Time to stop playing at Drake
- Thread starter Havs
- Start date
Since when did the state legislature become involved in ISU's scheduling? It's not like the state would lose a bunch of money because the teams stopped playing if it did come to that. This isn't the end of Tammy vs. Texa$ football.
I have not read the entire thread, but the this above sounds just like the attitude of the hawk fans we despise. Oh, and Kansas and KSU do and have played Wichita State. Missouri just played Missouri State last week. Goodness.
:yes:
That Lucca-Drake game is sort of the polar opposite of the "1999 Drake loss" argument, too, isn't it?
That concept annoys me, too. Even if we stick with a mostly-cake non-conference slate (I think it should have a little more bulk), having to play an in-state road game once per year vs. UNI/Drake should be no burden. The team is forced to play somewhere other than Hilton, but it's still close enough to Ames that fan support will be there.
I would not advocate dropping the home-and-home with any of the in-state schools. I see no reason to do it. The rotation has been in place long enough that it would seem like excuse-making.
ISU does, however, need to defeat Drake & UNI more than twice in succession.
I think Iowa State has done better vs. Iowa over the last five years, if I recall. Nobody's talking about dropping that one.
The biggest problem with the non-league schedule — if there's an opponent we consider "inferior" or "equal" (which is typically everyone these days), there is no chance to balance a loss until conference season — when the grind immediately becomes night-and-day. And ISU has to go into that stretch without being tested at nearly the same level.
We can drop Drake & UNI on the road, if that's what people want. But I don't want to see those games replaced with home-and-home vs. any school that isn't a consistent competitor in Big Ten/Big East/ACC/Pac-12/SEC.
My problem with the Drake/UNI situation is how much it affects us negatively when we lose in comparison to an extremely minimal game if we win. Compare it to playing UNI in football. How many times have they been close vs. ISU and Iowa? A late TD for a 1 point victory and two blocked field goals from the Hawks. Should they be this close? Of course not. I like playing Drake/UNI but I think a home and home should be left for the big boys.
Most schools these days are trying to join conferences that are more competitive... If Iowa State can't schedule Drake or UNI what's the next step? Division II ??? Give me a break! Just win next time geeez!
No, we get that. What most people are saying is, this is what makes Iowa unique. Personally, I get sick and tired of comparing everything we do with scheduling, recruiting, etc to what other BCS team do. We should do what we think is best, and stick to what little tradition we have.
The reality of it is that we shouldn't play Drake we should play Duke or Michigan State or Kentucky in that spot. One its good for exposure and two a loss actually makes our RPI go up. If the RPI is the reality of the situation on some level then yeah, don't play Drake win or lose. Aside from local interest the game does us no good. The Michigan loss helps us more than a Drake win. Take the program national.
