Schedule

[cyclones500]

No argument there... but theres also 10 years in between to make changes to that schedule. November 24, 2002 mightve been a good day to make the UConn change..

So if ISU suffers an embarrassing non-con upset loss, we should buy out the remainder of the contract?

I can't think of many teams in 2002 I would have preferred to schedule a decade in advance as a built-in win than UConn, even after that loss. Maybe Troy or SMU ... which are in bowl games this season, so maybe those wouldn't be automatic enough.

I ask this again and again — who the heck is ISU supposed to schedule to make it impossible to fail? Even if we drop Iowa, apparently we can't even replace that with anyone who isn't guaranteed to be awful forever.

 

[AWOL2000]

I'm aware that we payed to get out. But if they didn't want out they wouldn't have had to let us. They had their own scheduling issues to deal with. We had to pay because it was their home game. If it would have been the other way around my guess is they would have paid us.

 

[IcSyU]

We're lucky we got away with only $250,000 for Utah.

And we didn't have a choice on paying McFarland. He had a signed contract, and Nurse had a verbal agreement, which is still enforceable and we'da lost that battle in court.

 

[CyFan61]

I'd like to add Week 5 in the list of games "we should be in". I actually think we have just as good of shot, if not better shot at beating Texas in Ames, than we do in winning at A&M, at Baylor, or Iowa. I don't see Texas being world beaters next year, plus our players would love nothing more than to beat them twice in a row.

I actually agree. I think we have about an equal shot against Texas at home next year as we do going to Waco to play Baylor. Looking at that schedule again, there are really only two games that I feel like we can write off as pretty sure losses - in Columbia and Norman against Missouri and Oklahoma. Other than that, we have 10 games where we could be competitive at the least. Hell, I'm not totally convinced we won't be competitive in Columbia.

I don't understand all of the complaints about the schedule. Face it, we play 9 conference games. We have an FCS team and an in-state rival who isn't that good. People are basically throwing a fit because we have an @UConn game instead of a game against a MAC school or something. Big deal, we can beat UConn. If we lose in Storrs and finish 5-7 again next season, I'll admit that all of your fears were well founded. But in any other circumstance, you are just wrong. (The "you"s are directed at OP)

 

[Carr50010]

We should drop the Connecticutt game,
just buy them out,
and add an easy team at home to replace them.

 

[IcSyU]

I'd be shocked if we could buy that game out for under $1.5 million. We'd have to pay them for cancelling the contract, pay for them to schedule some crappy team that wants the paycheck, then pay for that team's travel expenses. Sounds like a genius idea. :skeptical:

 

[cyclones500]

We should drop the Connecticutt game,
just buy them out,
and add an easy team at home to replace them.

Or, we could save the $ and just beat UConn.

Listen, I understand the motivation to water down the schedule because of (1) current landscape of bowl bid vs. no postseason and (2) 9- vs. 8-game conference schedule. I get it.

There are plenty of teams in bowls this season that I'm quite sure are inferior to ISU in 2010. And I could blame the current D-1 setup, but it's just reality.

However, this year's team, which supposedly missed out because it had to play Iowa and Utah in addition to OU (and two other teams that were likely losses, Tech & Texas) had four chances IN CONFERENCE to win that magical 6th game: KSU, Nebraska, Colorado and Missouri. And three of those games came at the end of the season when it was clear that one win meant bowl eligibility.

Yes, the starting QB was out for the Missouri game, which didn't help, but it was still there for the taking.

I don't deny that playing Eastern Michigan instead of Utah would have "solved" that problem in 2010. But Georgia Tech would have been preferable to Utah, too. Is anyone willing to schedule Georgia Tech? Wouldn't a home-and-home vs. Duke be safer than playing Tulsa? Should we buy out Tulsa and add Duke?

 

[bluestarcyclone]

had four chances I

chances.... thats the problem with some's line of thinking here. just because we have a chance to win in 6-7 games, doesnt mean we will (few teams will). scheduling more difficult than we need to, we put ourselves in a position where we have to win all or most of our tossup games just to go to a bowl, much less a good bowl. .

 

[Clonedep156]

Why hello there Chicken Little... take a deep breath and then another look at our schedule:

Week 1: vs. Northern Iowa
Week 2: vs. Iowa
Week 3: @ UConn
Week 4: Bye week
Week 5: vs. Texas
Week 6: @ Baylor
Week 7: @ Mizzou
Week 8: vs. Texas A&M
Week 9: @ Texas Tech
Week 10: vs. Kansas
Week 11: @ Oklahoma
Week 12: vs. Oklahoma State
Week 13: @ Kansas State

We have to expect to win on Weeks 1 and 10. We should be in games on Weeks 2, 3, 6, 9, and 13. That's seven shots at wins right there - and that leaves five opportunities where people won't give us much of a chance for us to win (a la Texas this season).

Relax.

No reason we can't be in the running for week 7 either. I realize it was cold as hell but we did play Mizzou tough. Possibility (please God) that Gabbert, Aldon Smith, Egnew, and Jacquies Smith could be headed for NFL. It's a big could, but by filing papers for Draft evaluation, it's a start.

Or...we could just sack up, play hard, and beat some teams.:yes:

 

[ricochet]

I'm aware that we payed to get out. But if they didn't want out they wouldn't have had to let us. They had their own scheduling issues to deal with. We had to pay because it was their home game. If it would have been the other way around my guess is they would have paid us.

I don't think we (ISU) paid anything to get out of the game. Didn't the Big 12 pay that?

 

[heitclone]

Why hello there Chicken Little... take a deep breath and then another look at our schedule:

Week 1: vs. Northern Iowa
Week 2: vs. Iowa
Week 3: @ UConn
Week 4: Bye week
Week 5: vs. Texas
Week 6: @ Baylor
Week 7: @ Mizzou
Week 8: vs. Texas A&M
Week 9: @ Texas Tech
Week 10: vs. Kansas
Week 11: @ Oklahoma
Week 12: vs. Oklahoma State
Week 13: @ Kansas State

We have to expect to win on Weeks 1 and 10. We should be in games on Weeks 2, 3, 6, 9, and 13. That's seven shots at wins right there - and that leaves five opportunities where people won't give us much of a chance for us to win (a la Texas this season).

Relax.

Sadly I only see any game on there that is a lock. UNI should be but theres a realistic chance that game and KU are the only ones we'd be favored in. But none of that matters, we can't change anything now so now all we can do is look for scenarios that get us to a bowl game. I think it'll take a nothing less than a 4-2 record at home and thats going to take an upset or 2. If we pencil in KU and UNI that leaves us to go 2-2 against Texas, A&M, Okie State and Iowa. That'll be a pretty tall task considering minus last years Texas game the last few times we played any of those teams we absolutely got waxed. If that doesn't happen we need 3 road wins, I like our chances against Kstate, other than that there are a couple winnable games but no locks. I think Mizzou and Tech may be beatable at on the road and honestly I don't know a lot about what UCONN brings back but I don't think thats an impossible win either. So I think even though the schedule is daunting a bowl game is not out of the question. I do think that the first couple of years of the new look big 12 are going to be huge for long term success, you can bet everyone else is looking at ISU as one of their easier games we need to debunk that myth right off the bat.

 

[woodie]

Sadly I only see any game on there that is a lock. UNI should be but theres a realistic chance that game and KU are the only ones we'd be favored in. But none of that matters, we can't change anything now so now all we can do is look for scenarios that get us to a bowl game. I think it'll take a nothing less than a 4-2 record at home and thats going to take an upset or 2. If we pencil in KU and UNI that leaves us to go 2-2 against Texas, A&M, Okie State and Iowa. That'll be a pretty tall task considering minus last years Texas game the last few times we played any of those teams we absolutely got waxed. If that doesn't happen we need 3 road wins, I like our chances against Kstate, other than that there are a couple winnable games but no locks. I think Mizzou and Tech may be beatable at on the road and honestly I don't know a lot about what UCONN brings back but I don't think thats an impossible win either. So I think even though the schedule is daunting a bowl game is not out of the question. I do think that the first couple of years of the new look big 12 are going to be huge for long term success, you can bet everyone else is looking at ISU as one of their easier games we need to debunk that myth right off the bat.

for the one quote that texas will be beatable next year?????methinks ole mack brown will put a very formidable squad on the field next year!!!!!!!

 

[UNIGuy4Cy]

I love Oklahoma State coming to Ames in late November! It didnt work out for us last season, but no way history repeats itself it will be colder and winder than ****, I put that down as a win a long time ago.

 

[bpmcclain]

I love Oklahoma State coming to Ames in late November! It didnt work out for us last season, but no way history repeats itself it will be colder and winder than ****, I put that down as a win a long time ago.

I hope you're right. I dont know if Hunter and Blackmon will be there next year, but if they arent their offense seems to reload every year. I don't think we will have the D to stop them

 

[IcSyU]

I love Oklahoma State coming to Ames in late November! It didnt work out for us last season, but no way history repeats itself it will be colder and winder than ****, I put that down as a win a long time ago.

Just like Missouri last year? Oh ****, wait, nevermind. Cold yeah, windy? Not at all.

 

[Tornado man]

I love Oklahoma State coming to Ames in late November! It didnt work out for us last season, but no way history repeats itself it will be colder and winder than ****, I put that down as a win a long time ago.

Is ISU a cold-weather team? Seems to me that they practiced an awful lot in the Bergstrom facility this past season when the weather got cold.

 

[UNIGuy4Cy]

You dont think the weather affected us at all in that Mizzou game? Did you forget we played without our starting QB? Oh ya and Gabbert went 16/26 for 170 yard and 1 td, what did he do last night again? We SHOULD have won that game.

 

[CyCrazy]

You dont think the weather affected us at all in that Mizzou game? Did you forget we played without our starting QB? Oh ya and Gabbert went 16/26 for 170 yard and 1 td, what did he do last night again? We SHOULD have won that game.

But... We didnt move along.

 

[dualthreat]

if we can't win @Waco, against a baylor team that wasn't even as good as us this year..

who can you beat on the road?

 

[dualthreat]

However, that schedule is scary. I can give you 11 reasons why we'll only win 1 game. But i don't think we will.. probably a lot like this year more likely.. around .500