ISU vs Baylor Meltdown Thread - Only Game-Related Thread Allowed

ISUAlum2002

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Apr 11, 2006
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Do you think he ever wonders; what have I got myself into. He has got to get this thing figured out, its not just the players that are not good right now.

He probably wonders about what banks to open savings accounts with so that he can bust out of this job when he has enough saved up.
 

DanCyn

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Feb 21, 2008
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Brief comments.

Obviously a horrible GAME across the board. Made much worse by the fact that Arnaud had by far his worst performance in an ISU uniform.

It's the time of year a team decides either how good it's going to be or how bad it's going to be. Last year the team decided to get better. We'll see what this team does.

I've been a fan for a very long time and used to go through the same emotions many of you have expressed. Long ago I decided to stop letting ISU athletics be part of my identity. I'm as passionate during and leading up to a game as anyone, and I'm a huge fan, but once a game is over, it's over. There's not a thing I can do about it.
 
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Cy Heavy

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Aug 29, 2006
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Brief comments.

Obviously a horrible GAME across the board. Made much worse by the fact that Arnaud had by far his worst performance in an ISU uniform.

It's the time of year a team decides either how good it's going to be or how bad it's going to be. Last year the team decided to get better. We'll see what this team does.

I've been a fan for a very long time and used to go through the same emotions many of you have expressed. Long ago I decided to stop letting ISU athletics be part of my identity. I'm as passionate during and leading up to a game as anyone, and I'm a huge fan, but once a game is over, it's over. There's not a thing I can do about it.[/quote]

I'd second that.
I still remember sitting in the stands in the late 90's when we had a ranked K-State down by three touchdowns at halftime only to watch them score 28 unanswered to win. :no:

Keep things in perspective, it's still a game and many of our starters are still teenagers.
 

gregniowa

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Oct 11, 2008
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That is no excuse. Is there really that big of a talent difference from team A to team B in college football? Its how that talent is used. Coaching can make you look like you have more talent than you do. Its a coaching staff job to see what talent their team has and play to get everything out of that talent. The best coaches get everything they can out of their players. I dont see that happening in Ames.

Actually, I think there is a significant difference in talent in college ball. Teams like Texas, Oklahoma and other perennial top ten teams have secondary players on their bench that are the types of recruits that ISU often can only dream of getting. However, what you said about coaching vs talent is also true.

But I think we are looking at way too young a squad to expect them to be producing their maximum yet. In other, more competitive teams, many of these young players would be learning the team's playbook and working with coaches to solidify their talents and remedying their imperfections as players as backup players first. Only because we lack a solid Junior and Senior corps across the board are we seeing the youth put up front. Normally injecting freshmen as defacto starters does not happen unless you are looking at some sort of player that is abnorally stellar coming out of high school. But we are looking at a needy situation. Think ISU of times past without a Troy Davis in the mix, (who was recruited out of Miami, FL) Lacking a standout offensive weapon(s) places more weight on the whole of a team's skill and execution of fundamentals than on the prospects of one unusually high grade recruit.

But there is a good side to the Baylor trouncing. While not easy to watch as either player or fan, the Baylor game is easy to dissect on tape as to why ISU was blown out, and most of it is correctable with the talent on the present team. Let's hope this happens.
 
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mustangcy

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Apr 11, 2006
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A new low in ISU athletics. Just watched it on Big 12 Huddle...unreal. I'm starting to think I need to stop investing so much emotionally into ISU because it really is affecting me in a negative way.
 

bos

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Apr 10, 2006
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A new low in ISU athletics. Just watched it on Big 12 Huddle...unreal. I'm starting to think I need to stop investing so much emotionally into ISU because it really is affecting me in a negative way.


Probably a good idea. Its just a game.
 

isuno1fan

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Mar 30, 2006
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Brief comments.

Obviously a horrible GAME across the board. Made much worse by the fact that Arnaud had by far his worst performance in an ISU uniform.

It's the time of year a team decides either how good it's going to be or how bad it's going to be. Last year the team decided to get better. We'll see what this team does.

I've been a fan for a very long time and used to go through the same emotions many of you have expressed. Long ago I decided to stop letting ISU athletics be part of my identity. I'm as passionate during and leading up to a game as anyone, and I'm a huge fan, but once a game is over, it's over. There's not a thing I can do about it.


Good post...I feel and act the same.
 

jakemcilroy

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My thoughts...

1) We're young...but Baylor's 18 year old true freshman QB goes 21-24 against us, and he's a running QB. Our 3rd year QB has his worst game.

2) The onslaught of penalties ARE coaching. These are the discipline things covered (or should be) every day in practice. Yes, we're low on talent, but you can make up for that with discipline. This was the first time in 1.5 years I've had doubts about Chizik. I'm not calling for his head or anything, trust me, but I do feel he needs to improve as a coach just as the players need to improve.

3) This was the low point for Chizik's tenure at ISU.
 

Steve

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Apr 11, 2006
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Actually, I think there is a significant difference in talent in college ball. Teams like Texas, Oklahoma and other perennial top ten teams have secondary players on their bench that are the types of recruits that ISU often can only dream of getting. However, what you said about coaching vs talent is also true.

But I think we are looking at way too young a squad to expect them to be producing their maximum yet. In other, more competitive teams, many of these young players would be learning the team's playbook and working with coaches to solidify their talents and remedying their imperfections as players as backup players first. Only because we lack a solid Junior and Senior corps across the board are we seeing the youth put up front. Normally injecting freshmen as defacto starters does not happen unless you are looking at some sort of player that is abnorally stellar coming out of high school. But we are looking at a needy situation. Think ISU of times past without a Troy Davis in the mix, (who was recruited out of Miami, FL) Lacking a standout offensive weapon(s) places more weight on the whole of a team's skill and execution of fundamentals than on the prospects of one unusually high grade recruit.

But there is a good side to the Baylor trouncing. While not easy to watch as either player or fan, the Baylor game is easy to dissect on tape as to why ISU was blown out, and most of it is correctable with the talent on the present team. Let's hope this happens.

Another solid post. I agree about the lack of JR/SR standouts to lead the way. We have a few who are doing what they can, but simply not enough. Kurtis Taylor is solid both on the field and sounded like a standup guy in the post game interview last night. I wonder how many of the young guys are truly listening to what he is trying to say.

The 2 FR standouts for Baylor made the plays last night, but one thing that helped them is that Baylor has an outstanding JR class that did the blue collar work on both sides of the ball. We are a year or two away from being in the same position.

Another factor last night is that Baylor took advantage of our defensive game plan. It was clear that we had a goal of containing Griffin with at least one, sometimes two, linebackers spying on him. Unfortunately often the LB's were left to defend "air" as Griffin seldom tried to take off down field. Instead he continually beat us with safe and easy short passes. Without the LB's free to react quickly to the bubble screens and passes to the flat, our DB's were often outnumbered and exposed. It may have been a case of pick your poison because Griffin might have done it with his legs instead of his arm if we didn't try to contain his movement.
 
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Flag Guy

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Mar 2, 2007
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So.... I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeally hoping that this was our "Texas" game from last year and we come out next week and stomp Nebraska...

I also hope the next bus trip Gene bans head phones and starts playing past game clips so maybe they'll come off the bus with a little more fire :skeptical:

I stand by my statement that it looked like we didn't show up to play last night

I'm kinda curious as to what Pollard had to say to Gene on the bus ride home last night...
 

Flag Guy

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Mar 2, 2007
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Oh and for those saying this is the worst team since the 90's.... I've only been following ISU for a couple years but uh, I'd say 2003 was worse than this one...
 

Tornado man

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Sep 16, 2007
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I'm kinda curious as to what Pollard had to say to Gene on the bus ride home last night...

I don't get what you mean. It's not as if Jamie's an ex-coach or something. I doubt that he ever played football. I think Jamie's just as panicked as most of this board is...