Williams Blog: Tough luck scheduling

[ChrisMWilliams]

Some notes on ISU's past and future football scheduling. Is San Jose State the next Boise?

http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/football/williams-blog-tough-luck-scheduling

 

[pigphd]

If these teams can do that, being as deprived as you say, why can't ISU do it too?

 

[jdoggivjc]

The primary difference being Utah has actually been good this decade, and UConn might very well be the most fraudulent representative in BCS history. Utah scared me going into this season; UConn doesn't scare me going into next season. At least the MWC has been "top-heavy" during Utah's run this decade; The Big East has at most one solid team annually and otherwise is mediocre from top to bottom.

It's quite the scheduling quirk, but hardly a reason to be afraid of UConn next season.

 

[ChrisMWilliams]

The primary difference being Utah has actually been good this decade, and UConn might very well be the most fraudulent representative in BCS history. Utah scared me going into this season; UConn doesn't scare me going into next season. At least the MWC has been "top-heavy" during Utah's run this decade; The Big East has at most one solid team annually and otherwise is mediocre from top to bottom.

It's quite the scheduling quirk, but hardly a reason to be afraid of UConn next season.

You're comfortable with ISU's QB situation going on the road to take on the Big East champs? The Big East is no SEC. But that game is hardly one to laugh at with ISU's current situation. It is very early but I predict that UCONN will be favored in that game.

 

[CycloneErik]

UCONN doesn't make me real nervous.
We'll have questions on offense and likely a solid defense heading in.

I assume they'll have question marks, too, since college football is full of annual turnover.

I'd love playing SW Savannah State or somebody, but that doesn't look likely. In light of that, I'd say UCONN is one of the less-imposing alternatives.

 

[mt85]

I wonder if they can tighten the scheduling time frames to help avoid these problems?

 

[isubeatle]

we couldn't even beat UCONN with Seneca and you all think we'll be able to go there without knowing who our QB will be and win?

 

[cycloneG]

If these teams can do that, being as deprived as you say, why can't ISU do it too?

Those teams have easier schedules than ISU so they can get to bowl games more regularly.

 

[HandSanitizer]

I think we are looking at 2-4 wins next year. Of course I don't know what other teams are losing and such.
I will proabably get rolled for saying that, but whatever..

Sat, Sep 03 Northern Iowa Ames, Iowa TBA

Sat, Sep 10 Iowa Ames, Iowa TBA

Sat, Sep 17 Connecticut at Storrs, Conn.

Sat, Oct 01 Texas (Family Weekend) * Ames, Iowa

Sat, Oct 08 Baylor * at Waco, Texas

Sat, Oct 15 Missouri * at Columbia, Mo.

Sat, Oct 22 Texas A&M (Homecoming) * Ames, Iowa

Sat, Oct 29 Texas Tech * at Lubbock, Texas

Sat, Nov 05 Kansas * Ames, Iowa TBA

Sat, Nov 12 Oklahoma * at Norman, Okla.

Sat, Nov 19 Oklahoma State * Ames, Iowa

Sat, Nov 26 Kansas State * at Manhattan, Kan.

 

[cycloneG]

I think we are looking at 2-4 wins next year. Of course I don't know what other teams are losing and such.
I will proabably get rolled for saying that, but whatever..

Sat, Sep 03 Northern Iowa Ames, Iowa TBA

Sat, Sep 10 Iowa Ames, Iowa TBA

Sat, Sep 17 Connecticut at Storrs, Conn.

Sat, Oct 01 Texas (Family Weekend) * Ames, Iowa

Sat, Oct 08 Baylor * at Waco, Texas

Sat, Oct 15 Missouri * at Columbia, Mo.

Sat, Oct 22 Texas A&M (Homecoming) * Ames, Iowa

Sat, Oct 29 Texas Tech * at Lubbock, Texas

Sat, Nov 05 Kansas * Ames, Iowa TBA

Sat, Nov 12 Oklahoma * at Norman, Okla.

Sat, Nov 19 Oklahoma State * Ames, Iowa

Sat, Nov 26 Kansas State * at Manhattan, Kan.

Agreed. If people thought this season's schedule was tough, next season's is ridiculous.

 

[HandSanitizer]

They only thing that may keep us in a game is defense, BUT our offense isn't good.
Then what sucks is A&M, OSU and Baylor are teams that are in the Top 25.

 

[jdoggivjc]

You're comfortable with ISU's QB situation going on the road to take on the Big East champs? The Big East is no SEC. But that game is hardly one to laugh at with ISU's current situation. It is very early but I predict that UCONN will be favored in that game.

See, this is why I tend to take other people's analyses at face value - people always act like ISU's roster changes in a bubble. It's not as if UConn isn't losing players as well, not to mention they're going to have a little QB "situation" of their own going into next season, as their starting QB (Frazier) is a senior this year.

Could ISU lose this game? Certainly. But I get sick and tired of the automatic assumption that we're going to lose simply because UConn is a BCS team and we play them on the road, especially when ratings such as Sagarin suggest that as it stands right now they as a team are really no better than us. And it certainly doesn't change the fact that UConn is still likely the worst team ever to participate in a BCS bowl game.

 

[Ficklone02]

I'm more focused on us than anything. I welcome the competition, and think if we support our coach and fill the stands he can do great things here in time.

 

[ChrisMWilliams]

See, this is why I tend to take other people's analyses at face value - people always act like ISU's roster changes in a bubble. It's not as if UConn isn't losing players as well, not to mention they're going to have a little QB "situation" of their own going into next season, as their starting QB (Frazier) is a senior this year.

Could ISU lose this game? Certainly. But I get sick and tired of the automatic assumption that we're going to lose simply because UConn is a BCS team and we play them on the road, especially when ratings such as Sagarin suggest that as it stands right now they as a team are really no better than us. And it certainly doesn't change the fact that UConn is still likely the worst team ever to participate in a BCS bowl game.

I'm not assuming anything. Iowa State can very well win that football game. The fact is that it is an early road game against a quality program that has a ton of momentum right now.

 

[CycloneErik]

we couldn't even beat UCONN with Seneca and you all think we'll be able to go there without knowing who our QB will be and win?

After that Oklahoma game, we couldn't beat anybody with Seneca. I'm not giving up every team on our schedule because that team tanked.

We might be able to beat them, we might not. We don't know what either team looks like by that game. Way too early to be worried about it.

 

[CycloneErik]

I'm not assuming anything. Iowa State can very well win that football game. The fact is that it is an early road game against a quality program that has a ton of momentum right now.

Ton of momentum or lucky conference placement?

I don't think we can really say that they have a ton of momentum.

If they do have such momentum, how do we assume that the small degree of it they could possibly have actually carries over to next season?

We're not going to have experts drooling over us in the offseason, but the Huskies aren't impressive. Give us their schedule and watch us go bowling.

 

[jdoggivjc]

we couldn't even beat UCONN with Seneca and you all think we'll be able to go there without knowing who our QB will be and win?

Because that ISU team back in 2002 was a flame-out that had lost all confidence. We could have played just about anybody at the end of the 2002 season and lost to them - as evidenced that we lost to a team that was in their first year of DI-A.

Here's the thing that really gets to me as a Cyclone fan, though - everyone here for the most part is of the opinion that CPR is the man that can change the fortunes of ISU football. Yet, at the same time, of those supporters, you have a lot of vocal people who are of the opinion that ISU football simply cannot win a game like this. Which is it? Do you have faith, or don't you? If you can't expect CPR to win a game such as the one we're discussing now, how can you possibly expect him to turn ISU's football program around, especially when he's already had bigger wins as ISU's coach than this UConn game would be?

 

[ChrisMWilliams]

Ton of momentum or lucky conference placement?

I don't think we can really say that they have a ton of momentum.

If they do have such momentum, how do we assume that the small degree of it they could possibly have actually carries over to next season?

We're not going to have experts drooling over us in the offseason, but the Huskies aren't impressive. Give us their schedule and watch us go bowling.

Lucky or not, they're playing in a BCS game. That would give any program momentum IMO.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Lucky or not, they're playing in a BCS game. That would give any program momentum IMO.

How did that "momentum" work out for Georgia Tech this year? The year following a BCS appearance, they're quite lucky to even be in a bowl game at all and their resume sports a loss to perhaps the worst BCS team this season (Kansas).

 

[UNIGuy4Cy]

we couldn't even beat UCONN with Seneca and you all think we'll be able to go there without knowing who our QB will be and win?

Amazing that UConn will be returning the same players and coaching staff that beat ISU in Ames like 10 years ago.