School: Iowa State University
Location: Ames, IA
Founded: 1858
School Type: Public, Land Grant
Student Population: 31,040 total, 25,553 undergrad
Stadium: Hilton Coliseum
Seating: 14,356
Opened: 1971
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg
Experience: 3rd year

After easily dispatching Iona College in the round of 64, Ohio State moves on to the tougher challenge of  the Cyclones of Iowa State University. The Cyclones looked to be the far better club than Notre Dame on Friday. Iowa State shot 52% from the field, and 43% from 3-point range, so clearly they are proficient at putting the ball in the hoop efficiently.

The Cyclones,  seeded 10th, currently sit at (23-11, 11-7). This game will be similar to the Iona game in that ISU scores a lot of points (80 per game) yet freely gives up points (71 per game). This is quite the contrast to OSU’s defensive average of 58 ppg, while having … [Read More]

Tulsa (10-3, 7-1 CUSA) vs. Iowa State (6-6, 3-6 Big 12)
Monday, Dec. 31, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

The History: The Liberty Bowl has been sponsored by AutoZone since 2004, when the auto parts store took over sponsorship from the financial company, AXA. The game has been played in Memphis, Tenn. since 1965 and usually sees Conference USA’s champion against an SEC team. But, because the SEC didn’t have enough bowl eligible teams to fill its contracted spots (this is my subtle SEC shot), the Liberty Bowl invited Iowa State. It just so happens, these two teams met earlier in the season, way back in week one. Iowa State defeated Tulsa at home, 38-23.

Tulsa Scouting Report: If you look at the numbers, the Tulsa offense is extremely balanced. Its three backs, Trey Watts, Ja’Terian Douglas and Alex Singleton, combined for 2,581 yards on the season. Singleton also … [Read More]

There’s no denying it… one group of conference-mates had an incredibly difficult Saturday.

Positioned for excellence, and featured in a number of nationally significant matchups, the on the field results just did not help dissuade the critics who argue that they have lost their prestige, and are rightfully scorned by college fans across the country. Once seen as powerful contenders for titles, it seems as if the results on Saturday have shown that the game may have passed them by.

Yup, it was a terrible day for the Big 12 expats.  Who did you think I was talking about?

Texas A&M, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska all dropped matches on Saturday, with two of these being significant “upsets” in terms of … [Read More]

We continue the journey across the nation to get you ready for kickoff in less than two weeks. Today, Gary weighs in on the newest incarnation of the Big 12 conference.

With all the Conference re-aligning going on it has been tough to keep track of what team is going where. Many conferences are taking on small changes while many are undergoing complete makeovers. Today, we take a look at the Big 12 conference, which has changed drastically over the last couple of years.

Baylor Bears
2011 Record 10-3
Pre-Season Rank: NR
Head coach Art Briles has his work cut out for him after losing all three of his stars from last year’s offense. QB Robert Griffin III, WR Kendall Wright, and RB Terrance Ganaway all lead the Bears at their respective positions and have all left for the NFL. The Baylor offense still returns three talented wide receivers in … [Read More]

The Basics: Friday, December 30th from Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY at 3:30 PM EST. The game will be televised on ESPN pitting Iowa St (6-6) vs. Rutgers (8-4).

History: Last year saw the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee stadium, which has tie ins to the Big East and Big 12.  The Inaugural game last year saw Syracuse defeat KSU in a thriller.

Iowa St: The Cyclones are led by freshmen standout signal caller Jared Barnett.  He put opponents on their heels both through the air and on the ground.  Don’t let their record fool you as Barnett didn’t take over the job till October, when he led them to 3 straight victories.  Obviously this team will be remembered for their huge upset win over then #2 Okie State and … [Read More]

First, they told us how strong of a program Iowa State is. Then, they gave us the heads up that ISU’s offensive coordinator was someone to keep an eye on.

Well, they were right, and Coach Meyer (still fun to type that!) agrees, today hiring Tom Herman to be the quarterbacks coach at Ohio State. UPDATE: Herman will also serve as the offensive coordinator, as per Ohio State.

Here’s a bit from the CBS story on this-

Herman is relatively young (36 years old); he graduated cum laude from California Lutheran in 1997 and has been an assistant coach ever since. He has been Iowa State’s offensive coordinator for three years, as he was brought in with Paul Rhoads before the 2009 season. Under Herman, the Iowa State offense has scored 20.5, 23.7, and 23.6 points per game

… [Read More]

Ain’t chaos beautiful?  While the end result may be less than desirable, you’ve got to be amazed at the ways that each week is different, each week has the possibility for the unexpected and amazing.  And this week was proof positive that the football gods have both a sense of humor AND a mischievous side.

We start on Friday, with a shout out and hat tip to our BFF’s from Ames who saw their mighty Cyclones upset the #2 ranked Cowboys of T. Boone Pickens U. It was a perfect “storm” of sorts- ISU’s freshman quarterback played the game of his life, while Gundy’s squad seemed incapable of being able to hang onto the ball and put points on the board.  Somehow, a team that managed to shut out Texas Tech at home … [Read More]

The story this week was big upsets, both with teams falling from the ranks of the undefeated and teams rising to the occasion against expectations.  So let’s start in that vein, and with a little “howdy do” to our newest BFFs from the Iowa State contingency, who turned the tables on a Texas Tech team coming off a huge upset on their own. And it wasn’t just a “win” against the #20 Red Raiders, but a 41-7 demolition of Tommy Tuberville’s squadron… must have been a bit presumptuous to start the “Mike … [Read More]