POLL: Do you want to keep playing Iowa?

[BryceC]

I want us to be a consistent bowl team.

Realignment is not over. We have until 2024. We know our TV market sucks. We need to have something to sell people to stay in a conference flush with cash and IMO playing Iowa hurts us in that goal. I want winning records, bowl appearances, and good fan support.

I'm all for doing anything possible to avoid playing in the AAC in 7 years.

 

[JayV]

Does anyone know what Iowa Corn pays us for the game? What they pay Iowa?
Would either team get a corporate sponsor for a different opponent?

 

[wgleason]

Plus, anyone who voted no is either:

A) Lying
B) An idiot
C) An Iowa fan
D) All of the above

2 of these are exactly the same

 

[bsaltyman]

2 of these are exactly the same

Well, all Iowa fans may be idiots, but not all idiots are Iowa fans.

 

[VeloClone]

Well, all Iowa fans may be idiots, but not all idiots are Iowa fans.

True. I lived in Lincoln, NE for a while so I can attest to this.

 

[Frak]

The one key from the ISU side of the equation...pretty sure it's a B12 rule now that one of the OOC games has to be P5. So, it's not like we would be replacing iowa with a Sunbelt or MAC school. In recent history, name a P5 school that ISU would have beaten more often than iowa. There isn't very many. I'm guessing teams like WF, Rutgers, BC, Vandy, IL, Purdue, WSU are in pretty high demand from the big boys looking for a P5 OOC.

 

[DhaCheann]

This is a silly question. Who WOULDNT want to play their biggest rival? Any Iowa fan who says "Iowa State isn't our biggest rival" is a g dang liar. It's the biggest game for the state in terms of bragging rights and something I know both teams & fan bases look forward to every year.

 

[bos]

This is a silly question. Who WOULDNT want to play their biggest rival? Any Iowa fan who says "Iowa State isn't our biggest rival" is a g dang liar. It's the biggest game for the state in terms of bragging rights and something I know both teams & fan bases look forward to every year.

I agree with what youre saying but I dont look forward to it every year. This game annoys me so much.

 

[HFCS]

I want us to be a consistent bowl team.

Realignment is not over. We have until 2024. We know our TV market sucks. We need to have something to sell people to stay in a conference flush with cash and IMO playing Iowa hurts us in that goal. I want winning records, bowl appearances, and good fan support.

I'm all for doing anything possible to avoid playing in the AAC in 7 years.

Our TV market sucks but our future ranking of # of people who will buy an online subscription to watch our games live is probably somewhere right around the midpoint of the current 65 P5 teams. Things like actual attendance for football and basketball, enrollment size, already having a subscription service for just our program, and lack of pro sports in the region all make ISU more attractive in the new Netflix/Amazon dominated world than we were in the ESPN model world where Rutgers is New York City and Northwestern is Chicago.

Agree with you though that success on the field is what grows that for us further. I think Jamie and our core fans have grown it as much as possible without a breakout season.

 

[HFCS]

This is a silly question. Who WOULDNT want to play their biggest rival? Any Iowa fan who says "Iowa State isn't our biggest rival" is a g dang liar. It's the biggest game for the state in terms of bragging rights and something I know both teams & fan bases look forward to every year.

I proudly have an ISU window sticker in my car now because I moved to California. I'd have never in a million years have put that sticker in my car the 37 years I lived in Iowa and Chicago for fear of what drunk Hawkeye fan would do to my car...that's how I know in my heart ISU is Iowa's rival.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I voted no. I hate the game personally. It's always a giant week of annoyance, and it really doesn't help us much, even though we have been 50/50 with them for the past 20 or so years. I'd take easier competition or even someone with a bigger number next to their name. I realize I'm in the minority but I hate Iowa fans so much, I'd rather never have to talk to them.

In the end the business of the situation just makes sense. In-state, means less travel money, and means a huge week of hype leading to a competitive game that has few which rival it in the new age of college football.

 

[BryceC]

Agree with you though that success on the field is what grows that for us further. I think Jamie and our core fans have grown it as much as possible without a breakout season.

I would argue that our success on the field has peaked if we don't start winning. We cannot continue to be sub-.500 and even maintain our current level of support IMO.

 

[State43]

I used to be more about it but it would be nice to play other power 5 teams in their place. Iowa doesn't bring much of any national eyeballs to the game which is probably the same argument they make about us. Anymore, I could care less.

 

[huntt26]

Best case is Iowa and Iowa State in the same conference, then there is no more complaining about conference strength and the game would go on each year as a protected rivalry. Then, both institutions can schedule anybody they want in the non-con. Iowa can try to get their place at the big boy table by scheduling Alabama, Oklahoma and Western Kentucky and Iowa State can rack up easy wins against Alaska Tech, NJIT and Upper Iowa. Everybody wins!

Basketball would be cool too, home and away series each year.

Yes, I know this will likely never happen, but it would be best case on both sides.

 

[chuckd4735]

I want us to be a consistent bowl team.

Realignment is not over. We have until 2024. We know our TV market sucks. We need to have something to sell people to stay in a conference flush with cash and IMO playing Iowa hurts us in that goal. I want winning records, bowl appearances, and good fan support.

I'm all for doing anything possible to avoid playing in the AAC in 7 years.

Th entire sports network landscape is going to be so different in 7 years that market size may not matter at all. ISU has a passionate fan base that is of decent size, and cares about their team even when they suck. I think by 2024, that will mean more than market area.

 

[CyInDFW]

My vote was for yes, but if it went to two on, two off I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

 

[cc1091]

I say keep playing them until we get three or five years of beat downs (Cyclones winning by 15+ points), and then drop them saying, 'they're no longer competitive."

 

[Rural]

In the P5 there are 7 states that have two or more schools in separate conferences: Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas. Neither Texas or Indiana have on-going non-conference, in-state rivalry games; Texas and TAMU are still pissy with each other, and Notre Dame does whatever they feel like.

The other 5 states all maintain yearly rivalry games between out of conference opponents. UL v UK, PSU v Pitt, SC v Clemson, and FSU v Florida are all scheduled for the last week of the regular season. Only Iowa v Iowa State is scheduled so early in the season.

I would venture that the weather a driving factor for it being early, but I would love to see Iowa-ISU moved to the Thanksgiving Game and be part of the Rivalry Weekend. I say keep the game, but move it in the schedule.

As far as perception of the game, rivalry games are often given less weight by the committees anyway, and I think the value these games add for players, fans, and the state in general far outweigh a potential free win over some cupcake school.

Georgia