Make all the excuses you want. But Iowa football is poised for another long spiral--something Cade McNamara knows nothing about--into the abyss. Maryland beat USC. UCLA won. Indiana is undefeated and highly ranked. Illinois beat Michigan. Then there's Ohio State and Oregon and Penn State . . . The future looks like a battle between Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, and maybe Rutgers for conference futility. Some of us lived through the 20-year purgatory from 1962-81 when Iowa fans cheered for first downs because the Hawkeyes went two decades without having a single winning record. Should be entertaining to do that again for a new generation of fans, right, Beth?