Guest post: Another year, another Cyclone victory

The following post was written by Matt LaCasse. We have been friends since college, and sit on opposite sides of the bitter Cyclone-Hawkeye rivalry.  For the third year in a row, we have placed a wager on what's often called the Iowa Superbowl -- the annual gridiron battle between my Iowa State Cyclones and his Iowa Hawkeyes.  No matter what any fans on either side tell you, this IS an important game.  Anyone who says the game doesn't matter to their team is lying.  Or in denial.  Anyhow, back to this little matter of our wager. The bet? The loser has to write a blog post complimenting the winning team.  I think Matt agrees with me that he'd rather hand over money than write nice things about the enemy.  This is the second year in a row he's had to write a post about the Cyclones.  In 2011, my Iowa State boys edged his Iowa team in a 44-41 triple overtime thriller.  This year, the margin was the same, but the game was very different -- a 9-6 victory for the Cyclones.  The only touchdown of the game happened on Iowa State's opening drive.  The rest was all defense, turnovers (on both sides) and special teams. I notice that Matt's post this year is very short, but I don't blame him.  Like I said, it's NOT a fun task.  I'm glad he's lived up to his side of the bet, but  I'm not convinced he'll be back for another round next year.  For now, enjoy his brief words of praise (I think) and feel his pain.

Source

I'm getting fed up with having to write this post. Since Kirk Ferentz took over the head coaching duties for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1999, he has a record of 6-8 against the Iowa State Cyclones. I grew up when Iowa State beating Iowa was as realistic an idea as unicorns; 15 straight wins between 1982 - 1997. For the first time in my life, I have no doubt that Iowa State winning this game was not an upset, a fluke, or anything else other than the best team winning. 

Paul Rhoads is turning Iowa State into a team to be reckoned with. Steele Jantz is the best quarterback in the state, and the Cyclones should have a pretty nice bowl bid at the end of the year. In Iowa City on Saturday, the Cyclones certainly gave the Hawkeyes enough chances to win the game; it was an ugly game, have no doubt. Iowa is a supremely young team, and Iowa State has talent and experience on its side. For the first time IN MY LIFE, Iowa didn't score a touchdown against Iowa State. This is unheard of, and completely unacceptable. ISU still has a long way to go before they can shed the "little brother" moniker, but the game on Saturday proved they are on their way to doing just that.

 

Thanks, Matt.  I hope you're right about the Cyclones.  But I bet you're hoping you've just jinxed them.  We'll have to wait and see.

 

The CyHawk Trophy is staying in Ames.