The last time you took a loss this hard

[Clonefan32]

To me it was a combination of trying to keep a sense of perspective while also feeling we missed a golden opportunity. Playing in a close Big 12 Championship game with Oklahoma is monumental for our program. We went toe-to-toe on a national stage with a top 10 team and didn't blink. We showed tremendous resilience to come back and make it a great game.

At the same time, I think we've learned from basketball not to take these moments for granted. With Campbell you feel what we are building is sustainable, and you hope he stays. But there are no guarantees that we get back to this position and have another shot at the title. So to that end, it stinks to see a great opportunity fall through our grasps.

So I guess in sum I tried to keep it in perspective, but still had a sinking feeling of a missed opportunity.

 

[Halincandenza]

Why would you be depressed when ISU had an amazing season and got to play in a conference championship game?

 

[candg4ever]

Its weird. I didnt take the loss that hard.

I kind of accepted it when we were solidly down and was just glad we made it close at the end, though of course i wish we would have won.

I also think it hurts less when all signs are we should be plenty good in the future. Hopefully we can make it back next year.

I expected and saw a much better 2nd half. This is still relatively new territory for all, (players, coaches, and fans), and there will still be growing pains. We still have a great chance to put a great big bow on this season. One of the things I've always longed to see was us in a New Year's game, and we're there.

One step at a time is easier for some of us to accept because we've been here for decades, not years. As long as CMC stays here. we'll have a shot at the championship year after year, and that prospect puts a smile on my face from ear to ear.

Losing sucks, but it's a lot easier to take when next year looks as good of better....

 

[Cyclonepride]

I didn't take the loss hard at all. They competed on the biggest stage they have ever been on, right down to the last play with a chance to win it. And they will be back, with that experience under their belts.

 

[tolfbfan]

Probably the coach in me, but no win is that great and no loss is that bad. I enjoy or fret for less than 24 hrs and on to next challenge. I enjoy the trip more than individual stops. Had a basketball player in high school who ended up at Ohio State. We knew he was going big time his freshman year. Kept telling him to enjoy the journey or he would regret it later in life. I hope we all can do the same with this journey. Nothing in life is guaranteed, let's have fun! MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

[ZRF]

Losses that hit me hard or irritated me:

1. Basketball - Losing to Michigan State in the Elite 8 back in 2000. Cleeves had every call go his way and just the sheer fact we were robbed of a #1 seed (should have been 2nd overall) was preposterous. The worst seeding job in NCAA history meant we were playing the best team, in the Elite 8, in their own back yard.

2. Basketball - McLemore banking in that ******* 3. First of all, the game shouldn't have been that close, especially if Hoiberg would have decided to use defensive substitutions and utilize his timeouts. In typical Fred fashion we take 2-3 timeouts into overtime, then wait until KU reels off 9 strait points (with the crowd already going nuts) to call his first of OT. Hands down one of the worst game managements by a coach I have ever seen. To top it off I had to listen to KU fans talk **** as I'm leaving Allen Fieldhouse when they were handed the game on a silver platter.

3. Football - Losing to Kstate almost every year. My buddy had his bachelor weekend in Ames when we blew the 28-7 halftime lead (2012???). I was walking out of Bill Snyder to avoid traffic, only to hear the crowd go nuts walking out. I was like "did we seriously fumble a kneel down?" I think if we had simply knelt they would have had maayybbeeee 7 seconds for a miracle. Instead Rhoades hands it off and we fumble. My buddy was like "so, are we staying now?" I said "no, I'm not sticking around to watch this fiasco" so we left. Blowing big leads, missing kicks, hitting uprights, end of game fumbles...at some point the sheer volume of screw ups starts to get to you. But hey, at least the fumble led to Rhoades getting canned the next day and the end of Burnham's "all day" defense.

 

[madguy30]

Losses that hit me hard or irritated me:

1. Basketball - Losing to Michigan State in the Elite 8 back in 2000. Cleeves had every call go his way and just the sheer fact we were robbed of a #1 seed (should have been 2nd overall) was preposterous. The worst seeding job in NCAA history meant we were playing the best team, in the Elite 8, in their own back yard.

2. Basketball - McLemore banking in that ******* 3. First of all, the game shouldn't have been that close, especially if Hoiberg would have decided to use defensive substitutions and utilize his timeouts. In typical Fred fashion we take 2-3 timeouts into overtime, then wait until KU reels off 9 strait points (with the crowd already going nuts) to call his first of OT. Hands down one of the worst game managements by a coach I have ever seen. To top it off I had to listen to KU fans talk **** as I'm leaving Allen Fieldhouse when they were handed the game on a silver platter.

3. Football - Losing to Kstate almost every year. My buddy had his bachelor weekend in Ames when we blew the 28-7 halftime lead (2012???). I was walking out of Bill Snyder to avoid traffic, only to hear the crowd go nuts walking out. I was like "did we seriously fumble a kneel down?" I think if we had simply knelt they would have had maayybbeeee 7 seconds for a miracle. Instead Rhoades hands it off and we fumble. My buddy was like "so, are we staying now?" I said "no, I'm not sticking around to watch this fiasco" so we left. Blowing big leads, missing kicks, hitting uprights, end of game fumbles...at some point the sheer volume of screw ups starts to get to you. But hey, at least the fumble led to Rhoades getting canned the next day and the end of Burnham's "all day" defense.

#3 may have been the 2015 game in Manhatten. Up 35-14 at half and did enough until the definition of ISU football history took place.

2012 was close but wasn't a big lead or anything.

 

[ZRF]

Unfortunately, this played out almost exactly like I expected. The only thing i missed on was us missing a field goal to lose. I was prepared for this loss.

Going in I was worried about line of scrimmage play and we got our asses handed to us most of the day. I was worried about the deep ball and we finally got burned. I was worried about special teams and that bit us yet again. But somehow, despite doing all of that AND losing the TO battle 3-0 we almost won the game.

We need to get better up front, with the line of scrimmage being a constant nemesis over the years. We need to make adjustments quicker instead of waiting until the 2nd half to send more than 3 guys. Our our 3 year starting QB needs to know when to throw the ball away. With that said, our back 7 played their asses off and we did a lot of really good things. Hutchinson may have played his way into the draft this year; if not he will have a MONSTER year next year.

This team will be really good. We just need to get a couple notches better at the line of scrimmage, fire our STs coach, and find a fricking kicker that's a couple nothces better than dreadful. If so we are a legitimate playoff contender for next year.

 

[ZRF]

#3 may have been the 2015 game in Manhatten. Up 35-14 at half and did enough until the definition of ISU football history took place.

2012 was close but wasn't a big lead or anything.

I just looked it up. It was 2014 and we had a 28-13 lead just before the half. We then let them score a TD with under a minute left and they scored 2 more TDs in the second half to lose 32-28.

I was off on my numbers a bit. Still was a ****** loss.

 

[Clonefan94]

Going in I was worried about line of scrimmage play and we got our asses handed to us most of the day. I was worried about the deep ball and we finally got burned. I was worried about special teams and that bit us yet again. But somehow, despite doing all of that AND losing the TO battle 3-0 we almost won the game.

We need to get better up front, with the line of scrimmage being a constant nemesis over the years. We need to make adjustments quicker instead of waiting until the 2nd half to send more than 3 guys. Our our 3 year starting QB needs to know when to throw the ball away. With that said, our back 7 played their asses off and we did a lot of really good things. Hutchinson may have played his way into the draft this year; if not he will have a MONSTER year next year.

This team will be really good. We just need to get a couple notches better at the line of scrimmage, fire our STs coach, and find a fricking kicker that's a couple nothces better than dreadful. If so we are a legitimate playoff contender for next year.

We don't have an Special Teams coach, that's what has a lot of people riled up on this board.

for me, my major point of concern was beating OU twice in one year. That is just a really hard thing to ask of any team that is not completely dominant in all aspects of the game. I'm not trying to take anything away from this team, they fought their asses off and were just a couple of plays short. I did not think beating OU was impossible, I just knew that to take them down twice in one year was going to be really hard to do.

In the end we still have a lot to learn and it starts at the top. This staff and this team could be one of the best in the country, but we have to be better prepared for situations like the end of the game. Is burning that last time out better than calling a scrambled play at the end of the game? We have to be coached better on how to make those obvious holds so the Officials have no choice but to call them. We have to be more disciplined on false starts in crucial parts of the game.

This was a huge stage for this team, I don't think it was too big by any stretch, but as long as we learn from the mistakes made, we could be an unstoppable team in the coming years.

 

[ZRF]

We don't have an Special Teams coach, that's what has a lot of people riled up on this board.

for me, my major point of concern was beating OU twice in one year. That is just a really hard thing to ask of any team that is not completely dominant in all aspects of the game. I'm not trying to take anything away from this team, they fought their asses off and were just a couple of plays short. I did not think beating OU was impossible, I just knew that to take them down twice in one year was going to be really hard to do.

In the end we still have a lot to learn and it starts at the top. This staff and this team could be one of the best in the country, but we have to be better prepared for situations like the end of the game. Is burning that last time out better than calling a scrambled play at the end of the game? We have to be coached better on how to make those obvious holds so the Officials have no choice but to call them. We have to be more disciplined on false starts in crucial parts of the game.

This was a huge stage for this team, I don't think it was too big by any stretch, but as long as we learn from the mistakes made, we could be an unstoppable team in the coming years.

That's right. I mean, how is that possible when the football staff is 40+ deep and includes a "Passing Game Coordinator". Special Teams is 10-15%..and sometimes as much as 30% of a football game. Not having a coordinator for something that has repeatedly cost the program games (both during and before CMC) is simply beyond words.

As for the holds that's the other problem with only rushing 3 guys; it's hard to beat good teams bad enough at the line to get those calls. Whether it's NCAA or NFL, refs only call holds when the defender CLEARLY has his man beat. Too often we have guys going 1 on 2 or taking really wide angles (like McDonald) and you aren't going to get those calls. When we consistently bring 4-5 guys (sometimes 3) we have SO much more success. It's much easier for 7 guys to gover < 4 seconds than for 8 to cover 7+. OU did us some 2nd half favors (with play calling) but we were also INFINITELY more aggressive. I think that should be the game plan going forward.

 

[nrg4isu]

That's right. I mean, how is that possible when the football staff is 40+ deep and includes a "Passing Game Coordinator". Special Teams is 10-15%..and sometimes as much as 30% of a football game. Not having a coordinator for something that has repeatedly cost the program games (both during and before CMC) is simply beyond words.

1) there's a limit on the number of coaches, so it's not possible to just add another guy
2) just because there's not someone with the title "Special Teams Coach" doesn't mean that the players are without coaching

CMC isn't stupid, I'm sure he has a much better idea of the nature of the problems than we all do. Giving someone the title Special Teams Coach probably solves exactly nothing.

 

[Frak]

1) there's a limit on the number of coaches, so it's not possible to just add another guy
2) just because there's not someone with the title "Special Teams Coach" doesn't mean that the players are without coaching

CMC isn't stupid, I'm sure he has a much better idea of the nature of the problems than we all do. Giving someone the title Special Teams Coach probably solves exactly nothing.

THIS. The complaining about no special teams coach is a lazy argument. First off, a majority of teams do not have a designated special teams coach. Second, someone who is a special teams guru is going to have to be an expert on not only kicking and punting, but also returns and coverage. It's not like you can hire some former Kicker and he's going to know all about kick coverage or punt returns. Third, if you hire a designated special teams coach, then you have to fire someone or take them off the recruiting trail.

I'm totally fine with parsing special teams duties out to various assistants or analysts. I mean, we do have someone (Hauser?) that is specifically there to work with Kickers and Punters. That said, there needs to be some scheme changes to fix the current problems and hopefully some additions (PWO Kicker) that can make the job easier. I just think that although they need to improve and make some changes, just hiring a "special teams coach" is not the simple fix that Campbell is too stupid to realize.

 

[ZRF]

1) there's a limit on the number of coaches, so it's not possible to just add another guy
2) just because there's not someone with the title "Special Teams Coach" doesn't mean that the players are without coaching

CMC isn't stupid, I'm sure he has a much better idea of the nature of the problems than we all do. Giving someone the title Special Teams Coach probably solves exactly nothing.

We have a "passing game coordinator" for crying out loud. I'd rather have a special teams coach, given it's importance and the problems we have, rather than wasting staff positions and dollars and stuff an actual coordinator could take over.

If you make the right hire it would help solve a LOT of special teams issues. Underestimating the importance of having a ST coordinator/coach is foolish. See Dave Toub (NFL) as an example of someone who always has had excellent special teams. That's no coincidence.

 

[nrg4isu]

We have a "passing game coordinator" for crying out loud. I'd rather have a special teams coach, given it's importance and the problems we have, rather than wasting staff positions and dollars and stuff an actual coordinator could take over.

If you make the right hire it would help solve a LOT of special teams issues. Underestimating the importance of having a ST coordinator/coach is foolish. See Dave Toub (NFL) as an example of someone who always has had excellent special teams. That's no coincidence.

Which coach are you willing to cut then? Which positions are wasted?

 

[NorthCyd]

Why would you be depressed when ISU had an amazing season and got to play in a conference championship game?

I did post this the day of the loss. I was pretty down that evening but was fine the next day and excited when the bowl was announced. You honestly can't fathom why someone would be down for a little while after almost winning a conference championship in football for the first time ever?