Even if you wrongly ignore the robbed aspect, 5 losses does compare. The teams you’re referring to went 8-5/8-4/8-3 while playing teams like Drake and Dayton. Blindly making it about loss count like you did means the 2000 team is better, which clearly shows how flawed that reasoning is.
Best football season ever?
- Thread starter AllN4Cy
- Start date
Hate to break it to you, but win/loss records are how the world determines who's best. Should we have beaten Iowa? Sure, but we blew it and sorry as it was, is a fact. It's always amusing when fans say "we lost, but we're the better team", when they obviously weren't.
That's just my overinflated 2 cents, I'm too old to adopt this new participation trophy world were wins and losses don't mean anything.
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I would go as far as to say one of best, but this is more of a what if season.... IMO if we get 2 of close 5 loses, I would argue 'Yes' best ever. But close game loses feel just like past 'Good' Iowa State teams.... 2005 Iowa State team comes to mind, very close loses that if the would have gone the other way would have put it up with all the other elite seasons, but in the end we ended with 7-5 record and a close lose bowl game to TCU.....
Try three road games in OT. Nick Leaders had an interception thrown right in his numbers at Nebraska that would of won the game. The refs caused OT in Kansas that would of put us in the Big 12 Championship game and then that head scratching loss to Baylor at home that gave Baylor their first Big 12 road win. Also lost to Mizzou in OT on the road, but I don't recall that game off the top of my head.
I've looked at it this way. It was one of the best. Consider this:
A good amount of people here would have taken the bet they could be 7-5.
How many would have taken a bet that their worst loss would have been by 10 points? Probably no one.
This team was nose to nose with everyone.
A good amount of people here would have taken the bet they could be 7-5.
How many would have taken a bet that their worst loss would have been by 10 points? Probably no one.
This team was nose to nose with everyone.
We also WON a handful of very close games but no one will mention counting those as losses. In the end, things tend to settle out. I'd say we were an 8-win team
Just imagine what these coaches could do with a little more depth at key positions. I look forward to seeing where recruiting takes us and what this coaching staff can do with their guys!
That's how I try to evaluate a record involving close wins/close losses. For FB, I figure 1-score games are about 50-50, so if you break even, that's "typical." ISU had 7 of those, and went 3-4. In games of FG margin or less, 1-2. So 8-5 seems like an accurate reflection.
That Mizzou game was the "Chase Daniel" game. We were in total control, up big in the 4th and knocked Brad Smith out of the game on a sack. Chase Daniel came in off the bench (I think he was a Freshman) and promptly led 3 or 4 consecutive scoring drives in the 4th quarter to send it to overtime and then win. Awful loss, on par with the KU and Baylor disasters that year.
I can't say it was their best season ever since I'm too young to remember much of anything beyond the Jim Walden era. But it's certainly the season I've enjoyed most in my lifetime and probably the most interesting. So many great stories - Kyle Kempt, David Montgomery, Joel Lanning just to name a few - it felt like every win spawned another legend or folk hero.
And the success this year doesn't feel like it's going to be some kind of fluke or outlier. The program is ascending.
And the success this year doesn't feel like it's going to be some kind of fluke or outlier. The program is ascending.
kcbob79clone
Well-Known Member
Of the teams I have seen it is the 1976 team. A little biased because I was in the stands. Two Top 10 wins (road and home), similar defensive numbers, bu a much better offense (33 points a game). The coulda shoulda for this team is a couple of injuries and an unexpected loss or we would have been in the Orange Bowl. Small number of bowl games so because we were expected to be in the Orange Bowl this team did not go bowling.
Sorry current football athletes would bury those old teams. Its not even close.
Not sure if the best season, but this is the best team since the 70's, I believe. Could have had more wins and as @SuperTrooper mentioned above, we were right there with everyone.
Best October ever, and one of the best teams. The best team doesn't loose 3 of 4 of their last conference games though. Teams of the 70s were better. Hopefully next year is clearly our best team ever.
The Earle Bruce teams were very good, however they did lose both of their bowl games. Having said that, how can you dismiss them or the dirty 30 team, by saying today's athletes would bury them? Of course they would, athletes today are bigger, stronger, and faster, technology has improved. By that logic this year's Nebraska team would be a better team than their 71 team because they would beat them head-to-head given sizes, speeds, and strength. You can't compare them, but this is definitely one of Iowa State's best teams ever. And as others have said next year's will be the best.
This season was epic. It had everything: huge wins, a bowl win over a ranked team-in front of a huge crowd, a walk-on starting QB, a QB going MIA, a LB/QB/everything, a defense that made life miserable for the opposition, big time WRs that were just beasts, and my personal favorite-a defense trucking RB breaking tackles and refusing to go down as he plows through what seemed like the whole defense on most every carry.
This season has my vote as best of my lifetime, so far.
This season has my vote as best of my lifetime, so far.
