Who's all going to the game? Any plays on Friday night?

If anyone is interested in golfing on Saturday, I'm playing 9 on the campus course at 7:30am.

SMH. I should change the thread title Camball. He doesn’t deserve for me to spell his name right.

Got back from the doctor and I am getting a colonoscopy soon and I'm gonna assume a good chunk of you guys here have had one. Yea its weird to do it at 19 but it needs to get done with my family history and I am having the same experience that my father had when he found out he had colon cancer.

Anyway... what can I expect? My father said his was vastly different because they found a tumor in the first turn, so it was cut short and it wasn't that bad...

You can follow my bowel movements starting here: http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/2915244-post58.html

Started drinking the stuff around 5pm (CDT) Thursday Night

It is with great sadness that I have to share the Twister Sister family has lost one of its members. My friend and "Power of the Pops" originator, Dale Striegle passed this morning after a five year battle with cancer. We were fortunate the Power of the Pops crew was able to go visit him in Sigourney yesterday sharing many stories and love with him and his family. He will be missed and there will be an empty seat at the Big 12 tourney for the first time in 25 years next spring.

vs



IOWA (1-0, (0-0 BIG 10)
VS IOWA STATE (1-0, 0-0 BIG 12)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH 2:30 P.M. CT
JACK TRICE STADIUM, AMES, IA


TV: FOX
Talent: Jason Benetti, pxp Brock Huard, analyst Allison Williams, reporter

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network (Varsity Network)
Talent: John Walters, pxp Eric Heft, analyst Ryan Harklau, sideline

Enjoy!

Sorry if this has been discussed but can’t find it any where. When will the Big XII schedule be posted? I’ve seen opponents but not dates. Have some travel plans and would like to know. Thanks!

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Here is my annual, too long hype-train reminder PSA and what I consider to be realistic expectations for the season.

This has nothing to do with Chris or Brent’s Podcasts – their analysis is always very informative and level-headed.

I have said for 17 years on here that there is a perfectly scheduled hype cycle. Doesn’t matter how bad/good the past season was or who we lost/gain, the hype cycle stays the same. It’s inevitable and part of human nature. We all want the best and set our expectations accordingly, sometimes without intention. And it’s not “bad”, it just helps to understand why some are seen as optimistic and some pessimistic at different points in time.

January to March – some pessimistic, some realistic expectations for the upcoming season.
April/May – rumors and rumblings of standout players, transfers in increase expectations a notch.
June – a bit of realism settles in due to lack of in-depth team activities.
July – rumors and statements about position groups, depth, and a few standout players increase expectations 2 notches.
August – hype train hits full speed and expectations increase another 2-3 notches.

Mid-August to season start – sky high expectations rather than a balanced assessment of who we gained/lost, how each player performed last season, how much growth a single player can truly gain in an offseason, etc. Anybody that doesn’t share those expectations gets labeled a pessimist (myself included). Again, this is natural and isn’t “bad”.

Season progresses and people start reaching for pitchforks when their expectations aren’t met. Pessimism, frustration, and anger sets in. Emotions cause chaos, game day threads are unbearable. People that hadn’t bought into the hype train and better predicted realistic expectations work to pick those people up off the floor and brighten their spirits.

I’ve always said – never listen to any hype, especially when stated as broadly as a whole position’s potential. Look at how each game went the prior year to determine where the specific strengths and weaknesses were. Anticipate realistic growth potential and evaluate what the new recruits/transfers bring in – keeping in mind freshmen have large growing pains.

Last year is a great example. We lost a lot of very close games, most in the margins. Knowing that our coaching style is to keep games close, you have to dig into why we lost each of those games. OL blocking, ST, RB injuries, TE injuries and lack of separation, WR lack of separation and route trees, offensive play calling and predictability, etc.

Then you factor in players we lost/gained. We somewhat ignored the Portal so most new talent are true freshmen. A net loss of roughly 2 key defensive players, but in positions we have good depth at. We lost our standout receiver but have some potential young talent in both WR and TE rooms – TE especially. RB we gain health and a few new youngsters with high ceilings. OL missed out on Portal targets so growth, strength, and fundamentals are going to be the difference.

Finally, you must look at coaching. With changes on Offense and Special Teams, there are unknowns. One thing we know for certain is that while the offense will still be fully in the mold of Campbell’s philosophy, the play calling and situational adjustments can only get better. Likewise, a severe lack of development of skill positions and the offensive line has plagued the team for years. We must assume the coaching changes will impact that for the better, but you can only expect so much in one offseason.

Personally, when I look at everything on my scratchpad, I see a year likely in the 5-7 win range. If we win in the margins like our Fiesta Bowl season, it’s conceivable our defense and an improved offense can drag us to 8 wins. I think that is a stretch given the tough schedule, youth we have, and the lost development we’re now making up for. Anything less than 5 wins would be a disaster on the recruiting trail. 5 wins would still hurt a ton. 6 wins is most likely if you consider the tossup games as 50/50. 7 wins if we make some good strides with offensive development (OL, WR, TE) consistency.

No matter what, try to remember to enjoy the season. There will always be ups and downs, try not to overreact to either polar end.

I’m going with 4-8 again. I think we beat Ohio, BYU and pull off another win somewhere else somehow. Would be a very underwhelming season again.

Need 1 parking pass in RV Village for KU game.

It'll be so much fun playing someone who doesn't have ISU circled as a Superbowl!

Iowa State's Big 12 opener will kick off at 3:00 p.m.

https://cyclonefanatic.com/2023/09/iowa-states-big-12-opener-to-kickoff-at-3-p-m/

Seems like a pretty loaded week 4 CFB slate, anyone have any predictions on Kickoff time?

Heading up to Decorah this weekend. Plan on spending Saturday afternoon at Pulpit and TG. Stopping at Pivo on the way up on Friday and eating at Luna Valley Farms Friday night.

Any ideas of things to do Saturday morning around Decorah(An hour or so away is fine) . One person just had knee replacement a few months ago so no hiking or strenuous walks.

Hello - anyone interested in trading / negotiating on trading my C4 Parking Pass for A4 Parking Pass for some or all remaining games?

Error was made during parking selection time. Daughter is in the Marching Band.

Thank you!
Jerry

Trying to get our parents up for the oky state game! Would also have a B3 pass to trade on top of if interested

I hadn't seen a thread and thought we could use one - some high-level hoops being played, starting today. Unfortunately, times for games in Manila are often not compatible with US schedules. Games can often be accessed later on ESPN+, it seems.

If I had to place a bet of the USA vs. The Field for the gold, I'd have to guess The Field. I hope I'm wrong but we don't have the Durants, Currys and other top-10 type players. Plus a lot of the best NBA guys play for other countries.

Most of us know about the 4 Cyclones in action:

Ok, I went back and watched some game clips and I'm not sure we actually are running a zone read at all. On everything that looked like a zone read, we blocked the backside DE. Usually it was a tackle, but sometimes it was a TE motioning across the formation. But in like EVERY case, someone was trying to block every down lineman. You don't read someone you're blocking.

We could be reading a LB, but that would be kind of weird. And the handoffs were quick - it didn't look like there was ever any decision making taking place. Rocco does sprint out the opposite direction every time. I don't know why, but he's clearly being coached that way. Maybe some day they'll run a pure fake/QB keeper off of it, but to me it doesn't look like a zone read.

On one of the 2nd half plays where Sama got blown up, the OL didn't communicate at all. Everyone basically chipped the DL and released to LBs. The frontside tackle stayed on his man and made a competent block, but the DE strung them out and with nobody else blocking there weren't any creases anywhere.

Rocco looked out of sync, stared down his receivers (and yes lots of drops), but why wasn't JJ ever in the game to maybe drive a little life into the offense? It's going to be a long season by the looks of today. Strap in.

We are leaving on a trip on Wednesday, and will be gone for the OSU game. I'd like to sell these tickets before we leave because internet may be spotty where we're going. Selling package for $600. Will entertain reasonable offers.
No scalpers.

Seats are in sec 9 on the aisle, below row 25. Cushioned chairbacks.
Parking pass is a numbered space in Lot 85E.

I’ve been so impressed with the punting unit this year. Our punter is EVERY bit as good as Iowa's. Coverage is excellent. Being able to make field goals out to 45+ yards is a nice change. The only bad part about yesterday was the kick return squad. Nearly gave me a heart attack TWICE by misjudging the depth of kicks. The first luckily bounced into the end zone. The second lacked 3” of being 1st and goal Iowa. The other downside (and this is part due to Iowa's excellent coverage) was the lack of punt return yardage.

I really hope this is the last year of the Ferentz regime.

The Offense (Positives, Negatives, and what I'm neutral on)
- Positive: Abu Sama has some real potential. Only had 25 yards as Norton got the lion's share of carries. But anyone who knows football can see that this guy has some ability. Ability with burst, and make you miss. He reminds me of Alexander Robinson, good back we had in the Rhoads years.
- Jayden Higgins is a dawg, 95 yards and 1 TD. We should have gone to him more downfield today. He has high end ability.
- Ben Brahmer, this guy catches everything. In two games he is already better than Easton Dean. He's going to be special.
- Negatives: Jaylin Noel. I am sorry, I can't accept that this guy is our #2 receiver moving forward. Against UNI he had 4 receptions for 6 yards (not a typo). Today he has 3 drops, and he had 8 catches for a 6 yard average. He tends to NOT break any tackles, or take a small catch for a YAC gain. I'd frankly rather see more throws go to Jayden Higgins, Ben Brahmer, Aidan Bitter, or even Dimitri Stanley (he can burn people deep). He stayed in the game after all these drops which I can only shake my head at.
- Negatives: The lack of downfield throwing. Why not test Iowa's other corner (opposite Dejean) down the field more often? Again, keeping everything tight play's right into Iowa's hands. Daniel Jackson had a nice 13 yard catch, Higgins had a couple past 10 yards. Don't know why we didn't stress them more.
- Negative: I love Cartevious Norton as the hammer back and the short yardage back. But he has no business running out routes, he doesn't have the speed or bend to do this. IF we are going to complement a RB in the pass game, make that Abu Sama please.
- Neutral: O Line. We did have 90 yards rushing against what will be the toughest D we will face this year. I think this O line will get better as the year goes along. But they are in "prove it" mode for sure. For me it is too early to condemn them as similar to last year. I'm actually excited to see them in league play.
- Neutral: Scheelhaase. The UNI game is always strange, and Iowa is always very talented. Let's see how he does against Ohio and the Big 12. There were too many out rout passes today. I'll also say, we HAVE TO make defenses account for Rocco as a runner more. We cannot treat him like a glass doll, he has to run for some yards 4-5 times a game. That cost us the 4th down today obviously. Hopefully that is coached back into him moving forward.

Defense
- What can you say? The rest of the staff should be treating Heacock to steak dinners every month. Many games would be out of hand if not for the brillian play of our defense.
- Beau Freyler today looked like a high level NFL strong safety. Tackles well, big size, and makes key hits.
- Jeremiah Cooper is "Honey Badger Light". Man what a hell of a player.
- Cade McNamara was a little too comfy at times. We had some blitzes that narrowly missed. That's football I guess.

Misc.
- I think we as a fanbase can somewhat worry less and less about ND and Ohio State poaching our coach. Why? Look at his record in the Iowa rivalry and in close games the last 3 years.
- The biggest thing I want to see from now until the end of the season is offensive improvement. We need to be more creative on offense, mix in varying tempo's, and just keep defenses honest more. I think this includes more sprinkled in QB zone read runs, down field tosses, different plays in the run game. The shotgun handoff up the middle is a staple, and we have to deviate off of it when it's not working.

Looking for C1 or C2 parking pass for the Oklahoma St game sept 23rd.

Hello!

Here is the link to my full photo gallery for yesterdays CyHawk. I know a lot of bad to dwell on but I promise there’s some good shots of those sneaky good moments.

I hope you like them!