The current powder keg situation involving the University of Iowa football program is above all else, a situation of human tragedy. It's serious, serious stuff and that can't be forgotten and can't be moved off the top line on the list of what's most important about the entire issue. A young woman claims she was sexually assaulted, her chastity taken away forever against her will. Her angry and distraught parents allege the university failed in its responsibilities and obligations to the young woman and to them. And two young men face the possibility of the best years of their adult lives being spent behind bars. Even if deserved, and that is yet to be decided in a court of law, it's still tragic.
But this is a sports medium and what happens at Iowa in the athletic arena affects Iowa State in the athletic arena. So it is an ISU sports story, too. For the purpose of commentary on and analysis of Cyclone sports, it's a valid topic for this space. We'll leave the heavier commentary and analysis for the more suitable media and writers. We do sports here, so sports it is.
The Iowa State football program has a window of opportunity opening up to take advantage of all that ails Iowa football right now, including but not limited to the current headline-grabbing situation. In short, Iowa football is teetering on the brink of freefall and ISU has a chance to help itself by contributing a shove that will help send the Hawkeyes over that edge. Iowa's wounds are self-inflicted so there's no obligation to pull punches. If Iowa football found itself in a bad place through circumstances not its own doing, it would be bad form for ISU to compete with the Hawkeyes looking for the jugular. But that's not the case.
No, Iowa's undoing is its own. Three straight 10-win seasons dripping with good fortune, good luck, good breaks and over-their-head play had Hawkeye fans believing the program was really that good. National. Elite. Championship. Kirk Ferentz and staff set the bar awfully high for themselves and were desperate to clear it. Hard-working overachievers had taken the Hawkeyes to no. 8 in the country ? three years in a row, no less ? but that wasn't good enough. Unbelievably, that wasn't good enough. And they knew it was going to take a better athlete to go any higher, to get to number one, where the Iowa faithful actually believed Iowa should be.
The Iowa staff was right in its analysis but wrong to succumb to the unrealistic pressure of going higher. Values were compromised, good sense was set aside, character was demoted and ethics and integrity were given leave. The Hawkeyes assembled recruiting classes that were blue chip when it came to the tangibles but red flag when it came to the intangibles. Iowa wasn't at a level where it could get the four-star and five-star kids that didn't come from the scratch and dent aisle. It never will be. Those prospects who could both play and think went to the truly elite schools like they always have and will. The Hawkeyes resorted to the kids with four-star and five-star bodies but no-star heads and hearts. Unrealistic greed won out over realistic contentment.
And then predictably and on cue, karma caught up with Iowa football. Every bounce didn't go Iowa's way, every miracle play wasn't produced by a Hawkeye, every key injury wasn't on the opponent's roster and not theirs. When the Hawkeyes beat LSU with "The Catch" in January of 2005, you just knew their football genie had just granted the last wish. Sure, Iowa would still be average or a little better, but it was time to even things out. Three straight teams with the talent and ability to win six or seven games had won ten or eleven. The Hawkeyes were living on credit and the bills were going to come due. Sure enough, over the next three years, teams with the talent and ability to win six or seven games won ? six or seven games. And playing up to their ability, the equivalent of living within their means, just isn't good enough for the Hawkeye masses.
So what does it all mean for Iowa State? It means attack. Iowa is reeling, of its own doing, and ISU must attack. It must attack on the recruiting front, both for in-state and out-of-state kids that both programs offer and want. The gloves have to come off. The Cyclones can be and should be recruiting against Iowa on the offensive, not on the defensive. Plenty of lifelong Hawkeye fans are openly questioning what is going on with their football program, both silently and aloud. High school seniors that have grown up cheering for Iowa have got to be doing the same thing. Ditto for their parents. And if they aren't, they should be, and someone needs to tell them so. A lot of prospects fall in love with the ISU coaches, who they are, what they are. That has to become a red-letter selling point, making it higher priority for prospects and their families. Warm, embracing and passionate vs. cold, distant and calculating. You make the call.
It means attack on the football field on September 13. A win in Iowa City opens the door to taking control of the series again, of stringing together a few victories in a row. Getting a road win is the first step in making that happen. A distracted Iowa coaching staff with its future very much in doubt will still be in limbo, waiting for the latest investigative report from the Board of Regents. Just winning would be enough, but if the chance is there to pile on, then pile on. When Iowa football was down before, ISU head coach Dan McCarney seemed to take it easy on his alma mater and coaching friends, almost out of obligation. Gene Chizik has no such encumbrance. But by 1 or 21, at the end of the day, another loss to Iowa State ? any loss ? would leave Kirk Ferentz and Iowa football staggered at worst and on the canvas at best.
What's bad for Iowa football is good for Iowa State football, and vice versa. Choose to not believe that if you'd like, but it's true. Hayden Fry wasn't afraid to respect ISU enough to know that if he kept the Cyclones down, he had a much better chance of keeping Iowa up. Beating Iowa State was step one for Fry at Iowa and he obviously did a good job of it. To the point it was taken for granted and forgotten by almost everyone in black and gold except Fry. For better or worse, ISU has never beaten Iowa enough to take it for granted and has never lost sight of how important it is. It's step one ? yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever. Naturally, Iowa State can't rely on trouble at Iowa to gain the upper hand in the rivalry. But it danged sure better do everything it can to capitalize when it happens.
But this is a sports medium and what happens at Iowa in the athletic arena affects Iowa State in the athletic arena. So it is an ISU sports story, too. For the purpose of commentary on and analysis of Cyclone sports, it's a valid topic for this space. We'll leave the heavier commentary and analysis for the more suitable media and writers. We do sports here, so sports it is.
The Iowa State football program has a window of opportunity opening up to take advantage of all that ails Iowa football right now, including but not limited to the current headline-grabbing situation. In short, Iowa football is teetering on the brink of freefall and ISU has a chance to help itself by contributing a shove that will help send the Hawkeyes over that edge. Iowa's wounds are self-inflicted so there's no obligation to pull punches. If Iowa football found itself in a bad place through circumstances not its own doing, it would be bad form for ISU to compete with the Hawkeyes looking for the jugular. But that's not the case.
No, Iowa's undoing is its own. Three straight 10-win seasons dripping with good fortune, good luck, good breaks and over-their-head play had Hawkeye fans believing the program was really that good. National. Elite. Championship. Kirk Ferentz and staff set the bar awfully high for themselves and were desperate to clear it. Hard-working overachievers had taken the Hawkeyes to no. 8 in the country ? three years in a row, no less ? but that wasn't good enough. Unbelievably, that wasn't good enough. And they knew it was going to take a better athlete to go any higher, to get to number one, where the Iowa faithful actually believed Iowa should be.
The Iowa staff was right in its analysis but wrong to succumb to the unrealistic pressure of going higher. Values were compromised, good sense was set aside, character was demoted and ethics and integrity were given leave. The Hawkeyes assembled recruiting classes that were blue chip when it came to the tangibles but red flag when it came to the intangibles. Iowa wasn't at a level where it could get the four-star and five-star kids that didn't come from the scratch and dent aisle. It never will be. Those prospects who could both play and think went to the truly elite schools like they always have and will. The Hawkeyes resorted to the kids with four-star and five-star bodies but no-star heads and hearts. Unrealistic greed won out over realistic contentment.
And then predictably and on cue, karma caught up with Iowa football. Every bounce didn't go Iowa's way, every miracle play wasn't produced by a Hawkeye, every key injury wasn't on the opponent's roster and not theirs. When the Hawkeyes beat LSU with "The Catch" in January of 2005, you just knew their football genie had just granted the last wish. Sure, Iowa would still be average or a little better, but it was time to even things out. Three straight teams with the talent and ability to win six or seven games had won ten or eleven. The Hawkeyes were living on credit and the bills were going to come due. Sure enough, over the next three years, teams with the talent and ability to win six or seven games won ? six or seven games. And playing up to their ability, the equivalent of living within their means, just isn't good enough for the Hawkeye masses.
So what does it all mean for Iowa State? It means attack. Iowa is reeling, of its own doing, and ISU must attack. It must attack on the recruiting front, both for in-state and out-of-state kids that both programs offer and want. The gloves have to come off. The Cyclones can be and should be recruiting against Iowa on the offensive, not on the defensive. Plenty of lifelong Hawkeye fans are openly questioning what is going on with their football program, both silently and aloud. High school seniors that have grown up cheering for Iowa have got to be doing the same thing. Ditto for their parents. And if they aren't, they should be, and someone needs to tell them so. A lot of prospects fall in love with the ISU coaches, who they are, what they are. That has to become a red-letter selling point, making it higher priority for prospects and their families. Warm, embracing and passionate vs. cold, distant and calculating. You make the call.
It means attack on the football field on September 13. A win in Iowa City opens the door to taking control of the series again, of stringing together a few victories in a row. Getting a road win is the first step in making that happen. A distracted Iowa coaching staff with its future very much in doubt will still be in limbo, waiting for the latest investigative report from the Board of Regents. Just winning would be enough, but if the chance is there to pile on, then pile on. When Iowa football was down before, ISU head coach Dan McCarney seemed to take it easy on his alma mater and coaching friends, almost out of obligation. Gene Chizik has no such encumbrance. But by 1 or 21, at the end of the day, another loss to Iowa State ? any loss ? would leave Kirk Ferentz and Iowa football staggered at worst and on the canvas at best.
What's bad for Iowa football is good for Iowa State football, and vice versa. Choose to not believe that if you'd like, but it's true. Hayden Fry wasn't afraid to respect ISU enough to know that if he kept the Cyclones down, he had a much better chance of keeping Iowa up. Beating Iowa State was step one for Fry at Iowa and he obviously did a good job of it. To the point it was taken for granted and forgotten by almost everyone in black and gold except Fry. For better or worse, ISU has never beaten Iowa enough to take it for granted and has never lost sight of how important it is. It's step one ? yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever. Naturally, Iowa State can't rely on trouble at Iowa to gain the upper hand in the rivalry. But it danged sure better do everything it can to capitalize when it happens.
