Rhoads talks progress, recruiting, scheduling & more

[Rods79]

I hated playing K-State in K-State's second home, and losing so close each time...heartbreaking (although the pre-game parties were fun). I understand the proximity and the alumni base in KC, but it is still first and foremost a KU/KSU crowd, and ISU barely gets any recognition. I imagine that has only gotten worse with KSU's recent football success, but I don't know. If you're going to go neutral, might as well go true neutral. Chicago, Indianaoplis...maybe even Minneapolis...reaching further, even Cincinnati or Nashville. Or, hit KC up for a non-conference game...I'd prefer that over playing KSU or KU there. Oklahoma State might be a good one, but I still really don't like the idea of having a neutral conference game.

This probably isn't comparable, but I also didn't like playing Ohio State in Des Moines in 2005, where we only lost by 3. So frustrating that a game of that quality was outside of Hilton.

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of neutral games during the regular season, and I would hate to see the money and the advantage go somewhere else for the one game we'd have to give up every other year.

 

[BryceC]

I am against anything that reduced the value of season tickets and causes us to have to drive and spend another 60 bucks a seat to watch a game.

 

[flander1649]

Taking Big XII fans/money to a B1G city isn't going to fly. Yes, I know KC is in MO and therefore, technically, not a Big XII location.

1/2 of KC may be in Missouri but it is 100% a big 12 town. Businesses that have backed MU in the past are backing off that because they know KC will never support the SEC. The more ISU can make a footprint in KC the better businesses are hoping for that 3rd big 12 school again since MU bailed.

 

[CycloneWarning]

When you consider Iowa as another BCS team (lol), we have a 5-5 home/road split every year with conference and Iowa. So it is a reasonable setup going forward with no neutral site games.

What is important to to get two other winnable games, and hopefully play both of them at home. I don't mind playing UNI each year in Ames. Instead of home-away with schools like Tulsa, I would think just a one off game each year with MAC opponent should be doable.

 

[ChiClones]

I guess the way I look at it is if you're going to go neutral, you need to go somewhere where both teams' fans can get to fairly easily. I'm no expert on this but I can't imagine Iowa State or West Virginia having huge numbers of alums in either of those cities. Maybe I'm wrong.

I disagree for Chicago.
When Iowa State played at NIU a few years back, we had 300-500 alums and families at the alumni association tailgate alone. It's a 5 hour drive to Chicago. I bet we could fill half a stadium.

 

[CyFan61]

I don't really get CPR's position on this. Iowa State already plays 10 "conference" games every year if you include Iowa, and with them it's a 5-5 split every season.

Add in the FCS game at home, and we have a set 6 home-5 away-1 rotating schedule, so we'll play 6 home/7 home every other year.

I don't want more neutral site games, because we don't have a viable neutral site that's close enough to really be worth our time. Kansas City is still a 3 hour drive. People are coming to JTS; we don't need to play somewhere else.

 

[CyFan61]

When you consider Iowa as another BCS team (lol), we have a 5-5 home/road split every year with conference and Iowa. So it is a reasonable setup going forward with no neutral site games.

What is important to to get two other winnable games, and hopefully play both of them at home. I don't mind playing UNI each year in Ames. Instead of home-away with schools like Tulsa, I would think just a one off game each year with MAC opponent should be doable.

I agree with this totally.

Other than our set 5-5 already with Big 12 + Iowa, the other two games should both be at home. Play an FCS and a MAC/Sun Belt/C-USA team at the Jack. Raise ticket prices to pay schools to come here without return games - the rationale can be that we get 7 at home every year now.

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

Let's just play West Virginia in Cleveland over Thanksgiving break for the 10 of us that live near there

 

[aeroclone]

I hated playing K-State in K-State's second home, and losing so close each time...heartbreaking (although the pre-game parties were fun). I understand the proximity and the alumni base in KC, but it is still first and foremost a KU/KSU crowd, and ISU barely gets any recognition. I imagine that has only gotten worse with KSU's recent football success, but I don't know. If you're going to go neutral, might as well go true neutral. Chicago, Indianaoplis...maybe even Minneapolis...reaching further, even Cincinnati or Nashville. Or, hit KC up for a non-conference game...I'd prefer that over playing KSU or KU there. Oklahoma State might be a good one, but I still really don't like the idea of having a neutral conference game.

This probably isn't comparable, but I also didn't like playing Ohio State in Des Moines in 2005, where we only lost by 3. So frustrating that a game of that quality was outside of Hilton.

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of neutral games during the regular season, and I would hate to see the money and the advantage go somewhere else for the one game we'd have to give up every other year.

I'm not necessarily in favor of doing something like this again, but the idea that the Arrowhead game gave KSU an advantage just isn't true. At most the crowd was 60-40, and personally I don't even think it was that much. I don't think either team had a home field advantage in those games either way.

I think the fanbase opinion on this would be entirely different if we could have executed on a couple key plays and won both of those games.

 

[Cycsk]

Let's just play West Virginia in Cleveland over Thanksgiving break for the 10 of us that live near there

I will bring another 6-8 to that game in Cleveland!

 

[Aclone]

The way I look at it is this, we were what? 1-3 or 1-4 in conference play at home last year. That being said I would rather see a game at someones home stadium so the crowd is really into it. Until we learn to defend the Jack in conference play I don't think it really matters that we try to go to a neutral site for any game IMO.

Lolz...well, either that, or until we have enough depth that when a third of the defense (Knott, Watson, McDonough, Givens...) goes down,we don't turn into a sieve...