Expectations

[ClubCy]

Serious question - why does it matter that we used to suck at football? What relevance does it have to the Team’s performance or mentality or results this season? Why is “perspective” (in relation to the program’s history or whatever) important or helpful (or something newer fans need to educate themselves on) this season?

Perspective in life is important. Whether that be how you deal with issues with family, friends, work, hobbies, health, and sports.

Some of you to a get a grip. It’s one football game and we were one play away from being 8-0. Everyone was disappointed with losing but it seems like some need to come back down to reality just a bit.

 

[ClubCy]

Friendly reminder that even in the new look Big XII we're near the bottom in recruiting rankings and the fact we're even in the conversation for the CCG this late in the season is incredible, especially with the injuries we've sustained.

In before the stars don’t matter crowd wakes up.

Hint: recruiting matters and always will.

 

[OscarBerkshire]

So if we don’t win the conference, we are 2nd worst? Gotcha Ricky Bobby.

No I am saying Saturday was an unacceptable loss. There are plenty of people that say "7-1, why are we complaining? Our preseason win projection was 7.5!!!!" like holy **** expectations can and should change when we are in the driver's seat for conference contention. This is not the 90s anymore. We don't look like a team that could win the conference right now and that is what is upsetting people my age despite the weak schedule we get to play.

 

[ClubCy]

No I am saying Saturday was an unacceptable loss. There are plenty of people that say "7-1, why are we complaining? Our preseason win projection was 7.5!!!!" like holy **** expectations can and should change when we are in the driver's seat for conference contention. This is not the 90s anymore. We don't look like a team that could win the conference right now and that is what is upsetting people my age despite the weak schedule we get to play.

We didn’t look like we could win the conference after Houston game or the UCF game. Were you upset after those games?

 

[OscarBerkshire]

We didn’t look like we could win the conference after Houston game or the UCF game. Were you upset after those games?

UCF yes, not sure if I posted on here after it but was definitely pissed. Houston less so (Fritz threw a lot of wrinkles at us) but still felt like we had some work to do. The Baylor and WVU games put the doubts I had from the Houston game to rest. These last two games have been horrible. Its '02 all over again honestly

 

[3TrueFans]

Sorry didn't realize the tweet didn't actually get posted. The text of the tweet was (paraphrasing here):

People are getting mad at CyHoff (guy who said he wasn't showing up for the Cincy game, which again both Pluto (OP) and I disagree with) are kinda missing the point. He's a twitter troll and has been doing this bit for years so no need to take him seriously.

The main point is that there is a massive gulf in expectations between people my age and the older crowd. The expectations of the older crowd seems to me and others my age is that not being a doormat anymore is all you need. I hate this mentality. It is a loser's mentality. Low expectations => low performance.

Okay end the rough summary. Wish I could've gone back and reread it since I actually thought it was a good couple tweets with some thought put into them. Below is my opinion expanded on a bit more.

No one in our generation is saying we should be competing for natties every year. Heck I doubt we will ever play in a national championship game, would give my left nut to see that happen. We know we aren't Ohio State, Georgia, etc. But to sit here and say, given our projected strength of schedule the next several years and say we should be happy with non-double digit win totals in multiple of those years is silly (if we truly believe Matt Campbell is THAT GUY). If it does not happen now it will never happen. I am sure I will get flamed for this as the people of my generation are not on message boards these days but I just want you to know what people who actually went to school during the Campbell era think. We want to take the next step and won't settle for being 2nd worst. Will you?

You’re mad because we’re 7-1 but everything would be fine if we were 8-0? Is 8-1 ok? 9-1?

 

[madguy30]

Friendly reminder that even in the new look Big XII we're near the bottom in recruiting rankings and the fact we're even in the conversation for the CCG this late in the season is incredible, especially with the injuries we've sustained.

Yeah it's not too difficult to watch the games and see that ISU doesn't exactly have a lot of guys that stand out physically compared to general D1/P5 teams.

They were generally strong fundamentally to start the season and have seemed to have wavered on that the last two games in some really important moments.
I didn't realize Burkle's fumble was the first one ISU had lost all season. That sort of thing along with the penalties goes a long ways.

 

[Cyclonsin]

Yeah it's not too difficult to watch the games and see that ISU doesn't exactly have a lot of guys that stand out physically compared to general D1/P5 teams.

They were generally strong fundamentally to start the season and have seemed to have wavered on that the last two games in some really important moments.
I didn't realize Burkle's fumble was the first one ISU had lost all season. That sort of thing along with the penalties goes a long ways.

Exactly.

I can understand why people look are our new schedule, see it's softer than it used to be, and feel like we should roll through it. But we definitely don't have enough of a talent advantage for that to be the case, and we never will.

 

[madguy30]

Serious question - why does it matter that we used to suck at football? What relevance does it have to the Team’s performance or mentality or results this season? Why is “perspective” (in relation to the program’s history or whatever) important or helpful (or something newer fans need to educate themselves on) this season?

Iirc you were melting down last year after ISU lost to Kansas because they were lowly KANSAS when, in that specific season, they had been in and out of the rankings.

So did it matter that KU has had bad years/eras of football? Why or why not?

 

[Cloned4Life]

Friendly reminder that even in the new look Big XII we're near the bottom in recruiting rankings and the fact we're even in the conversation for the CCG this late in the season is incredible, especially with the injuries we've sustained.

Can I simultaneously agree with you and also at the exact same time expect (based on the 8 games actually played by Iowa State and the rest of the conference this specific/current season) to compete for 4-0 down the stretch and get to the title game, and be bummed out if we don’t? Or do recruiting rankings trump play on the field / games that have actually happened in real life?

 

[cyclones500]

I didn't realize Burkle's fumble was the first one ISU had lost all season. That sort of thing along with the penalties goes a long ways.

I figured a fumble was coming at some point when Pasch noted ISU hadn't lost a fumble this season.

He also mentioned ISU being one of least-penalized teams more than once, and the penalties seemed to accumulate after that.

 

[Cloned4Life]

We didn’t look like we could win the conference after Houston game or the UCF game. Were you upset after those games?

We won those games. If you’ve watched college football this season it’s crazy obvious how much parity there is. LOTS of the so-called conference title contenders have had clunkers, even in wins. To win a conference title, you’ve got to get lucky and squeak by the wins when it doesn’t feel like ya deserve to win or didn’t play great. The UCF game is the exact type of game that conference title contenders have to be tough enough to win. And we were! And I think still are. I’ll be disappointed to “lose” (again) the way we did against Texas Tech.

 

[rosshm16]

Friendly reminder that even in the new look Big XII we're near the bottom in recruiting rankings and the fact we're even in the conversation for the CCG this late in the season is incredible, especially with the injuries we've sustained.

It always surprises me when I see those rankings. My frustration with Campbell is that it seems like he underachieves for the talent level that I perceive we have, but then I look at recruiting rankings and we're typically like 9th in the Big 12. The real story is more like we recruit a lot of unheralded players and turn them into 3- and 4-star type talent that can compete (eventually) with much higher-rated teams.

 

[CascadeClone]

In before the stars don’t matter crowd wakes up.

Hint: recruiting matters and always will.

Recruiting matters, but it isn't destiny.

ISU can recruit well enough to compete for Big12 titles. And that, to me, is the goal for the program.

Doesn't mean they should win the conference every year, just that they should be in the hunt every year. I would say CMC is achieving that level of success. Doesn't mean he is perfect, or can't improve - lord knows there are opportunities for improvement, and he is more aware of it than any of us.

I look at basketball the same way - compete for conference championships. Do that and everything else works out fine.

 

[Cyclonsin]

Can I simultaneously agree with you and also at the exact same time expect (based on the 8 games actually played by Iowa State and the rest of the conference this specific/current season) to compete for 4-0 down the stretch and get to the title game, and be bummed out if we don’t? Or do recruiting rankings trump play on the field / games that have actually happened in real life?

You can do whatever you want, I suppose. I, personally, don't expect us to do that based exactly on our play on the field so far. Nothing about our last couple games makes me supremely confident we can go 4-0 the rest of the way, but I'm definitely not ruling it out, either. I'll be pleasantly surprised to finish 11-1, I'll be satisfied if we finish 10-2, but (if I'm being honest with myself) I think I'd expect 9-3, which would for sure be a disappointment at this point.

Ultimately, my whole point is that even with this softer schedule, we don't have the luxury of winning just because we got off the bus. We're extremely evenly matched with most of our opponents and just a mistake or two can obviously prove costly.

 

[BCClone]

No I am saying Saturday was an unacceptable loss. There are plenty of people that say "7-1, why are we complaining? Our preseason win projection was 7.5!!!!" like holy **** expectations can and should change when we are in the driver's seat for conference contention. This is not the 90s anymore. We don't look like a team that could win the conference right now and that is what is upsetting people my age despite the weak schedule we get to play.

So basically, you just freak out immediately you are saying. We are still controlling our own destiny so we had a bad loss, it happens. Gotta move on and not clutch our pearls due to one slip up.

 

[INTENSE_CY]

I'm always disappointed whenever we lose especially when we are expected to win but lose because we played poorly. Honestly I was pissed off Saturday but I try very hard not to post my feelings until I've had time to reflect... especially when full of spirits

The success we've enjoyed under CMC has raised my expectations...perhaps too high at times.

I've been around long enough to endure plenty of losing seasons going back to the 80's so sometimes I have to remind myself of that to put things back into perspective.

Isn't it nice to be 7-1 but still find something to complain about?

Go Cyclones!

 

[MJ271]

I remembered having a similar conversation about expectations heading into the NCAA tournament last spring, so I went back and found my post about it. I think it still applies here. (It just so happened to also be in response to @Cloned4Life saying that the only thing that should matter is what happens in the current season, except in regards to basketball.)

If we're making predictions, then absolutely preseason expectations have nothing to do with what we think will happen. But as far as my own happiness/appreciation for the season is concerned, I think it's just healthier not to tie it as closely with how team performance changes those predictions.

When we adjust expectations too strongly based on in-season outcomes, I think some fans have a bad tendency to not give credit to the coaches and players for raising those expectations in the first place. The obvious ISU example is the select few on here who somehow still think that Campbell should be fired because they don't think he can win a conference championship--even though the only reason that's a realistic goal is because Campbell made it one. Likewise, if this team doesn't make the Sweet 16 and it's a disappointment, it will be solely because Otz and company raised the expectations to that point and we shouldn't forget that.

Obviously, the game on Saturday was really disappointing. But while disappointment is allowed, I don't think it's useful to push aside history or say that any setback is "unacceptable." If the setbacks are "unacceptable," then nothing is acceptable except constant improvement. And if you don't know where you came from, you can't fully appreciate where you are now. To me, both of those just seem like a miserable way to be a fan.

 

[Cloned4Life]

You can do whatever you want, I suppose. I, personally, don't expect us to do that based exactly on our play on the field so far. Nothing about our last couple games makes me supremely confident we can go 4-0 the rest of the way, but I'm definitely not ruling it out, either. I'll be pleasantly surprised to finish 11-1, I'll be satisfied if we finish 10-2, but (if I'm being honest with myself) I think I'd expect 9-3, which would for sure be a disappointment at this point.

Ultimately, my whole point is that even with this softer schedule, we don't have the luxury of winning just because we got off the bus. We're extremely evenly matched with most of our opponents and just a mistake or two can obviously prove costly.

The last part is spot on. We are very evenly matched on the field in this new Big 12. The recruiting rankings seem to indicate we are NOT evenly matched, but we know based on the results on the field that we, in fact, are matching up well with other teams in this conference. I’m not seeing anyone here ‘expecting’ to win based on getting off the bus. That’s pure projection. The teams that are better coached and execute better down the stretch will make the title game. That’s obvious. What’s also obvious is that all the other teams in this race have also had games just like we have had. Colorado, K-State, hell even BYU have had games where - like you stated above - their fans would not be confident in their title hopes.

 

[Cloned4Life]

Perspective in life is important. Whether that be how you deal with issues with family, friends, work, hobbies, health, and sports.

Some of you to a get a grip. It’s one football game and we were one play away from being 8-0. Everyone was disappointed with losing but it seems like some need to come back down to reality just a bit.

Perspective in life is extremely important.

Perspective in sports, IMHO, is not real-life. What happened 20 years ago or hell even last year (in most cases) nearly does not matter at all.

Are you able to give an example where fans or posters are not dealing in reality right now?