Iowa State strengths and weaknesses

[KenND]

Are these ND fans paying any attention to what the Vegas heads are saying when they came out of the gate with only -3.5?

As I mentioned in another post, I think that the ND fans who are CFB fans are well aware that ISU is a good team. Part of why some fans don’t want to play ISU is because it’s a legitimate opponent that ND would get absolutely zero credit for beating.

 

[CloneGuy8]

Slow starts have killed us. Purdy is great, but sometimes I think our OC falls in love with the passing game too much (see our game against Oklahoma State where we threw it 62 times and lost).

Defense is solid. Weakness is probably the secondary; part of that is youth at the CB position, as well as our starting safety (Eisworth) dealing with a nagging shoulder injury. Hoping the time off is enough to help him heal up.

Should be a good game. Cheers

 

[KenND]

Do yourself a favor and don't bother trying to understand an Iowa fan's obsession with the past.

The handful of Iowa fans that I’ve crossed paths with over the years have been an odd bunch. I still remember an Iowa fan talking massive amounts of crap going into the 2003 Orange Bowl against one of Pete Carroll’s early USC teams because the Trojans has crushed ND in their last game of the season. He was adamant that Iowa would “show ND how it was done” and USC proceeded to club Iowa like a baby seal.

 

[CascadeClone]

The handful of Iowa fans that I’ve crossed paths with over the years have been an odd bunch. I still remember an Iowa fan talking massive amounts of crap going into the 2003 Orange Bowl against one of Pete Carroll’s early USC teams because the Trojans has crushed ND in their last game of the season. He was adamant that Iowa would “show ND how it was done” and USC proceeded to club Iowa like a baby seal.

Now you're just pandering.

Continue...

 

[VeloClone]

Never doubt Vegas!! Yeah, they come up with a turd now or then, but their spreads are usually spot-on! This will be a close game, and I expect Purdy to run for 50+ yards, and throw for 250+ as we dink our way down the field with their superior pass rush on short routes. One big play will determine the outcome IMO, and it could come from either side. We generally will not allow big plays, but keep it at shorter distances on defense. Good luck to the Nostradamus, and I can't wait for the game...

The ND defense is 3rd in the nation in passing yards yielded. I think ISU will need to claw for every yard through the air. Hopefully they can get Hall going and ride that horse.

 

[CyBlock]

The ND defense is 3rd in the nation in passing yards yielded. I think ISU will need to claw for every yard through the air. Hopefully they can get Hall going and ride that horse.

Hall riding that horse for 150 yds will mean very good things for us....

 

[JM4CY]

The handful of Iowa fans that I’ve crossed paths with over the years have been an odd bunch. I still remember an Iowa fan talking massive amounts of crap going into the 2003 Orange Bowl against one of Pete Carroll’s early USC teams because the Trojans has crushed ND in their last game of the season. He was adamant that Iowa would “show ND how it was done” and USC proceeded to club Iowa like a baby seal.

 

[KenND]

I don't know that much about Kmet except to say that I have heard from other sources that he is very good. ISU has so much wealth at TE that they often employ 3 TE sets to get some of their best players on the field and because so many teams have no idea how to defend 13 personnel unless it is a short yardage situation.

Reading back through some of the earlier posts. ND plays a lot of 2 TE sets as well with Kmet as the #1 TE and Tommy Tremble as the second. Tremble is really fast for a TE. Brock Wright is the third TE that may rotate in, but he’s more of a blocker than a receiver.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Every fan base has their share of insufferable douches. I would say that ND fans don’t really see playing ISU as being beneath them though. A lot of it breaks down into a couple of ways:

1. Fans were hoping for a more prestigious bowl like the Orange or Cotton. ND doesn’t want to join a conference, so the program is at the mercy of how the deal with the ACC is structured. It is laid out in such a way that the Orange Bowl was not an option, so it is what it is. That’s the price that you pay for being independent.

2. There is no upside in playing Iowa State. If ND wins, then no one cares because the narrative is that “ND is supposed to win”. A lot of fans would have rather played Texas because it would have been a much easier game, and the win over the “Texas” is perceived as having value, whether it be when ND recruits in Texas or whatever.

We're very familiar with this attitude from a certain team east of Ames.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Why are you sharing all our secrets? What if this is really Brian Kelly you’re posting with? Ever think of that?

Just so you know, coaches trade game film. They know fathoms more than any fan is going to know on here.

 

[JM4CY]

Now you're just pandering.

Continue...

Might be true but anyone refers to Iowa as getting beat like a baby seal is a friend of mine

 

[KenND]

I'm not exactly a football scout but here's my analysis.

ISU's strengths include a fanbase that is very friendly, generous, and good at drinking beer. Our weakness is that the beer tends to be pretty cheap beer.

ND’s strength as a fan base is that they are also very friendly.

The first main weakness is that tickets are distributed in a lottery format and many think absolutely nothing of selling their tickets and selling out their team to opposing fans for huge games as a way of recouping some of the cost.

The second weakness is that there are a bizarre number of old people that see games as social events, and they will summon ushers to try and scold or kick out other ND fans for having the audacity to stand up and cheer for the team. Do you guys have old people who do that too, or is it just us?

 

[amishclone]

Iowa State will play to the level of the competition. Has happened all year, whether it's up or down. Piss-it-down-their-legs-itis.

 

[KenND]

Heavy on the "try". I'm not deluded enough to think that Campbell will never leave, but he has demonstrated that it isn't going to be easy to lure him away. He thanked our president and AD for getting his latest extension done so quickly so he could demonstrate to recruits that all of the rumors were just talk and he was definitely staying to continue building something here.

I’m not educated enough about Campbell’s specific situation to know what, if anything, might tempt him to leave ISU. From afar, it looks like a possible comparison might be Chris Petersen when he was at Boise State. He remained well past the time when he could have gone elsewhere, and then eventually landed at Washington, or all places. If Campbell does eventually leave ISU, I would hope that he will leave behind a culture and program that would allow someone else to pick up the baton and keep the program in great shape like Petersen did.

 

[madguy30]

The handful of Iowa fans that I’ve crossed paths with over the years have been an odd bunch. I still remember an Iowa fan talking massive amounts of crap going into the 2003 Orange Bowl against one of Pete Carroll’s early USC teams because the Trojans has crushed ND in their last game of the season. He was adamant that Iowa would “show ND how it was done” and USC proceeded to club Iowa like a baby seal.

Always funny to see/hear confirmation of what ISU fans have been saying and experiencing forever.

 

[dosry5]

Just so you know, coaches trade game film. They know fathoms more than any fan is going to know on here.

Ummm....you should never take me seriously.

 

[JM4CY]

ND’s strength as a fan base is that they are also very friendly.

The first main weakness is that tickets are distributed in a lottery format and many think absolutely nothing of selling their tickets and selling out their team to opposing fans for huge games as a way of recouping some of the cost.

The second weakness is that there are a bizarre number of old people that see games as social events, and they will summon ushers to try and scold or kick out other ND fans for having the audacity to stand up and cheer for the team. Do you guys have old people who do that too, or is it just us?

Not a thing at Jack Trice that I’m aware of. We do have people drop from the upper deck though

 

[VegasCy]

Iowa State will play to the level of the competition. Has happened all year, whether it's up or down. Piss-it-down-their-legs-itis.

I feel like ISU’s ceiling was against TCU, ran it 37 times to only 24 passes, a mobile Purdy and a 25 point win. The floor was against KSU, give up 250 yards rushing while only rushing for 50, plus a kickoff return for a TD, and yet we had a 4th quarter lead.

 

[CyCloned]

The ND defense is 3rd in the nation in passing yards yielded. I think ISU will need to claw for every yard through the air. Hopefully they can get Hall going and ride that horse.

I watch some highlights of ND games and the condensed version of the ND vs MI game. I'm sure it is not indicative of their season, and the weather was horrible, but MI ran on ND like crazy, probably 6-7 explosive plays, a lot of them were off tackle and around the edge. Not really sure MI was a great running team all year. I know they were really struggling to do anything at the beginning of the year.

 

[jcyclonee]

ND’s strength as a fan base is that they are also very friendly.

The first main weakness is that tickets are distributed in a lottery format and many think absolutely nothing of selling their tickets and selling out their team to opposing fans for huge games as a way of recouping some of the cost.

The second weakness is that there are a bizarre number of old people that see games as social events, and they will summon ushers to try and scold or kick out other ND fans for having the audacity to stand up and cheer for the team. Do you guys have old people who do that too, or is it just us?

I'm afraid that I'm not the one to ask. I don't go to enough games to give a good opinion. Honestly, I'm not bright enough to give a good opinion about anything. I do stand up from my couch when watching the games though.