Williams & Blum Pod: Red alert on bowl season, Liberty Bowl thoughts & hoops wrap-up

[BryceC]

This is exactly right. The harsh reaction from ISU fans was due to the performance, not the stakes.

CW was telling all of us it was going to be a real bowl game that mattered to the team and program. But as soon as we look like ****, it changes to “ISU fans are behind the times” in caring about bowl games. It wasn’t the bowl game. It was the looking like **** against Memphis in the same way we looked like **** against Ohio.

It was a podcast episode full of excuses, that’s all. It’s still the best ISU pod and one I’ll listen to regularly.

This is what I think people are annoyed at. That's what I'm annoyed at. The game was never interesting at any point. It was over 5 minutes in. ISU football is an entertainment product and that game was freezing and boring as hell. Just a bad combo.

Sorry, but that's simply not accepting responsibility for your own actions. Don't blame someone else. You bought into it. Was I disappointed? Yes. But, it's only childish to blame someone else for you mismanaging your own expectations.

Honestly fair point. I've learned to ignore coaches 100% of the time, Should probably shift my expectations there for everybody else.

 

[NoCreativity]

I heard Ole Miss has 14 mil for NIL. Isn't Mississippi a low population poor state? How do they pull that off?

Highest poverty rate in the entire country, it's all about priorities.

 

[Marcelason78]

I heard Ole Miss has 14 mil for NIL. Isn't Mississippi a low population poor state? How do they pull that off?

Could very well be an accurate figure, but how does BB know what other schools have in their NIL coffers?

 

[Die4Cy]

Could very well be an accurate figure, but how does BB know what other schools have in their NIL coffers?

He probably has a good sense of what the market is, and can make assumptions of what their total pool of funds is from that by seeing what prospects are offered.

But no one really knows that much about what the real number is. And rumors run wild because there are benefits to doing so.

 

[loyalsons4evertrue]

True. But significance does that loss have? It really doesn’t change anything and will have no impact for next year

it may not impact this year or next, but it is still a game where the coaching staff shows they were unprepared, which is way too common of a theme when CMC is in his 8th year

 

[SCNCY]

I heard Ole Miss has 14 mil for NIL. Isn't Mississippi a low population poor state? How do they pull that off?

Similar to Iowa, college sports is the highest level of sports they have a connection to with no pro teams in the state. On top of that, they're part of a football crazy conference, where football is life. To build on that, you probably also have a lot of successful businesses and alums where they have a high percent donating to their athletics in an effort to try and outdo each other and gain influence over the AD so they can brag about it to their friends.

I'm sure Iowa State has similar successful alums as many other universities, we just don't donate at the same rate as them.

 

[Cycsk]

it may not impact this year or next, but it is still a game where the coaching staff shows they were unprepared, which is way too common of a theme when CMC is in his 8th year

"Unprepared" or "wrongly prepared?" I think it is more of the latter. We have had wins when we took some chances and were "rightly prepared" and losses when we were "wrongly prepared." As a fan, I don't think I fully appreciate how much of the outcome of a game is determined by the game plans of both teams.

We made adjustments and came back from down 19. And we kept fighting back. In fact, we outscored them in the last three quarters.
It's not like we lost 35-0!

#11, the blitzing linebacker for Memphis, was the biggest factor in my mind. It was like he was in our huddle.

 

[loyalsons4evertrue]

"Unprepared" or "wrongly prepared?" I think it is more of the latter. We have had wins when we took some chances and were "rightly prepared" and losses when we were "wrongly prepared." As a fan, I don't think I fully appreciate how much of the outcome of a game is determined by the game plans of both teams.

We made adjustments and came back from down 19. And we kept fighting back. In fact, we outscored them in the last three quarters.
It's not like we lost 35-0!

#11, the blitzing linebacker for Memphis, was the biggest factor in my mind. It was like he was in our huddle.

idk we were still running it up the middle in the second half when that clearly wasn't working the first 30 minutes of the game

 

[Messi]

Could very well be an accurate figure, but how does BB know what other schools have in their NIL coffers?

good salespeople are able to gauge what their competitions budget is with enough prospecting

 

[LAClone]

idk we were still running it up the middle in the second half when that clearly wasn't working the first 30 minutes of the game

Jesus, you just described half of the 2023 season.

 

[Cyhig]

it may not impact this year or next, but it is still a game where the coaching staff shows they were unprepared, which is way too common of a theme when CMC is in his 8th year

I agree - but it was still largely an exhibition game. I personally don't put much stock into bowl games anymore unless they are the NY6 games. This is especially true with the expanded playoffs next year. Non NY6 games are essentially rewards for the team for having a good season IMHO

 

[Cyclones303]

Polishing a turd. We sucked on Friday and we have nobody to blame but ourselves. You would like to think our head coach would not be outschemed by freaking Memphis. Them coming out in a different defense says more about or inability to adjust.

 

[isucy86]

I just wonder how many fans are going to want to spend all the cash to travel to these games if the team is going to go out there and look like they just don't give a ****. Losing a bowl game is one thing, but watching a team look uninterested and unprepared is another.

If I wanted to take a little vacation just to vacation it isn't Memphis in December. Thw game is the center of these thinga. So if the team isn't going to make a true effort, I'll take my travel plans to somewhere I actually want to go.

Agree, fan disinterest is the next ball to drop because of opt-outs and portal. Disinterest with TV ratings is one thing, but if fan attendance declines sharply, then there will be a natural purging of bowls.

• With a 12 team playoff, we have already seen the alignment of NY6 bowls with playoff games. By 2030, pretty sure the playoff will be 16 Power Conference schools. Aligning with the 7 top bowls (Assuming 1st round on campus).
• Groups schools will have their own playoff.
• Conferences will take over the bowls. Why pay a bowl exec and his staff millions? After all, if there are 16 playoff teams and Group schools have their own playoff, there is only a need for 8-10 "bowl" games.

 

[joefrog]

"Unprepared" or "wrongly prepared?" I think it is more of the latter. We have had wins when we took some chances and were "rightly prepared" and losses when we were "wrongly prepared." As a fan, I don't think I fully appreciate how much of the outcome of a game is determined by the game plans of both teams.

We made adjustments and came back from down 19. And we kept fighting back. In fact, we outscored them in the last three quarters.
It's not like we lost 35-0!

#11, the blitzing linebacker for Memphis, was the biggest factor in my mind. It was like he was in our huddle.

Almost as if his team had good insight from a former player and coach, and could use it because ISU DID NOT CHANGE THINGS UP even knowing the familiarity.

That's the biggest problem with the performance.

 

[intrepid27]

difference is CFB has lowest % of teams making playoffs

cfb: 12/128 = 9.37
cbb: 68/351 = 19.37
mlb = 12/30 = 40
nfl = 14/32 = 43.75
nba = 16/32 = 50
nhl = 16/32 = 50

I think 10% if a big enough sample. Having 50% of teams make a playoff is dumb IMO. If you can't get in after a 12 game season that you probably don't belong.

In March Madness 90% of Champions were a 1-3 seed and 10% were 4-8 seeds. So, you could argue if the goal is to find the best team you and stop at a 32 team tourney.

 

[BCClone]

I heard Ole Miss has 14 mil for NIL. Isn't Mississippi a low population poor state? How do they pull that off?

Those schools had decided sports were important long ago. We had presidents 30-40 years ago that didn’t. Then ADs who were poor and made no effort to cultivate donors. We are 25 years behind.

 

[aeroclone]

I think 10% if a big enough sample. Having 50% of teams make a playoff is dumb IMO. If you can't get in after a 12 game season that you probably don't belong.

In March Madness 90% of Champions were a 1-3 seed and 10% were 4-8 seeds. So, you could argue if the goal is to find the best team you and stop at a 32 team tourney.

In the spirit of this conversation, I think you need to look at it in the lens of giving teams something to play for so that the post season and even late regular season games are still meaningful.

In the case of basketball, if you narrow it down to the Power 5 level I would imagine you are in the ballpark of 50% of teams reaching the tournament. So that leaves most of the teams fighting for inclusion or seeding right up to the end. Now it is true that the eventual title winner probably comes from the top 10, but schools still view making the dance or advancing to a Sweet 16 game as worthy accomplishments.

I think thus could be somewhat replicated in football if you cut the bowl games and expanded the playoffs. For a school like ISU I wouldn't ever expect to get close to a title, but making the playoff or winning a game in the playoff would feel meaningful.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

I heard Ole Miss has 14 mil for NIL. Isn't Mississippi a low population poor state? How do they pull that off?

Because the poor part of the population didn’t go to ole miss. The rich areas, the business leaders, the executives, the physicians, lawyers and politicians all went to ole miss. That’s where the actual money is coming from.

 

[nrg4isu]

executives, the physicians, lawyers and politicians

And largely, this is why ISU is behind on NIL. We don't produce any of these in enough quantity.

 

[nrg4isu]

Now that I've listened to the pod, I can officially comment on this thread.

I agree almost everything Williams and Blum had to say. I will agree with some of the fans who felt "burned" by Williams' take of a 2 score win... I felt similarly. I had almost taken my nut cup off.

Best take of the pod was that Williams said he felt we were "out schemed". There were zero new offensive plays added to this game. No new wrinkles at all. I have a feeling we really didn't scheme at all for Memphis. I have a feeling that practice was all about "details" on stuff we've already done. This falls in line with the line of thinking that we're focusing on next year. I don't blame Heacock or Scheelhaase for this at all. You can't call plays that you didn't practice.

I'm in the camp that next year can be a good season. Looking at the schedule, I don't see Iowa State being more than a 7pt dog to anyone except maybe at Utah.