Final score right, winning team wrong. The way Rhoads was with the ref in this picture, is the way I want to feel about the game today, but sometimes it's hard to.
How many times have we seen ISU *almost* turn the corner, but then lose? When Synder says something to the effect of "I don't know how they blocked the field goal (extra point). We haven't come close to blocking a field goal all year. I don't know how they did it, but I am happy for them", what does that say about ISU or K-State for that matter? Exactly.
Today was such a sterotypical Iowa State experience, and honestly I am tired of it. We are now so conditioned to seeing us do this in both Football and Basketball, it's just hard to get all fired up about it. I almost expected something like this to happen with the way the game was going.
Rather than break the whole game down, all I am going to talk about is how important special teams are. I've been thinking a lot about this today. Many casual fans, think I'm crazy when I talk up Special Teams. I almost always put something related to Special Teams in my Keys to the Game. In the past, I never really understood why people thought I talked about Special Teams too much until today, as I made the same mistake as they typically do.
Special Teams is one of those areas where you don't expect anything crazy to happen. After Arnuad connected with Jake Williams for the TD, I had already texted my wife that we tied the game, and we know what happened. It's because I fully expected us to make the PAT. I'd say 99.9% of Cyclone and Kansas State fans thought the same thing.
Look at how many close games get decided by a punt block/punt return, or a field goal block/field goal miss. In most of those situations you don't expect anything out of the ordinary to happen, but we get excited or surprised when it does. In short, Special Teams are taken for granted, as we don't expect anything big to happen, but it's the big things that happen on Special Teams that often times decide games.
Later tonight or early tomorrow, I will break down some of the stats, and give my weekley props to players on both sides (spoiler alert: The K-State field goal block unit is one of them).
Feel free to post your thoughts on the game below.