FB: American Rivers Conference

[dutchfan1]

On a completely non-D3 related note....what does anyone think of Chizik leaving ISU with a 5-19 record ...for a program like Auburn? Does this seem like kind of a big leap for someone would couldn't carve out a single conference win in the Big 12 this season?

What were they thinking??

[the_mayne_event]

On a completely non-D3 related note....what does anyone think of Chizik leaving ISU with a 5-19 record ...for a program like Auburn? Does this seem like kind of a big leap for someone would couldn't carve out a single conference win in the Big 12 this season?

What were they thinking??

He was the secondary coach/assist. d-coord. before leaving for Texas.  They probably also figured he did some decent things?? with ISU, and also realized that he had zero to work with there.  I believe he will do a good job, but they fired Tubbs too quickly at Auburn.  The Auburn fans were't happy about it - booing him upon his arrival

[Alfredeneumann]

On a completely non-D3 related note....what does anyone think of Chizik leaving ISU with a 5-19 record ...for a program like Auburn? Does this seem like kind of a big leap for someone would couldn't carve out a single conference win in the Big 12 this season?

What were they thinking??

Check out this video on what some think.

http://www.overstream.net/view.php?oid=nhngm9tnmdlc

[DutchFan2004]

+k to all IIACers online when I posted #200.  Woohoo!

+k for getting to 200 welcome to the karma club.

[Klopenhiemer]

On a completely non-D3 related note....what does anyone think of Chizik leaving ISU with a 5-19 record ...for a program like Auburn? Does this seem like kind of a big leap for someone would couldn't carve out a single conference win in the Big 12 this season?

What were they thinking??

Chiz saw the opportunity to get out of dodge.  ISU was just a stepping stone for him to get back to the SEC.  ISU made a terrible decision in letting McCartney go.  For a team that has never won a conference championship, only tied for one twice in the early 1900's, I found is disconcerning that they would fire a man who took them to 5 bowl games.  I guess Jamie Pollard thought the grass was greener.  

Obviously I am baised towards the Hawkeyes, but the crappiest thing about this is that it sets ISU back another couple years on making any kind of progress.  Its always darkest before dawn and I thought ISU had some things to build upon next year.

Funny how the DM Reg plays this as well.  I recall reading one quote about having 7th grade football experience and does that qualify me for the job.  

Hey WH..You have HS coaching experience why dont you put in an application  You might be just what they need.  

[DutchFan2004]

As far as the Chizek thing I think Pollard will be soon leaving.  He has not improved the athletics at all.  IMO getting rid of Coach Mc was a huge mistake.  He truly loved Iowa State and did wonderful things there.  Lets face it ISU is not a real gem to go coach at.  They had a coach that was successful by anyones standards at ISU.  I believe Chizek and take him at face value when he says that he wasn't looking to leave.  The real question is not how Auburn will do with Chizek the real question is who will they get to replace him and how bad will he be?  If Auburn can not get a "hot" coach to go there who will ISU get?  Not that Coach Mc was such a hot commodity when he was hired and he was successful.  I venture a guess here and say that ISU is in the cellar for the foreseeable future.  

[Klopenhiemer]

2008 Season Recap for the Beavers

7-3 Record
2nd place finish
Anderson voted COY by his PEERS.  

Offense:  The Beavers did two things that they needed to do in order to take the next step.  They rushed the football the best they have since 2004 and protected the quarterback.  In the previous years this has been a troubling spot for the Beavers.  They could never keep the defenders from harrassing the quarterback and could not get any type of ground attack going.  This lead them to be basically one dimensional and let the defense sit in zone conference in long down situations.  This was the achillies heel of past years.  Its amazing to see how the tides turn when these things come into place.  They did this with a first year quarterback who was a senior.  He was an excellent manager and made good decision with the football.  He was complimented by a nice coprs of receivers and a bright spot was a freshman by the name of Jorge Mata.  Sounds like this kid could be a good one in the years to come . They also have a nice running back who runs hard and has good vision.  He was only a sophmore so there is two more years with him in the backfield.  Overall it was a much improved offensive effort collectivly thus leading to 7 wins.  The most in quite some time.  

Defense:  The defense has some studs on it as well.  The linebacking corps seem to be as strong as they have in years.  They were lead in the secondary by two seniors, Franklin and Sly.  They will be missed.  They were a force that team did have to prepare for.  The Beavers were near the top in a lot of the defensive team stats in the Iowa Conference.  This was a nice change.  In years past the defense was on the field so much that it lead to a tired and worn down unit and the game/season progressed.  This year with a more ballanced offense attack it did take some pressure off the defense and allowed them to catch their breath.  There did some nice things regarding getting after the QB and putting pressure on the opposing offense.  They do graduate some guys upfront but do have some good kids returning.  They boast a good 2008 recruiting class and a lot of those kids were on the defensive side of the ball.  I do see the defense getting nothing but better as time goes on.  

Big Games:  The Beavers proved that they could win big games this season, but also proved that we are still a player or two away from sealing the deal.  The biggest wins of the season were Wartburg, Coe, Simpson, and UD.  All teams that people gave BV little or no shot to win this year.  Especially considering their previous track record with the exception of UD.  The most frustrating part of the season was the Central game.  With all of the marbles in our hand they failed to get the job done.  I was around in 2004 and know what the feeling is like.  It makes a guy sick to his stomach.  With all of the talent coming back, the past couple of years recruits, and the 2009 recruits should give the Beavers a shot to stay in the top 3 in the conference for another year.  

Big Questions:  The big questions have to be who is going to fill the QB position for next year.  With Peary being a one and done, it did not facilitate anyone else building upon a season for next year.  There are a couple of guys in the mix and there is always the chance of landing a big time recruit/transfer.  I see the Beavers as one game breaker away.  Wheather it be at the QB position or the WR position.  This is the guy who can take the game into his hands and win it when you need a score.  I compare the Beavers a bit to this years version of the Tampa Bay Bucs.  They are built to play soild offense, good defense, but playing from behind kills them.  They do not have the fire power to come back in certain instances.  If a big play maker can emerge I see nothing but up for this team.  

2009 Outlook:  Its a bit to early to tell but I like what I see in the cupboard.  I like this team in 2009 and I think you will see a hungary team in the off season.  There is a lot of learn/build on from this season and it will be exciting to see things take shape over the next few months.  I am not ready to hail them as the 2009 favorite, but I like their chances to compete in the top half in 2009.  Biggest challenge will be going on the road to Platteville, Wartburg, Simpson, and Luther.  All long trips and all formitable challenges for the Beavers.  

[DutchFan2004]

Is there a new defense called a zone conference?      I wondered why BV was not successful.  All the IIAC teams stymied the Beavers holding conferences.   

[DutchFan2004]

Sorry Klop that just tickled me when I read it.  I know you meant coverages but I had to tease you some.  Well thought out and reasoned statements.  I am sure there are many questions that will need to be answered for the up coming season.  I don't see a clear cut favorite coming back this year for 2009.  Wartburg lost many seniors.  I am sure that their cupboard is not bare but the loss of experience is a huge loss. 

[Thunderbolt]

Okay ... I needed an "IIAC Motto" so that I could create an IIAC Group on ESPN's "College Bowl Mania."  That now is done and all you IIAC fans are invited to enjoy a little fun and friendly competition by matching your ability to pick this year's bowl winners with other IIAC folk.

I've created a group named IIAC Forever.  Whether you are from Wartburg, Cornell, or any of the teams inbetween ... to join in this friendly competition, simply click or this link ...

http://games.espn.go.com/bowlmania/frontpage

If you don't already have an account with ESPN.com ... you can sign-up to get an account (its free!) ... and then join the group, IIAC Forever.  You will need the password IIAC'08 to join the group.

Let's see which IIACer can pick the most winners with the most "confidence points" beginning with the EagleBank Bowl next Saturday and finishing with the BCS National Champtionship Game on January 8.

Let me know if you have any trouble signing up or finding the IIAC Forever group.

"United we stand.  Divided, we're still better than most."

Thanks for taking the time to set this up. It looks like fun. The link didn't work for me, but I was able to find my way in from the ESPN home page. I now have it linked to my favorites so it shouldn't take me an hour to find my way back. I'm pretty good at this, and see no reason I shouldn't finish in the top two at this point.

[Alfredeneumann]

Since WH has not provide Christmas link I'll fill in with the video that got the lights/music craze going
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD4g0gmQSLk

For those in the Waverly area, the guy that does the haunted yard @ Halloween does the "Grizwald"Christmas lights w/ music too.

[sportsknight]

Since WH has not provide Christmas link I'll fill in with the video that got the lights/music craze going
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD4g0gmQSLk

Somebody has waaaaaaay to much freakin' time on their hands.  That's a lot to go thru just to get outside and away from the wife between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[DBQ1965]

Thunderbolt has joined the IIAC Forever group on ESPN's "College Bowl Mania" ... so now we have one Spartan and one Norse on board.

There's still time for more of you to join ... let's see if Cornell fans can pick better than Loras fans ... or if Coe folk can pick better than anyone.

Try this link ... http://games.espn.go.com/bowlmania/frontpage ... and if it doesn't work, go to espn.com and click on College FB ... then look down the right-hand side of the page and click on "Bowl Mania."  That should get you to the sign-up page.  If you haven't registered with ESPN before, you will have to do so now ... its free!

Once you are registered, click on "Join a Group" and search for IIAC Forever.  In order to join that group, you will need to use the password:  IIAC'08.

You have until the opening kickoff of the EagleBank Bowl this coming Saturday to sign up ... after that, the groups are "locked" and no one gets in late.

IIAC:  United We Stand.  Divided we're still better than most.

[Alfredeneumann]

Could this be where WH is today?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XlPwsmkPHI

[Walston Hoover]

[/quote]

As far as the Chizek thing I think Pollard will be soon leaving.  He has not improved the athletics at all.  IMO getting rid of Coach Mc was a huge mistake.  He truly loved Iowa State and did wonderful things there.  Lets face it ISU is not a real gem to go coach at.  They had a coach that was successful by anyones standards at ISU.  I believe Chizek and take him at face value when he says that he wasn't looking to leave.  The real question is not how Auburn will do with Chizek the real question is who will they get to replace him and how bad will he be?  If Auburn can not get a "hot" coach to go there who will ISU get?  Not that Coach Mc was such a hot commodity when he was hired and he was successful.  I venture a guess here and say that ISU is in the cellar for the foreseeable future.  

This is the part that a lot of people that don't follow ISU sports don't realize. Most ISU sports are much better off now than they were under VandeVelde. The "visible" sports of football and MBB are not, although season ticket sales and attendance are at or near all-time highs and fundraising is the highest ever at ISU. I'd say as an AD, he's doing a hell of a job. Do I agree with the way he goes about doing it? No, but I can't argue with his results. Pollard had a job to do to get ISU caught up budget-wise to the rest of the Big 12. He couldn't sell football season tickets to fans with McCarney going into his 13th season and only having 3 wins. He had to go. At the time, Pretty much everyone in the nation thought that Chizik was the hottest thing going, and ISU got him. We knew that Chizik would not be at ISU for maybe 5 years, but expected that him leaving would be because of success, not after 5 wins total would anyone ever imagined that Auburn would have hired him. What ISU fans are most upset about right now is that only 1 person came out ahead in everything--Chizik gets a couple million dollars and ISU fans get 5 wins over 2 years.
Most people that think getting rid of McCarney was a mistake are hawk fans that feel a "presence" at ISU with McCarney there and know as long as he was around, they could always play the "ISU's Super Bowl" card.
I liked Dan just as much as anyone, and he was good for ISU, but his time was up and anyone remotely interested in the program knew what had to be done.