ISU Bowl Projection

[chuckd4735]

Solid rebuttal here.

Its another opportunity to watch ISU football. Obviously Memphis against memphis is nobodys first choice, but the statement of "i wish we werent in a bowl if this is our option" or "we should decline it" makes 0 sense to me

If we play Memphis in Memphis, I'm not sure I could care any less about the game. But to deny the opportunity to get another months work of practice would be border line criminal. Of course you play the game, but 98% of the fanbase would be completely apathetic.

 

[KennyPratt42]

We wouldn't decline a bowl game regardless of location because of the practice aspect and not wanting to deny the players that want to participate an opportunity to do so. From a fan, and to some extent a program perception standpoint, there wouldn't be much reason to play in a 4th Liberty Bowl in recent history and second time against Memphis in a de facto home game.

While we wouldn't decline the invite, we should be doing everything we can behind the scenes to not have that be the outcome, without burning any bridges because I've heard nothing but good things about the Liberty Bowl people and I don't think we would mind going there again at some point in the future.

 

[2speedy1]

The Athletic (Scott Dochterman) still has us in Houston playing Missouri:

Texas Dec. 27, 2025

Big 12 4 Iowa State

SEC 3-8 Missouri

The Athletic and Dochterman, 2 things I would never listen to.

 

[KennyPratt42]

Also, we have gone to 15 bowl games in the last 25 years and 7 of the last 10 so the fact that our first bowl victory was in 2000 is pretty irrelevant to the discussion at this point.

 

[drmwevr08]

Solid rebuttal here.

Its another opportunity to watch ISU football. Obviously Memphis against memphis is nobodys first choice, but the statement of "i wish we werent in a bowl if this is our option" or "we should decline it" makes 0 sense to me

I think that's a different question though. The reasons why nobody wants it should be obvious - marginal location made worse by repeated visits, no upside matchup made worse by repeated visits.
The second question you'll get more split on is whether it's so bad they should turn it down.

 

[Cycsk]

It probably won't change anyone's mind, but it was really cool to have a packed Liberty Bowl divided 50/50 with the Memphis fans. That made for a fun environment.

 

[HoustonClone]

It probably won't change anyone's mind, but it was really cool to have a packed Liberty Bowl divided 50/50 with the Memphis fans. That made for a fun environment.

I think part of the point is that if it's Memphis again, especially against Memphis, it will not be packed, and certainly not be 50/50.

 

[bluestarcyclone]

Also, we have gone to 15 bowl games in the last 25 years and 7 of the last 10 so the fact that our first bowl victory was in 2000 is pretty irrelevant to the discussion at this point.

And part of why those numbers were less previously is there were a lot fewer bowl games. We had an 8-3 season that didn't even go to a bowl game in the 70s.

 

[hawksuck75]

Take Utah out. They're still considered part of the Pac-12 bowl pool for this year.

I could see Utah playing Houston in Alamo if Houston goes 10-2 since Alamo is Pac12/Big12. They haven't played each other this year. BYU to Orlando and then Cincy or ISU to Houston.

 

[KennyPratt42]

And part of why those numbers were less previously is there were a lot fewer bowl games. We had an 8-3 season that didn't even go to a bowl game in the 70s.

If you look at the previous 25 years prior to the 2000 season we would have been bowl eligible in 6 of the 25 seasons under a more modern bowl system (.500 or better to make a bowl). And if you look at the 25 years before that going back to 1950 we would have again been eligible 6 times (half of those years being exactly .500). So in the previous 50 years we would have been bowl eligible in 12 seasons instead of just the 4 we played in and lost in the 70s.

90s: Zero seaons over .500
80s: Three 6-5 seasons
70s: Four bowl appearance, one of which we only won 5 games out of 11 regular season, and one year we were over .500 and didn't get selected for a bowl (1976)
60s: 7-3 one season and .500 three seasons
50s: 7-3 one season

 

[Al_4_State]

It probably won't change anyone's mind, but it was really cool to have a packed Liberty Bowl divided 50/50 with the Memphis fans. That made for a fun environment.

2017 was awesome, but that kind of environment will not be replicated this year. 2023 was a far cry from that as it was. And those were both seasons where we exceeded expectations and had missed bowls the year prior.

This year will be a situation where both us and Memphis were looking at much bigger things than the Liberty Bowl halfway through the season.

Add that to the fact we've played them in their home stadium twice in the last 8 years, and most people will want nothing to do with it.

 

[Erik4Cy]

It probably won't change anyone's mind, but it was really cool to have a packed Liberty Bowl divided 50/50 with the Memphis fans. That made for a fun environment.

Agree it looked good and popped on TV (was there, but I watched the 2017 replay later.)

It's just not enough to keep excitement for it and there is real fatigue with this matchup. I wouldn't like to see this matchup in Liberty Bowl revisited for another decade. In 2035 or later, I'd probably be all for it again.

 

[Derek Duke]

View attachment 161164
Agree it looked good and popped on TV (was there, but I watched the 2017 replay later.)

It's just not enough to keep excitement for it and there is real fatigue with this matchup. I wouldn't like to see this matchup in Liberty Bowl revisited for another decade. In 2035 or later, I'd probably be all for it again.

Man, Bowl games used to be so much better and mean something back then. Simpler times in college football.

 

[JM4CY]

The 2017 game can't be replicated. It was awesome at that time (an all-timer) but so many factors make it impossible to run it back.

 

[Cycsk]

It is kinda nice to now be an entitled fanbase. Bowls every year. NCAA tournaments every year. Not every program in the state has these things.

 

[Cycsk]

View attachment 161164
Agree it looked good and popped on TV (was there, but I watched the 2017 replay later.)

It's just not enough to keep excitement for it and there is real fatigue with this matchup. I wouldn't like to see this matchup in Liberty Bowl revisited for another decade. In 2035 or later, I'd probably be all for it again.

And that photo doesn't capture how much of the endzones and the rest of our side that we filled.

 

[loyalsons4evertrue]

Why isn’t there more heat behind a Texas Bowl idea? We will travel well, despite the Ireland and date factors, and we’ll be up against what? Houston and Cincy for that bowl? I’d have to think they would look very hard at us for that spot. Houston fan base is not big even at “home” like that and we will travel better than Cincy.

feels like Houston will either get the Texas Bowl or Alamo....they usually aim for a Texas school in either of those two matchups and although bowls focus less on conference standings, we are pretty far down the list of teams that probably would be justified in appearing in at least the Alamo Bowl.

I'm still team Rate Bowl. I know the date sucks but a matchup against a Big Ten school and a trip out to Phoenix sounds fun.

 

[drmwevr08]

feels like Houston will either get the Texas Bowl or Alamo....they usually aim for a Texas school in either of those two matchups and although bowls focus less on conference standings, we are pretty far down the list of teams that probably would be justified in appearing in at least the Alamo Bowl.

I'm still team Rate Bowl. I know the date sucks but a matchup against a Big Ten school and a trip out to Phoenix sounds fun.

Houston doesn't get much respect though so could be a deciding factor.

 

[Bader]

feels like Houston will either get the Texas Bowl or Alamo....they usually aim for a Texas school in either of those two matchups and although bowls focus less on conference standings, we are pretty far down the list of teams that probably would be justified in appearing in at least the Alamo Bowl.

I'm still team Rate Bowl. I know the date sucks but a matchup against a Big Ten school and a trip out to Phoenix sounds fun.

The biggest negative about the Rate Bowl to me (besides the hilarious name change) is that it's played in the Diamondbacks stadium now, instead of at ASU

 

[jsb]

The 2017 game can't be replicated. It was awesome at that time (an all-timer) but so many factors make it impossible to run it back.

I like Memphis and I wouldn’t be against playing there again against the SEC. But playing Memphis for the 3rd time in 8 years would be ******* annoying.

2017 was amazing because it was our first Campbell bowl. We had that amazing run in October and it was just a special time for the program.