FB: Iowa State vs Iowa

Jeremy · 09-10-2008, 02:25 PM

Iowa State vs Iowa - An Undecided Rivalry
CycloneFanatic.com
Jeremy Lind
9/10/08

It's certainly been an interesting start to rivalry week. The two in-state football programs have never been in a state of such contrast to each other as they are now; the lines are probably more defined than they've ever been and each fan-base is clamoring for the upper hand in this year's melee. Who has the pressure on them and who has the best chance of winning? Keep reading...

I'll be honest, I hate the Hawks and I'll freely admit it. What's odd is that I actually hate rivalry week too. Instead of getting excited for the game and ready to pounce on all the kool-aid drinking wannabe fans out East, I usually sit back and get exhausted by the bickering and name calling that goes back and forth. But, I've learned to put up with it, and having been on the winning side of the rivalry for 7 out of the past 10 games, it's made it a lot easier

To understand where the two programs are, you need to understand where they've been...

Iowa State is in year two of a rebuilding process that has brought as much hope and excitement to the football program as there has ever been. Last year the team got better as the year progressed, something that had never happened in my 26 years of polluting this planet. Iowa State is clearly heading in the right direction and this year the team already has 2/3rds of the wins of all of last year, and we're only two games into the season.

Iowa, on the other hand, has been in the Top 10 in recent memory and has smelled national success. The only problem, they've wreaked of national embarrassment the past 15 months or so and has become a running joke for college football fans the nation over. With a coach getting $3 million a year, there is no excuse for Iowa to be in a rebuilding stage this late in the head coach's tenure. The future of Iowa's program is clouded in as much uncertainty as has ever graced the field of Kinnick Stadium.

The difference this year from the past decade; the Iowa Hawkeye players, coaches and fans know that they must win this game. For once, this clearly is somebody's Super Bowl - and it's not Iowa State's. The simple fact is that Iowa State's toughest task is, and always has been, just trying not to beat itself with stupid mistakes and turnovers. To me at least, the Iowa game has always just been another warm-up test for the games that really earn you respect - conference play. This year though, it's Iowa's coaching staff that is forced to play the PR game of pumping their players up and getting their fans excited to try and do something they've had trouble doing for a long time now, beating a decent team. Instead of Coach McCarney pumping up his players and making this game all about respect, it's Iowa's staff that is trying to ensure this game doesn't become the last nail in the coffin that is their future in Iowa City.

As rivalries go, Iowa State vs Iowa has always been second fiddle to the bigger national rivalries of Michigan vs Ohio State, Army vs Navy, etc but everybody around these parts knows that no rivalry is as un-decided going into game day as Iowa State vs Iowa, especially over the course of recent memory. There may be "bigger" games around the country this weekend, but none will be as uncertain or as fun to watch.

Around this time of year, you'll start hearing Iowa State fans yelling at each other for caring too much about the Hawkeyes and for paying too much attention to what goes on in Iowa City, it's a yearly ritual that sometimes goes on for months. The truth is though, that Iowa is Iowa State's biggest competitor in every sense. We compete with Iowa for recruits, fans, donors, media coverage and bragging rights. To those that complain that Iowa State fans care too much about Iowa - let it be, the need to keep your eyes on your biggest opponent is real. It might seem over-the-top at times, but that is the world we live in, everything is blown out of proportion.

Also around this time of the season, Iowa fans start shouting from rooftops that this is Iowa State's Super Bowl, and anything else that can help later explain another beat-down by the Clones. Of course, what Iowa fans don't realize is that no other team has ever won 7 Super Bowls in a decade

In all seriousness though, this game means the same to both sides. There will be years when one of the two teams NEED the win more than the other does, but as fans, every year matters and it's a lie to say it doesn't mean anything to one side or the other. To pretend that it's Iowa State's Super Bowl only makes Iowa fans look more ridiculous as it's clearly just an attempt to explain their yearly tradition of losing to an opponent they like to think is far below them. I think Freud would explain it as - Iowa fans are just a little too envious not to be an elite program like their Michigan and Ohio State counterparts in the Big 11 and might be trying to hide their own lack of accomplishments by masquerading them as somebody else's over-achievements.

When it's all said and done, this is just another game. Each year will be the same - one team will win and one will lose. One team will go on to have a better record at the end of the year and one will most likely falter somewhere along the line. At this time, all signs point to Iowa State as being the program on the rise - regardless of one win or loss to an out-of-conference opponent. Maybe the stark reality of being the program on the decline has our birdies to the East a little scared of the cold times that await. After all, what does it say about a program when one of their toughest opponents of the year is the school they like to call "little brother"? What does it say about a program when the only excuse they have for losing to their "little brother" is that they couldn't get up for the game 70% of the time? Good teams win, regardless of the opponent - who's the better team this year?

cstrunk · 09-10-2008, 02:41 PM

I enjoy reading what you have to say. Thanks.

Chris · 09-10-2008, 05:57 PM

Good read Jeremy, especially the "I'll be honest, I hate the Hawks and I'll freely admit it" - to bad we don't live in the old west and when we see a hawk going by we just pluck it off with our old trusty 6-shooter...

Personally, I'd like to see ISU cut ties with UI competely, formost in sports as we don't need them and should not even attempt to associate with that university; it does absolutely nothing to elevate that status of ISU.

wolverine68 · 09-10-2008, 06:19 PM

Good job out of you! My thoughts exactly!!!

CyBandCG · 09-10-2008, 06:21 PM

I agree with you Jeremy. Rivalry week wears me out. From people who don't even care giving me crap about ISU and me reminding them of the score to random craziness of Iowa vs ISU. It is pretty crazy all over the state.

GoCylones242 · 09-13-2008, 04:00 PM

Jeremy, what kind of fantasy world do you live in? A young Iowa team just held us to 5 points. Iowa State a team on the rise? HA!

tigershoops31 · 09-13-2008, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by GoCylones242

Jeremy, what kind of fantasy world do you live in? A young Iowa team just held us to 5 points. Iowa State a team on the rise? HA!

Wonderful 2nd post...jackass

Jeremy · 09-13-2008, 04:05 PM

The world I live in is one where I rationally look at the improvements we've made and that causes me to have faith that we'll continue to get better. If you expected us to dominate Iowa today, you must have missed the numerous reasons why they should be FAR, FAR better than what they are and how we would have been overachieving incredibly had we rolled over Iowa. Iowa has no excuse for being as bad as they are, we do. We're a young team with you coaches and most of our talent having little to no experience.

If you want to have an instantly winning program, you've picked the wrong coaching staff to get behind. You would have to be pretty blind not to see the improvements this program is making over what it was two years ago.

ISUFan22 · 09-13-2008, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by GoCylones242

Jeremy, what kind of fantasy world do you live in? A young Iowa team just held us to 5 points. Iowa State a team on the rise? HA!

At this time last year, we were 1-2. This year, we're 2-1. FYI...2-1 > 1-2.

HawkeyeNation.com needs you...

jdoggivjc · 09-13-2008, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by Jeremy

The world I live in is one where I rationally look at the improvements we've made and that causes me to have faith that we'll continue to get better. If you expected us to dominate Iowa today, you must have missed the numerous reasons why they should be FAR, FAR better than what they are and how we would have been overachieving incredibly had we rolled over Iowa. Iowa has no excuse for being as bad as they are, we do. We're a young team with you coaches and most of our talent having little to no experience.

If you want to have an instantly winning program, you've picked the wrong coaching staff to get behind. You would have to be pretty blind not to see the improvements this program is making over what it was two years ago.

Exactly.

We play this game in Iowa City last year and, well, the score is MUCH worse than that.

JonDMiller · 09-13-2008, 04:07 PM

I think the weather was a huge factor today for both teams. It took away things that both teams wanted to do, took away some strengths that both teams had.

ISU showed toughness, and youth. iowa showed toughness, and youth.

A lot of things to iron out. I dont think anyone thinks we were looking at two top 25 teams coming into this.

Now, if that leading with the head play have been called on Iowa, and everything else exactly how it happened, I would have been livid. If they hadnt of called that, it never would have entered my mind.

ISU didn't blitz anywhere near what I thought they would.

GoCylones242 · 09-13-2008, 04:07 PM

I want to believe we are improving, but didn't we beat the sorry squawkeyes last year? We had so many chances today and we couldn't capitalize. That was a nice FG call on the 4th and 1, though.

Aclone · 09-13-2008, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by GoCylones242

Jeremy, what kind of fantasy world do you live in? A young Iowa team just held us to 5 points. Iowa State a team on the rise? HA!

Let's see. Young Iowa team: sophomore and junior dominated, pretty much all of whom played a year ago.

Young Iowa State team: freshman-sophomore dominated, and many of those freshmen were playing high school ball a year ago.

I was going to say "dumb" instead of "jack", but that works, too.

jdoggivjc · 09-13-2008, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by GoCylones242

I want to believe we are improving, but didn't we beat the sorry squawkeyes last year? We had so many chances today and we couldn't capitalize. That was a nice FG call on the 4th and 1, though.

Where have you been? The home team has had a huge (dare I say tremendous) advantage over the last 5 years. No surprise that Iowa was going to capitalize on that this year.

Angie · 09-13-2008, 04:20 PM

"OMG, the guys on HN are going to LUV it when I go over to CF and pretend to be an ISU fan!!"