The series can end after we beat Iowa 15 times in a row.
POLL: Do you want to keep playing Iowa?
- Thread starter ChrisMWilliams
- Start date
Plus, anyone who voted no is either:
A) Lying
B) An idiot
C) An Iowa fan
D) All of the above
A) Lying
B) An idiot
C) An Iowa fan
D) All of the above
For understanding there are more important things in football than playing Iowa?
The thing is if the series is dropped neither team will be scheduling a P5 as a replacement. For the Hawk article author to suggest they would be replacing with another P5 is total bull ****.
Last edited:
Yes, recruits would much rather lose a competitive game that nobody outside the state of Iowa cares about than go to a bowl game for a week in Glendale or Orlando in the middle of winter.
Also, best "one of the best rivalries in college football" is a bit of a stretch.
If so, I can live with it, assuming the "easy game" is vs. the worst possible Sun Belt or C-USA team available. Not home-and-home series vs. MAC or MWC teams that occasionally have a pulse.
I see your point, but why does Iowa State schedule UNI and ND State nearly every year as its FCS opponent? If we end the Iowa series, yet keep FCS "powerhouses," that's silly if the reason for dropping a P5 is because we want a chance to buy more non-conference wins and reach bowl eligibility more easily.
My strategy would be to keep Iowa, but rethink the other two games. Make sure the non-Iowa games are almost always home games.
If I were in charge, this is how I would schedule:
Iowa (home/away series)
For FCS: Traditionally mediocre MVC school ... it's OK to mix in UNI, NDSU and SDSU a couple times per decade, just for regional interest.
Marginal teams from FBS leagues like C-USA (Example: FAU) or Sun Belt (Example: UTEP).
Voted yes, but I'm not against the prospect of playing the game every other year, or 2 years on, and 2 years off. What I'd really like to see is ISU securing 7 home games each year.
Do it every other year. Schedule home and home with other P5s in the off years.
I'd love a home and home with Wisconsin. That would be a party.
I'd love a home and home with Wisconsin. That would be a party.
Frankly I don't care at this point.
It is not surprising at all that Hoknation and state sports journalist are beating this drum now. The requirements imposed by the B1G give them cover and they will run with it. It is apparent to both fan bases (although one won't admit it) that the trajectory of the programs are in different directions.
ISU football success is not dependent at at all on playing the Hoks. The state and the universities make a pile of money off the game and I can't imagine another opponent for each team that would replace that. Maybe scheduling certain wins and getting to a bow game makes up for it.
Bottom line, I think 3-4 years from now when we look back at highlights, key games an big victories - we won't see the game with Iowa anywhere in the list
It is not surprising at all that Hoknation and state sports journalist are beating this drum now. The requirements imposed by the B1G give them cover and they will run with it. It is apparent to both fan bases (although one won't admit it) that the trajectory of the programs are in different directions.
ISU football success is not dependent at at all on playing the Hoks. The state and the universities make a pile of money off the game and I can't imagine another opponent for each team that would replace that. Maybe scheduling certain wins and getting to a bow game makes up for it.
Bottom line, I think 3-4 years from now when we look back at highlights, key games an big victories - we won't see the game with Iowa anywhere in the list
I can see why Iowa fans would want to drop the ISU game based on the last few years. They performed well and had solid records, but were hurt by a soft schedule. Unfortunately for them, they are in the weaker half of the B1G and only see 2 or 3 quality conference opponents every year. But they dont have say over the conference schedule, so they are looking at the non-conference for potential way to bolster the schedule.
Most the Iowa fans see ISU as a weak P5 opponent that doesnt bolster the resume, and based on recent history they arn't entirely wrong. The problem is if they are so concerned about SoS, they have 2 other non-conference games that they could be using to try and schedule better quality opponents. This year they have Wyoming and North Texas, both at home. Last year they had Miami (OH) and NDSU, which they lost. 2015 they played Illinois St. and Pitt, and had a shot at the Playoff if they won the B1G Championship.
ISU isnt the problem on their schedule, its their conference. But they cant fix that, so they are looking for an easy scapegoat, and "little brother" is an easy target. Giving up this game won't magically fix their SoS. It will be just another lost tradition in the world of College Football.
Now, I stated earlier in the tread, I think both schools would be better served to move the game to the end of the season. Play the game Thanksgiving Weekend, and give the game more meaning to both teams. Some years, it could be the end of the season, some there could have a team trying to become bowl eligible, or a team vying for a playoff spot or NY6 Bowl. But I believe that if you add more consequence to the game, give it more meaning in the context of a season, it could grow to be something special in College Football.
Most the Iowa fans see ISU as a weak P5 opponent that doesnt bolster the resume, and based on recent history they arn't entirely wrong. The problem is if they are so concerned about SoS, they have 2 other non-conference games that they could be using to try and schedule better quality opponents. This year they have Wyoming and North Texas, both at home. Last year they had Miami (OH) and NDSU, which they lost. 2015 they played Illinois St. and Pitt, and had a shot at the Playoff if they won the B1G Championship.
ISU isnt the problem on their schedule, its their conference. But they cant fix that, so they are looking for an easy scapegoat, and "little brother" is an easy target. Giving up this game won't magically fix their SoS. It will be just another lost tradition in the world of College Football.
Now, I stated earlier in the tread, I think both schools would be better served to move the game to the end of the season. Play the game Thanksgiving Weekend, and give the game more meaning to both teams. Some years, it could be the end of the season, some there could have a team trying to become bowl eligible, or a team vying for a playoff spot or NY6 Bowl. But I believe that if you add more consequence to the game, give it more meaning in the context of a season, it could grow to be something special in College Football.
Both Iowa and Iowa State face the same prospect. 9 game conference schedule and a need to play 7 home games for revenue purposes. Because we play each other, 10 games are set every year, with each of us playing 5 home and 5 away. So we each need to come up with 2home games, which limits us to mid major schools.
From Iowa State standpoint, not playing Iowa allows us to either schedule wins and help our bowl status or get some P5 variety which would be fun and possibly help recruiting.
From Iowa standpoint, not playing Iowa State allows them to go home and home with another P5 school. Fans get some variety and the national perception is helped. While we all believe our program is headed the right direction, the perception is Iowa plays 2 mid majors and one of the weakest P5 schools every year.
I think we play 2 on and two off. Every player that plays 4 years has one game against the other at each location. It's a win-win in my view.
From Iowa State standpoint, not playing Iowa allows us to either schedule wins and help our bowl status or get some P5 variety which would be fun and possibly help recruiting.
From Iowa standpoint, not playing Iowa State allows them to go home and home with another P5 school. Fans get some variety and the national perception is helped. While we all believe our program is headed the right direction, the perception is Iowa plays 2 mid majors and one of the weakest P5 schools every year.
I think we play 2 on and two off. Every player that plays 4 years has one game against the other at each location. It's a win-win in my view.
The "revenue purposes" excuse for having a 7th home game is completely overblown, especially for Iowa. P5 schools are BLOWING money so they don't end up showing a profit at the end of the year. If anybody takes a hit for having one less home game it's the cities of Ames and Iowa City and guess what, they will be fine.
Here's the thing. If Iowa and Iowa State end up taking a break from playing each other so Iowa can try to go out and "enhance" their schedule I'm fine with it. I find it a little ironic though because how many P5 schools do you see scheduling home and homes? The majority of these games are being played at neutral sites. Iowa isn't going to get a year in year out top ten school to come play at their place. Hell, Ohio State falls into this category and they visit Iowa City every 8 years or so
Arguably, we need our team to make a lot more of those mediocre bowls in order to get good enough to beat UI like a drum.
Getting to Boise requires a 6-6 record or better and that will always look better to the guys we're trying to recruit than 3-9 (or 4-8 or 5-7), even if one of those is a win over UI.
This is funny in a sad and pathetic way given we've won 8 games in 3 years and just lost to UI by more than 5 touchdowns.
This is where I'm at. Well that and I think you hear the vocal minorities on this board. If it wasn't a big deal to the state and other fans, this wouldn't be one of the most attended games of the year. A lot more people don't want it to go away than do.
but back to your post. Yeah, that's the problem here. I have no problem dropping Iowa, but we better quit scheduling UNI, NDSU and anyone else with a pulse. And we sure as hell better stop scheduling series where we have to go to that teams home field and play them the next year. I just don't see ISU doing this. So, if it's a choice between Iowa and any other team with a pulse, might as well stick with Iowa. If it's a choice between Iowa and the worst team we can find, then go with the easy win. (Yeah, I know easy wins don't exist for ISU, but you know what I mean)
I don't want to get rid of the Iowa game, but I have to admit, if we could turn the non-con into a bit of a pre-season, where we can get a lot of kids a lot of reps, then I'd be all for it. Just knowing ISU, we'd drop Iowa to play Alabama at Alabama 3 years in a row.
You should have included a third option for people who are neutral about it. I'm fine with it but it wouldn't break my heart to see it go away, *if* we replaced it with a good quality game.
I would also add if that if Iowa drops us in football, we shouldn't play them in any other sport. The media outcry would be huge, but the logic is the same: no point giving them a chance to pick up a quality win over us in the sports where we're better (which is basically everything but football).
If the game is dropped, schedule the 3 most cupcake teams we can find for awhile and get to 6 wins. Once we establish some relevancy, then schedule harder. Big 12 is hard enough
