Saying this, "You finished higher in the recruiting rankings because you had one guy who boosted your ratings", is like saying, well if you took Deshaun Watson off Clemson they wouldn't have won the title, because he boosted them to the title. See the thing is 1976, you can't do that, it is one of the stupidest argument out there. Almost as stupid as the "It's Iowa's Super Bowl" argument.
Also, Iowa State does not have more talent on their football team than Iowa does. What even makes you draw that conclusion?