BLUM: Steady Rhoads
- Thread starter ChrisMWilliams
- Start date
THIS !
Especially No. 5: if we have to go to the lower conference, let it be because of things we can't control, but there should be no thoughts entering Cyclones fans that we NEED to go to lower conference.
Remember: Anything is possible. See Kansas, Butler in MBB, our WBB going to Elite 8. It takes careful planning and luck.
The National Championship should be the goal, even if it's for the next 50 years: you need to plan and take necessary steps to be successful, and of course there will be small milestones (e.g going to bowl, regularly going to bowls, going to mid-tier bowls, etc). I don't think everyone here drinks a kool-aid expecting us to win Big 12 in the next 5 years, but there should be a goal: things we want to do: like Bruns said: a mission statement.
We need to be realistic but we also need to eliminate defeatist attitudes.
I actually had the Big East in mind when I was talking about a lower football conference.
In bball, I agree that they're an elite conference.
I just wanted to say that I thought the article was well done - good job. I, for one, am glad that this conference will be a "real" conference where everyone plays everyone. That's the way it outta be.
For those that go, I hope y'all enjoy your trip to Austin.
Hook'em
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For those that go, I hope y'all enjoy your trip to Austin.
Hook'em
.
So let me get this straight, Brent. You cringe at the idea of going to the Big East, and you feel we need to end the defeatist attitude around here. And then you turn around and set the goal of trying to compete with Mizzou and OSU for maybe 4th place in the conference? And this came to you while sitting in Norman looking at Sooner memorabilia?
Here are a couple Sooner related ideas that I find cringe worthy.
52-0 last Saturday
5-67-2 all time, I believe that is the most lop-sided series in major college football
Or how about this:
Kansas - $57.8M
Oklahoma - $73.6M
Texas A&M - $69.1M
Texas - $101.0M
Iowa State - $41.8M
Okla. State - $46.4M
Texas Tech - $46.1M
Colorado - $45.1M
Kansas State - $42.0M
Missouri - $47.8M
Nebraska - $75.2M
Or how about the fact that the last time we won a conference title in football, the Cubs were actually winning the World Series.
Now I am cringing.
I don't want to aim for 4th place and a mediocre bowl every year. In the Big East, I really feel like any year we had a solid team by our standards, we could have a shot to play in a conference title game and maybe win that for a BCS bowl bid. With the limit of 2 BCS bids per conference, we aren't going to get there with UT, OU and a round robin schedule. The path that worked for KU a couple years ago is gone. And of course we have the added bonus of a top 10 Iowa program to ice the cake.
Yeah, the Big East isn't as good of a football conference, but it is still BCS. And for MBB and WBB (and I think most people consider us a basketball school) it is probably better. For the other sports, I really don't know, but I'm sure it is just fine. And honestly, after the big revenue sports, it really doesn't even matter. Okay, so maybe a road trip to Rutgers doesn't get your juices pumping as much as heading to Norman, but I can tell you for sure that you are a lot more likely to enjoy the ride back.
Here are a couple Sooner related ideas that I find cringe worthy.
52-0 last Saturday
5-67-2 all time, I believe that is the most lop-sided series in major college football
Or how about this:
Kansas - $57.8M
Oklahoma - $73.6M
Texas A&M - $69.1M
Texas - $101.0M
Iowa State - $41.8M
Okla. State - $46.4M
Texas Tech - $46.1M
Colorado - $45.1M
Kansas State - $42.0M
Missouri - $47.8M
Nebraska - $75.2M
Or how about the fact that the last time we won a conference title in football, the Cubs were actually winning the World Series.
Now I am cringing.
I don't want to aim for 4th place and a mediocre bowl every year. In the Big East, I really feel like any year we had a solid team by our standards, we could have a shot to play in a conference title game and maybe win that for a BCS bowl bid. With the limit of 2 BCS bids per conference, we aren't going to get there with UT, OU and a round robin schedule. The path that worked for KU a couple years ago is gone. And of course we have the added bonus of a top 10 Iowa program to ice the cake.
Yeah, the Big East isn't as good of a football conference, but it is still BCS. And for MBB and WBB (and I think most people consider us a basketball school) it is probably better. For the other sports, I really don't know, but I'm sure it is just fine. And honestly, after the big revenue sports, it really doesn't even matter. Okay, so maybe a road trip to Rutgers doesn't get your juices pumping as much as heading to Norman, but I can tell you for sure that you are a lot more likely to enjoy the ride back.
Chip Brown from orangebloods.com was on local radio earlier this week, saying he thinks the Big 12 is actively looking for two more teams to get it back to 12. Financially, they have to have a conference title game.
Ha! Good point.
Not saying I agree or disagree with your overall premise, but I like that line!
I think one of the bigger fears people have is going to a lesser football conference and doing absolutely nothing in that one as well.
So, they are not then? Things are not improving because we got blanked by the #9 and #1 teams in the nation? I'm not sure what is unrealistic about agreeing that better times are ahead for this team when we've gone 10-10 in Rhoads's first twenty games. Please explain why my personal expectations of improvement in years three and four are pipe dreams.
ISU's ceiling hasn't changed. It can get to minor bowl games and win some, too. I for one am fine with it, but you get castrated for not taking a big hit off the kool aid bong whenever there's a rah rah essay written here. Which is about every other day now. Who are we trying to convince and why?
Chip Brown is the Jeane Dixon of Longhorn football. He makes so many predictions that something has gotta come true and talks about those that do. At least in this case he has about a 50% chance of being right.
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No, better times are ahead not only because the fans, the players and the coaches wish and hope and dream it to be so. But because they also are doing something with it.
Take Bill Fennelly for example: did he only wish, hope and dream that there will be 9000 at Hilton for WBB when he got hired or taking ISU to sweet 16 ? No, he started to engage the community and did a lot of things to realize his dreams.
I agree there has to be a line between realistic and dreaming. Aim big: things can happen. Who ever thought that Indiana Basketball will be in this position let's say 20 years ago ? Who thought Boise State can be in BCS contention ?
Ha, I'm not saying that we don't have better times ahead. I really like what Pollard has done in his time here, and I think Rhoads is the right guy at the right time to start building our football program back up. And I do think with some continuity and stability we can and will get better. But what is the end game? Do we top out at an occasional 3rd or 4th place finish and a trip to the Alamo bowl every few years? With all the factors working to our disadvantage in our current position, I think that is a likely best case scenario. Sure, it looks better than what we have right now, but how many of you wake up in the morning after dreaming about your glorious run for 4th place?
I for one would just like to be in a place where I could actually believe that if we make the right moves, and everybody works at it, that we could actually win it all. I would like to be in a place where I don't look at the schedule before the start of the season and already see 3 or 4 weekends where we probably won't even compete. I just don't believe that place is the new Big 12.
Agreed.
But you've piqued my curiousity with your ceiling remark. Do you believe that ISU cannot win a Big XII title or play in a BCS bowl?
