburn offering him the head coaching job. This raises numerous philosophical questions, including the following:

Did God also instruct Tommy Tuberville to hire Tony Franklin, sending the offense into a death spiral in his final season and hastening Tuberville’s ouster?

What was the divine inspiration to hire former fishing buddies Robert McFarland & Wayne Bolt to coach offense & defense at Chizik’s first BCS coaching stop?

Was God ever around to help Chizik game plan during his 5-19 tenure at ISU? Seems like he could have used the assistance.

Gene Chizik: The Douchebag

2011-06-17T17:38:07Z

There is a new book written by a college football coach titled, "All-In: What it Takes to be the Best" being released in early July. The coach who wrote it? Not Paterno. Not Saban. Not Meyer. Not Fry (inner Hawkeye in me). No, none of those. It's one of Iowans' most hated coaches. Gene Chizik.

Well if you have seen me on here before, you know I'm a diehard Hawkeye fan. But when the Cyclones aren't playing the Hawks, I usually follow pretty close. And for the 2007-2008 season, I hated one coach with a passion, and that was Gene Chizik. I hated him before they had played a game. I had heard from a punter that was recruited under McCarney was ready to be 2nd string punter with a chance at the starting job if he could improve his release time by a few tenths of a second. Instead, Chizik basically kicked him off the depth chart and told him he was going to have to do a lot more to ever punt at Iowa State. He quit the team before the season even started and my dislike for Chizik was already high. (This punter was a family friend and was considered the best punter in the state of Iowa coming out of high school)

So now that Chizik had already reached douchebag status for me, I wanted to see if he could help himself by the performance on the field. It's hard to say I was impressed after going 3-9 his first year: worse than McCarney's 4-8 that convinced him to leave the program. The only slightly impressive win was a 15-13 win over an Iowa team that went 6-6. Iowa State made 5 field goals to win the game. When your only win that you are proud of was won with the absence of touchdowns, you know it's not that impressive.

Then Chizik went for year 2. He won only 2 games and was officially one of the worst coaches Iowa State has ever had. He started off the season 2-0 with one win coming against Division-1AA South Dakota State, and another off of a 4-8 MAC Conference Kent State. The Cyclones then went on a 10 game losing streak which is tied for the longest in school history. It was the worst 2 season start as a coach at Iowa State since 1931.

Douchebag.

Then he fled for Auburn. His first year he went 8-5. He did it on what could have been the easiest SEC schedule of the year. He had no impressive wins whatsoever, save for maybe the controversial Outback Bowl win over Northwestern. It was looked at as a good year for Auburn, who had struggled with Tommy Tuberville as coach.

Then came Cam Newton.

I seriously could have coached the 2010 Auburn team and gone 14-0. In fact, I think at times Gene Chizik HURT the Auburn team and made the games closer than they should have been. Cam Newton single-handedly won the Heisman and he single-handedly won the National Championship. No coaching needed. Gene Chizik won some random never-heard-of coach of the year award, and I heard some ESPN analysts say he was the, "worst coach to ever win a coach-of-the-year award."

Luckily, Brain Kelly won the important coach of the year awards, but that just adds a level of douchebaggery to Chizik.

Better yet, Paul Rhoads showed that Iowa State can win games if you have a coach that knows how to coach. You can read my article here to see how Rhoads has fared so far.

But next year will show Auburn fans how douchebaggy he can be. After this "How to be the Best" book comes out, we will see how douchey he really is. As a head coach, he's only 27-24. And that's with a 14-0 season that didn't need to be coached.

This upcoming season will show people how 'great' he really is. With a deadly SEC schedule and no Heisman quarterback or top-10 defensive lineman to hide behind, Chizik could see a possible career ending season. I mean, this could be Iowa State-level bad.

What a douchebag.

Douchebag.

Then came Cam Newton.

Luckily, Brain Kelly won the important coach of the year awards, but that just adds a level of douchebaggery to Chizik.

Better yet, Paul Rhoads showed that Iowa State can win games if you have a coach that knows how to coach. You can read my article here to see how Rhoads has fared so far.

What a douchebag.

Track and Field Update and Random Links

2011-06-09T15:07:02Z

Five Cyclones ran in the first day of the NCAA Championships at Drake Stadium yesterday, and I'd have to say the results were mostly positive. Dani Stack pulled 4th in the 10,000-meter run final, good enough to become Iowa State's first All-American this year. Betsy Saina did not finish in the same event. I didn't get to watch that race so I'm not sure what happened there.

Kianna Elahi missed out on qualifying for the finals in the 400-meter hurdles, as she finished 12 with a time of 56.92. Last qualifying time was 56.49.

Both of the men moved on to the finals in their events, starting with Hilary Bor who finished 10th in the steeplechase. He'll run in the finals on Friday. Freshman Edward Kemboi finished with the 3rd best time in the 800-meter prelims, with a blistering time of 1:46.06, which was good enough to break a 30-year old school record in the event. He'll run in the finals for that event on Friday.

Some fun links after the jump.

The new football facility officially has approval from the Board of Regents, which I've got to say is definitely needed to keep up with others in the Big XII.

Along those same lines, the new scoreboard seems to be coming along nicely. (I'm kinda a sucker for webcams.)

If you haven't heard about the conference re-drafting going on at Cowboys Ride for Free, you should check into it. I doubt anyone picks up Iowa State to anchor their conference, but it should prove to be interesting nonetheless.

Cowboy Altitude (Wyoming) is doing a similar project, but just looking at what conferences would look like if only geography was taken into consideration. They started out west with the Pac-12, and its an intriguing thought to see power schools mixed in with relatively smaller schools as well. I'm just waiting to see what the schools around the Midwest will look like in their scenario.

ISU at the Track and Field Outdoor Championships

2011-06-08T14:36:15Z

This may be a bit off the radar for many of the readers here, but it should be brought to everyone’s attention that five ISU athletes will be competing at the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships starting today. There won’t be much travel involved for the Clones, as the Championships are being held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines throughout this week.

Events on Wednesday are mostly preliminary events, but there is one final event on the track side of things, the women’s 10,000-meter run. The Cyclones have two entries into the finals here, with Dani Stack and three-time All-American Betsy Saina, who finished 2nd and 3rd in the West regional to qualify for the finals. That race will begin at 8:45 this evening. Also on the women’s side, Kianna Elahi returns to the 400-meter hurdles championships after qualifying last year as well. She is currently seeded 18th, and will run at 8:15.

For the men, freshman Edward Kemboi will be competing in the 800-meter run at 6:15, where he is seeded 7th.

The ISU runner to be sure to be sure to watch is three-time All-American Hillary Bor. He is seeded 11th for the 3,000-meter steeplechase, which is easily the coolest running competition. Seriously, hurdles and a water jump while running 3,000-meters? Who is crazy enough to endure that much punishment? It is no surprise that it can lead to epic fail.

Anyway, Bor is looking to become just the second Cyclone to wrap up All-American honors 4 times in a single event, so you should catch the steeplechase prelims at 7:45.

Drake Stadium is as awesome of a venue as they come for track and field, and with it being right here in Des Moines, fans should get out there and give the stadium a little ISU home meet feel. I’m going to try to get out there for at least one day, as Championships are ongoing through Saturday. You can get tickets here, or catch the event on live stream or live results on NCAA.com.

For the men, freshman Edward Kemboi will be competing in the 800-meter run at 6:15, where he is seeded 7th.

Anyway, Bor is looking to become just the second Cyclone to wrap up All-American honors 4 times in a single event, so you should catch the steeplechase prelims at 7:45.

Paul Rhoads' Legacy

2011-05-13T02:21:43Z

Bumped... -MK

As a Hawkeye fan, it's not easy to praise the Cyclones. But from the beginning I have loved Paul Rhoads. An Iowa guy leading an Iowa team that has never had a great amount of success, and making them a threat in the Big 12 (not to WIN the Big 12 but to hurt other teams chances to win it).

After some research, I found that Rhoads is more of a badass than we probably make him out to be. He's only off to the best coaching career start through 2 seasons at Iowa State since Clay Stapleton won just over half his games in 1958. And that doesn't tell the whole story. He not only lead them to the Insight Bowl, but he won it for the 3rd bowl win in school history and the second Insight Bowl win. It was the first 7-win season since 2005 and the first two back-to-back 5-win seasons since 2004-2005.

The Cyclones also recorded their first defensive shutout since 2004 and in his first year as head coach, his defense allowed the fewest amount of points per game since at least 1967 (data started going weird on me).

Rhoads has a 6-3 winning record against non-conference opponents; the best record since Donnie Duncan's 5-1 in his first 2 seasons in 1979-1980.

Not to mention a win over a (over)rated Texas team for the first time in school history, a win over Texas Tech for the first time since 2002, and a win over Nebraska AT Lincoln and a near monumental upset in Ames in overtime the following year.

For these reasons, Rhoads is an Iowa State legend in the making. He is truly something worth celebrating in the state of Iowa and someone I will always cheer for as an Iowan, no matter how much I hate the Cyclones when we play for the ~~Hy-Vee~~ Iowa Corn Growers Cy-Hawk Trophy.

*EDITED due to the fact that this was a poorly written article that got bumped. So here is more of my opinion*

Rhoads, like I said, has moved this program to the next level. 2010 could have literally been one of the worst years Iowa State football has ever seen: 6 nationally ranked opponents (all top-20 at the time, 4 top-10), 2 intense in-state rivals, and the undisputed most difficult schedule in all of college football. Yet, they finished the year with a 5-7 record and was playing for a chance to go to a bowl game EVERY week of the season.

This is incredible, considering they played teams with a combined 89-64 record. That is like playing an 8-win team every week. A team like Iowa State shouldn't have a chance week in and week out against teams like that, yet they managed to stay in the fight for a chance at a bowl and at one point in the season, winning the North Division.

8 of the 12 teams they played went to bowls, and half of them won. They went 2-6 against teams that went to a bowl game and 2-2 against teams who WON their bowl game. Even that is a little skewed because Oklahoma went to a BCS bowl (and won) and Utah played against a very very talented Boise State team to lose their bowl game. It's also hard to gauge because 1 pair of teams that Iowa State played that also played in bowl games played EACHOTHER (Iowa-Mizzou).

Iowa State can only go up from here. In 2011, they play only ONE non-BCS school (UNI, which doesn't really count considering they are ALWAYS a tough matchup in the state of Iowa). Then they play Insight Bowl Champions and in-state hated rival Iowa, BCS Bowler Connecticut on a Friday AT night ON ESPN, Oklahoma State on a Friday AT night ON ESPN, 4 Texas teams, 2 Kansas teams, and a nationally recognized preseason #1 Oklahoma. Good luck Cyclones.

But I think Rhoads can do it. He is confident that this year's team is better than last year's and I personally think they will beat UNI, Connecticut, Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas and Kansas State. And I will even admit that Iowa will have it's hands full week 2. I could see a possible 7-win season for the Clones and I am supporting every single one of those players because I wish them well. Good luck Cyclone Nation, except for week 2.

Bumped... -MK

Rhoads has a 6-3 winning record against non-conference opponents; the best record since Donnie Duncan's 5-1 in his first 2 seasons in 1979-1980.

*EDITED due to the fact that this was a poorly written article that got bumped. So here is more of my opinion*

Poll

Will Paul Rhoads leave Iowa State with a winning record?

Yes

24 votes

No

7 votes

Who the fuck knows at this point?

17 votes

48 votes | Poll has closed