Just saw replay of last year's Iowa-ISU game on BTN...

[Bader]

Ok, I'm sorry, I'll stop laughing. Continue complaining about your Big 12 refs.

Dude come on, with all the money Kirk saved from making his kid live in subsidized housing and then not having to pay the grounds crew, because, you know he let the grass grow after flooding the field (the water bill didn't come til later) he easily had the money to pay off those officials

Edit: I'm sad this probably needs to be included...but

[WBfaceofisu4022]

Ok, I'm sorry, I'll stop laughing. Continue complaining about your Big 12 refs.

ha thats a good point. we get big ten refs this year right?

[TarHeelHawk]

ha thats a good point. we get big ten refs this year right?

Yep. Refs are from the conference of the visiting team. I can't ever remember a time where this game has had an officiating controversy.

[Bader]

Yep. Refs are from the conference of the visiting team. I can't ever remember a time where this game has had an officiating controversy.

I'm not sure. CyPride seems unbiased and rational, we should ask him.

[TheGovernator]

I'm not sure. CyPride seems unbiased and rational, we should ask him.

He's the very definition of bi-polar. There are times when he'll post and you'll think to yourself "Yep, that's pretty dang close to being on the money" and other times he'll just throw crap against the wall...mostly being that Iowa paid off the officials, flooded the field, let the grass grow extra tall, etc. and you think "Do you honestly believe what you are saying?"

Take it or leave it I guess, if he wants to complain about 1 or 2 bad calls, then he obviously hasn't seen the Iowa vs Michigan: 2005 edition, or the 2004 (played in 2005) Outback bowl when Iowa played Florida. I couldn't even imagine what he would do if he was on the wrong end of the calls in either game.

[Cybyassociation]

Heres the way I saw this game. This game was a complete waste of a game for both teams. The only thing this game did was give Hawkeye fans a years worth of bragging rights. I really dont think that anything was proven on that field other than Iowa can play better in a swamp than ISU. There were missed calls for BOTH teams, dropped passes, missesd blocks, terrible plays, slipping, tripping, you name it.

I think this coming years game could be a much better indication of which team is actually "better" granted there isnt a soggy field. While many of my Hawk fans bask in the glory of a W, they will all agree that it was a pointless game because of the conditions. To be honest, that was probably the least enjoyable games I have ever watched (even worse than the bitter cold Missouri waxing that I stuck around till the end with the other 2,000 fans, last year).

[TheGovernator]

Heres the way I saw this game. This game was a complete waste of a game for both teams. The only thing this game did was give Hawkeye fans a years worth of bragging rights. I really dont think that anything was proven on that field other than Iowa can play better in a swamp than ISU. There were missed calls for BOTH teams, dropped passes, missesd blocks, terrible plays, slipping, tripping, you name it.

I think this coming years game could be a much better indication of which team is actually "better" granted there isnt a soggy field. While many of my Hawk fans bask in the glory of a W, they will all agree that it was a pointless game because of the conditions. To be honest, that was probably the least enjoyable games I have ever watched (even worse than the bitter cold Missouri waxing that I stuck around till the end with the other 2,000 fans, last year).

Pointless? I don't think so. It would be up for debate, but I think that extra W was the difference between the Outback Bowl and the Alamo Bowl. It would have been pretty tough for them to select a 7-5 Iowa team over an 8-4 Northwestern. Not to mention Iowa lost NW head to head.

While I don't think it necessarily proved anything, I think it showed which team was able to handle adversity better. Once ISU started moving the ball damn near at will, the defense could have just packed up shop, but they stuck it out in the red zone and that, along with ISU faultering was the difference in the game.

Hope to see a well executed game this year, and Iowa walking out with a 10 pt win

[CycloneErik]

This game was just one many many many frustrating Cyclone games over the years. Chances to win, but never capitalize. Should ISU of won? Who knows? It doesn't really matter.

I would say that we could have won, but I won't say that we should have, because we didn't capitalize on those opportunities.

[Cybyassociation]

Pointless? I don't think so. It would be up for debate, but I think that extra W was the difference between the Outback Bowl and the Alamo Bowl. It would have been pretty tough for them to select a 7-5 Iowa team over an 8-4 Northwestern. Not to mention Iowa lost NW head to head.

While I don't think it necessarily proved anything, I think it showed which team was able to handle adversity better. Once ISU started moving the ball damn near at will, the defense could have just packed up shop, but they stuck it out in the red zone and that, along with ISU faultering was the difference in the game.

Hope to see a well executed game this year, and Iowa walking out with a 10 pt win

By pointless I meant, in the realm of Iowa vs Iowa State. If by "adversity" you mean, "a disgrace of a football field drainage system", then yes.

[homerHAWKeye777]

From a neutral perspective. I think the ISU/Iowa game has been very even for quite some time now. The home team seems to win most of the games lately. I do think Iowa has more talent most years but they always seem to start slow and play better later in the year. Because Iowa always seems to start slow and it's played in Ames and it's a rivalry I don't see why people wouldn't expect ISU to win this game.

Like CyDude16, I can appreciate this comment.

Early personnel transience on Iowa's depth chart could end up making Iowa start even slower than usual ... especially considering the juggling on the OL. Iowa's ability to come out of the gate quickly is so enormous dependent on the OL gelling ... that I could definitely agree that this is a definitely area that ISU could exploit.

Furthermore, Iowa will still be without Prater in the secondary (as expected) ... which also will impact how Iowa matches up against ISU's talented WRs.

Lastly, depending on how much of a transition ISU experiences due to the "newness" of Herman's O-schemes ... ISU's overall philosophy on O should allow the Cyclones to come out of the gate more quickly than Iowa.

Thus, when you combine that along with the home-field advantage .... I definitely don't think that the game can be counted as an Iowa win from the out-set.

However, that said, I don't believe that you can ignore match up either. I've been hitting on this point with great frequency and it continues to ring true ... ISU typically matches up much better against Iowa than Iowa fans ever concede. However, we'll have to see how things work out through summer camp ... but, at this juncture, I think that Iowa has enough match up advantages to be a legit favorite (as opposed to the "hyped" favorite that the Hawkeyes usually are).

[TheGovernator]

By pointless I meant, in the realm of Iowa vs Iowa State. If by "adversity" you mean, "a disgrace of a football field drainage system", then yes.

No. By "adversity", I meant there had been 3" of rain and the team that won better adapted to the conditions. It's a good thing that the field won't be an excuse in Iowa City anymore with the Field Turf.

I just don't understand all the whining about the field last year. Was it far from ideal? Hell yes. Did both teams have to play on the same field? Yes.