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Iowa State strengths and weaknesses

K
Hi guys. Looking forward to the bowl game and while I know that all of the ND sites will have breakdowns of the matchups, I wanted to go right to the source to see what ND is going to be facing.

What do Cyclone fans see as the strengths and weaknesses of your team? What position groups concern you?

For Notre Dame, the defense has played really well for most of the season. They have had slow starts here and there, but Clark Lea’s (DC) forte is making in-game adjustments and shutting down opposing offenses as the game progresses. ND had a good pass rush, which was great until the lost their backup WDE (Daelin Hayes) and then their starting WDE (Julian Okwara). The LBs are really good and the secondary is good as well, even though the CBs are generally on the small side and can be picked on.

On offense, NDs OL has a load of talent but underachieves. They really struggle to run the ball at times, and the RBs are very average, so ND resorts to some jet sweeps and designed QB runs to loosen things up. The RG and RT are both backups pressed into service because the starters are out with season ending injuries. The WRs are a solid group, with Chase Claypool being a bigger receiver and a beast. Braden Lenzy has elite speed and is generally the guy that the jet sweeps go to. Cole Kmet is their TE, and they go to him a ton. He’s in the discussion for best TE in the country.

I mentioned in another thread that Ian Book gets a lot of press, but don’t let that fool you. He pads his stats against weak opposition and has a tendency to disappear against good competition. He’s been getting better, but gets happy feet and will bolt from the pocket needlessly. If Iowa State can get any kind of pressure on him, ND’s offense may struggle in a big way.
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ISU History: Zaid Abdul- Aziz (aka Don Smith) and banning the dunk

BoxsterCy
For all of you young pups. Some ISU history on one of our greatest all-time hoopsters.

THE BASKETBALL LEGEND

An article from The Sporting News confirms this account, saying, “One spectacular play by Don Smith might have motivated Coach Henry Iba of Oklahoma State into predicting that the basketball rules makers would outlaw the dunk shot and eventually raise the basket.”
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  • Poll Poll
***Official Insider Information Weekly Mailbag 12-11-2019***

GTO

Thoughts on this week's mailbag

  • Manhattan, KS has officially run out of PreparationH. News show people sitting on piles of snow.

    Votes: 9 42.9%

  • Fitzy was alright. Barely tolerable.

    Votes: 8 38.1%

  • Fingers crossed for Randy Peterson to join the CF staff.

    Votes: 5 23.8%

  • I wish Jacobson had three hands so that he could punch Connor, Jorbo, and Pemsl all at the same time

    Votes: 15 71.4%

  • Pineapple is my favorite topping on pizza.

    Votes: 1 4.8%

  • They surely must be near the end with doing these mailbags.

    Votes: 3 14.3%

  • The Insider Information Crew + Fitzy is like the 1992 USA Basketball Dream Team.

    Votes: 5 23.8%

  • I'm an engineer and I am super-cool and get plenty of action. For real.

    Votes: 4 19.0%

  • How do you get 1/2 a lapdance?!

    Votes: 5 23.8%

  • Jamming to those Christmas tunes right now.

    Votes: 3 14.3%
See comments…

First and foremost, a few links:
Our official question submissions thread: https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/th...n-weekly-mailbag-questions-submission.251174/

Link to last five mailbags (if bored and need some reading material):
https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/th...-information-weekly-mailbag-11-3-2019.252386/
https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/th...information-weekly-mailbag-11-13-2019.252633/
https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/th...information-weekly-mailbag-11-20-2019.252903/
https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/threads/official-insider-information-weekly-mailbag-11-27-2019.253132/
https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/th...information-weekly-mailbag-12-04-2019.253299/

Insider Information Weekly Mailbag 12-11-2019
Brought to you by Preparation H, the official sponsor of Kansas State athletics.

With special guest Fitzy!

@CycloneRulzzz getting us started: Damn one just came to mind. For next week's mailbag. This past week we saw a guy get flagged by celebrating a TD by acting like a dog taking a leak. Say you score a touchdown and are going to celebrate in a way that will draw a flag. What's your unsportsmanlike celebration?
Fitzy: I would want to bring back the “dunking the basketball over the crossbar” celebration, which was always awesome until the NFL decided it hated fun and banned it. My goal would be to one-up Jimmy Graham and bring the whole thing down.
Pants: Dry humping the goal post. I actually enjoyed the dog peeing celebration and I thought it was some weak BS that it was even flagged.
GTO: If on the road, the “shake and spray” all over the opposing fans near the end zone (I won’t go over the details, but you can figure it out). At home, probably something classier. Like squatting down and pretending the ball is a turd that just came out of me. In all honesty, I would never do such things, but the hypothetical was posted so I had to answer.

@ImJustKCClone asks: Reading through these & thought of a question, but it's waaaay past the deadline. However, if I don't write it down I won't remember it in an hour due to my advanced case of CRS. So, for next week:
Favorite movie for each of these sports, and why it's the best:
1 football
2 basketball
3 baseball
4 wrestling
5 track
6 tennis
7 golf
Edit - also, in your answer rank the sport movies by preference (ie, you don't have to keep them in this order)
Pants: Football-The Program. Best college football movie ever. And similar to Blue Chips in style. (3.)
Basketball-Blue Chips-Very accurate depiction of recruiting in college athletics. (5.)
Baseball-Bull Durham-Just a fantastic movie with a killer cast. (4.)
Wrestling-The Wrestler-Apparently some people give it crap, but I thought it was a really good movie? (6.)
Track-There are track movies?
Tennis-The Cutting Edge. They probably were at a tennis court at some point. (2.)
Golf-Tin Cup. The best Kevin Costner sports film. No, I am not forgetting any baseball related movies he did when I say that. (1.)
GTO: I’ll preface it by saying that I like most sports movies as comedies.
3 football - The Waterboy - back when Adam Sandler was funny.
1 basketball - Above the Rim, White Men Can’t Jump, or Teen Wolf (does that one count?).
2 baseball - Bad News Bears (the remake with Billy Bob Thornton), The Benchwarmers, The Naked Gun (Reggie Jackson, Enrico Palazzo, and Leslie Nielsen taking over for the umpire made for a great baseball game), or Major League 1 & 2.
6 wrestling - Nacho Libre.
7 track - that Arnold classic: The Running Man (pretty sure that doesn’t count but whatever).
5 tennis - Strangers on a Train - I’m a big Hitchcock fan, so this is a no-brainer for me.
4 golf - Happy Gilmore or Tin Cup are the only two I can think of.
Fitzy:
1. Golf - The Greatest Game Ever Played. It’s a heartstring tugger and golf is my favorite sport to play.
2. Basketball - Space Jam. Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes. Say no more.
3. Baseball - The Sandlot. The Sandlot has gotten even better with age thanks to the life of some of its memeable moments (FOR-EV-ER, you’re killing me Smalls!).
4. Football - The Longest Yard. I like the Burt Reynolds and Adam Sandler versions so take your pick.
5. Hockey - Miracle. USA, USA, USA!
6. Wrestling - Warrior. Yeah, it’s technically MMA, but I can’t think of an actual movie I like about traditional wrestling.
7. Track & Tennis - 404 Error.

@GTO asks: Whar boxing?
@coolerifyoudid backed me up: KC, you beat me to it. Knowing GTO's a boxing fan, I was going to ask him to rate his top 3 boxing movies. I can think of a number of solid boxing movies before I can think of a tennis movie (good or bad). I can even come up with a good movie for soccer, dodgeball and chess before tennis.
GTO: Favorite boxing movies, in order: 1. Undisputed, 2. Rocky, 3a. Hard Times 3b. Real Steel. HM: Cinderella Man. Guilty Pleasure: Gladiator (the one starring Cuba Gooding Jr and Brian Dennehy).
Fitzy: I’d forgotten about Real Steel, so thanks for reminding me that movie existed.
Pants: Anyone remember Mike Tyson’s Punch Out? That game was my jam.
GTO: Coolest character in that game was Mr. Sandman. Most annoying - Bald Bull.
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Notre Dame Athletic Article user comments

schlitzer
There is an article on The Athletic written by Pete Sampson who covers the Notre Dame football beat.

FWIW I copied some of the user comments made on it. Most of the comments seem pretty arrogant.

For those of you that have access to the Athletic you can read the whole article here: https://theathletic.com/1444443/2019/12/08/camping-world-bowl-notre-dame-brian-kelly/

Peter P.
Dec 9, 4:12am
19 likes

Pretty solid slap in the face to ND. Maybe even worse. If it weren’t for the practices I’d decline the bid. It’s below a team that beat so many teams the CFP considers top 25.

Bob R.
Dec 9, 7:35am
14 likes

@Peter P. On the other hand, a game is a game. Declining the bid might be satisfying on a petty level, but it's a great opportunity for Iowa State, and it's also a great opportunity for some of our younger players to get playing time.

Theodore P.
Dec 9, 4:01pm
8 likes

@Peter P. No it's not. ND is a top 10-15, second-to-third-tier team this season playing in a second-to-third-tier bowl. There is nothing out of the ordinary here other than the fact that the Big XII had a lousy season collectively and has produced no worthwhile opponents outside of the top 2.

Andy R.
Dec 9, 4:39pm
4 likes

@Peter P. ND made their bed when they got killed by Michigan. Unfortunately it seems the committee is done doing ND any favors. Being ranked behind every 2-loss P5 team except Minnesota, as well as a couple of 3-loss teams, sends the message loud and clear.

Ed C.
Dec 10, 2:47pm
1 like

@Peter P. Honestly, it's not such a slap in the face. ND is 2-2 against current Top 25 teams..and those wins are Navy and USC who hardly are considered quality this year. Beat Iowa State, which is a dangerous team, but not Top 25 and you finish Top Ten-ish. Look at the Final Four and look at the Irish and you realize the Irish are not nearly elite, but rather, as they say in the commercials, just ok.

Sam B.
Dec 9, 4:16am
13 likes

They need to renogiate the terms they agreed to for future bowl games. This game will probably look like the Pinstripe Bowl against Rutgers all over again

Theodore P.
Dec 9, 4:02pm

@theodore P. A no-win situation against an inferior opponent where they will under-perform and win in a forgettable style. Also this game has a time slot of being completely irrelevant
Chris M.
Dec 9, 4:28am
11 likes
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On That Note: Reflections of My Life

cyclones500
Welcome back to On That Note, the weekly music exploration hosted by @MeanDean, @CycloneRulzzz and cyclones500. This week is a tribute to notable music artists who died in 2019. (We’ll also accept deaths from final week or so of ’18.)

Performers may be honored multiple times, but please choose songs that haven’t already been posted.

If you didn't keep close track throughout the year, here are a few handy links to roundup of deaths:

Billboard: Gone But Note Forgotten

NY Times Notable Deaths 2019

Celebrity deaths in music

I'll post my first selection shortly.
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  • Poll Poll
Bowl Game Pick'em Contest

BigJCy

Would you participate in Bowl Game Confidence Contest?

  • Yes

    Votes: 55 85.9%

  • No

    Votes: 9 14.1%
See comments…

If I set-up a group on ESPN's Bowl Mania to have a contest where you select the winner of each bowl game and set a confidence point total to each game would people be interested in participating?

It's no cost. Free, and it is just for "pride"/Braggin' Rights.

Update for 2020:

12/21/20: If you still want to join thus far you would have only lost 1 point out of the 435 possible so easily have a chance to still win. 2 more Bowl games on 12/22.

Group is set-up. First game is Monday, Dec. 21 (1:30 pm Central time) so be sure to at least get that pick and confidence points set by that kickoff time.

Please try to use your Cyclone Fanatic username (ex. for me it is BigJCy) as the "entry name" for your sheet so that way it's easier to keep track of who's who.

If you were in this last year should just be able to "Rejoin Group"

You can join here (name of the group is Cy Fanatic):

http://fantasy.espn.com/college-bowl-mania/2020/en/group?groupID=252249

Lets have a lot of people join in on the fun!
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Bowl Tickets

S
If you haven't already purchased your bowl tickets and don't plan on buying through ISU, please consider purchasing from here:

https://offer.fevo.com/ucf-devos-sp...devos-sport-management-ticket-offer--d19271a/

Background: My daughter is in the graduate MBA/Masters of Sport Business Management program at University of Central Florida (in Orlando). For each ticket purchased through the link, her class gets a cut that goes towards their class trip to New York City to meet with industry professionals to learn and network.

Ticket prices start at $50

Thanks!
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