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Normally at the Jug we try to focus on news that’s Wildcat-centric – if not related directly to K-State athletics, then at least the Big 12 as a whole. Yet I had a particular interest in last week’s meeting of the Rule’s Committee and felt the need to commend it for a recent set of decisions to avoid alterations to the shot clock rule while implementing other reforms in the interest of fairness and more accurate officiating.

Following the conclusion of the three day meeting last week, here are the changes to be implemented during the 2013-14 college basketball season (contingent upon approval from the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in June):

• One of the most controversial issues during the NCAA tournament was the elbow rule, invoked when a stationary ballhandler hits a defender in the face with his elbow. The problem was that close games were influenced when players were called for the foul not because they hit a defender while trying to clear out space, but simply made inadvertent contact attempting to make a basketball move. Officials now have the power to review the play and keep the call as a flagrant one or two, or downgrade the call to a player control foul or no foul at all (this was previously not allowed – once the call was made, it stuck). This is a good rule because more than one player was punished for simply positioning themselves, not attempting to clear out more space by menacing the opponent with elbow checks.
• Referees can now review out of bounds plays when two minutes remain in regulation and overtime. The current rules state reviews can be conducted with one minute left. Shot clock violations will also be reviewable with two minutes left to play.
• Officials will have the ability to check whether a player’s foot was on the three point line with four minutes left in regulation and overtime. The change is that the review is able to be conducted immediately – refs previously had the ability to run to the monitor to check whether a shot was worth two or three points during a tv timeout, but could not stop play to review.
• The block/charge call was also adjusted. Iowa State fans will be particularly interested in this one, as the Cyclones were screwed twice this year by blocking calls that should have been charge/no call situations. The first was with five seconds left against KU which allowed Elijah Johnson to take (and make) two free throws to force overtime, which the Jayhawks eventually won. The second was during the Sweet Sixteen with less than two minutes left against Ohio State. In that instance OSU’s Aaron Craft drew a bunk foul and went on to win by three points. A couple points to this rule change:
  • In the two examples listed above, the defender had attempted to place himself in front of the ballhandler with two feet planted while facing the scoring player, setting himself before the offensive player left the court. The new rules state a defender cannot move in front of a ballhander once he has begun his upward motion, period. The emphasis on feet being set will be removed.
  • There is an assumption that more blocking calls and fewer charges will occur with this change, because the rules are geared towards getting defenders out of the way during a scoring motion unless you have a good chance at a steal or block.

The greater emphasis on instant replay will make games more accurate and reduce controversy, but also threaten to extend the overall length of games and slow down the pace. Where you stand on this trade off is a function of how much of a purist you are regarding that little monitor at the scorers table, and both sides of the instant replay debate have legitimate points. However we can commend the committee for attempting to bring fairness and precision to game officiating. Controversy will always exist, but these are responses to situations that impacted the outcomes of games in the NCAA tournament and threw up a barrier to the better team coming out on top.

In our second installment of this look at the rules changes we’ll examine the fact the NCAA did not shorten the clock, and the importance of this decision.

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

The Big 12 Conference tournament is always a grind, and first round byes are valued not only because they ensure matchups against lower seeds, but players are more rested should one’s team travel deep into the bracket. Teams play every night until they lose, and assessing the likelihood of success often hinges on how fresh a team’s legs are. Nowhere was that more evident than the 2009-2010 team’s NCAA run. The Wildcats earned a #2 seed that year and swept aside North Texas and BYU in the first two games. Then, in the Sweet Sixteen, the Wildcats were forced into a draining contest against Xavier that required two overtimes and led CBS Sports to dub it “one of the best games in the history of the Sweet 16.” The game began at 8:30 and ended around midnight. Jacob Pullen logged 40 minutes in that game, Curtis Kelly had 43, and Denis Clemente 48 – only allowed two minutes of rest the entire night. 36 hours later, K-State lost to Butler in a game the Wildcats struggled to run down lose balls and fight for rebounds. Butler went on to face Duke in the National Championship, while K-State fans were left to wonder what if… following the Elite Eight loss.

For the University of Kansas, the semifinals got ugly as a 62-40 over Texas Tech lead with 10 minutes left ballooned to 91-63 by the end of the game. Only two KU players saw more than 30 minutes of action (Ben McLemore – 32 – and Travis Releford – 31). 14 players saw playing time, and 11 saw at least five minutes. Iowa State had a more difficult dispatching Oklahoma, winning 73-66. The Cyclones’ key players all logged more playing time.

On the other side of the bracket, Kansas State easily downed Texas 66-49, and had a solid rotation of big men with D.J. Johnson and Thomas Gipson each playing for 15 minutes and Jordan Henriquez 10. Gipson likely would have received more playing time, but was saddled with early foul trouble and finished with four on the night in limited minutes, opening the door for Johnson to see enhanced time while scoring a season high eight points. Johnson is still raw and it would be unwise to expect that sort of contribution on both ends of the court from him every night, but limiting Gipson’s playing time is a good thing if it doesn’t put the team in jeapordy. Henriquez was limited due to back problems, and his status going forward is shaky.

Another question mark is Will Spradling, who played 24 minutes while attempting to work back into the rhythm of the game following a bruised sternum suffered against Texas in late February. The injury has made breathing so painful Spradling had to miss two games, only played five minutes of a third, and was unable to practice. Although he was able to contribute 24 minutes Thursday night, fatigue may be an issue Friday and Saturday as his body is not used to being forced to recover. Atrophy sucks when your opponents are in prime shape.

Facing the Wildcats will be an Oklahoma State team that should have rested its starters early but failed to maintain a huge halftime lead against Baylor and ended up squeaking by, 74-72. In addition to minutes, time of game may be an issue here as well. Oklahoma State’s game did not conclude until around 10:45, meaning the Cowboy players probably got back to their hotel rooms around midnight – later if they ate somewhere other than the hotel after the game. This isn’t a pity party for OSU – K-State played a night game as well, and the Cowboys narrowly avoided overtime (largely due to a bad foul call against Baylor with 2.6 seconds left, but that’s an article for someone else to write). However, should Oklahoma State advance to the finals and be expected to play a KU squad that was already hydrating and resting their legs before the sun even went down Thursday, there’s an undeniable advantage built into the equation. Of course, that’s the advantage of being the #1 seed. If you don’t like it, win the conference next year.

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Bruce Weber assumed that Monday’s trip to Lawrence would be for rights to first place in the Big 12 if he could beat Iowa State on Saturday. He didn’t have to wait that long. KU lost its third straight, continuing its plummet from atop the national rankings, and K-State responded with a victory over the Cyclones to take sole possession of the Big 12 with an 8-2 league record.

One of the game’s biggest storylines was the battle between Thomas Gipson and Iowa State’s freshman, Georges Niang. Tonight was the fourth straight game coming off the bench for Gipson while Jordan Henriquez got the start, and it resulted in the team’s fourth straight win. However, Gipson logged the majority of minutes down low (21) while knocking down six of eight shots and four of five free throws to score 16 points while also collecting seven rebounds (Henriquez would finish with only eight minutes). However, K-State held Niang to only four of ten shooting for nine points while also getting him to commit four fouls and spend more time on the bench than the Cyclones could spare.

Rodney McGruder led all scorers with 22 points, propelled by three of four three point shots. He also finished the game with five assists and four steals for one of his more complete outings of the year. Angel Rodriguez wasn’t far behind with 20 points fueled by multiple acrobatic layups and hitting all seven of his free throws down the stretch. Overall, the team shot 51 percent from the field, including 50 percent from behind the arc, to score 79 points on the night - its second highest total in conference play this year.

The game was a great back-and-forth during the first half, with K-State jumping out to an 11-2 lead. Iowa State than went on a tear and to go up 26-19 with seven minutes left in the half on a Korie Lucious three pointer. The teams went to the locker room with K-State ahead 33-32 on the scoreboard. K-State led almost the entire second half, but didn’t truly pull away until an Angel Rodriguez three put the Wildcats up by 11 with five and a half minutes to go. Iowa State started fouling at the 2:30 mark, sending Rodriguez to the line three times where he hit all six shots. Rodney McGruder was also sent to the line, hitting both of his opportunities for the team’s final points of the night.

Stat you overlooked: Iowa State only took seven free throws. They hit six. Hard to win with a line like that. K-State hit 18 of 22 for an 82 percent success rate. This team has struggled to shoot free throws consistently all year, but that’s a refreshing statistic.

K-State travels to Lawrence Monday night with an opportunity to extend their lead for first place in the conference and the inside track to the #1 seed in the league’s tournament. Oklahoma State, at 7-3 alongside KU, has an easy match up against Texas Tech on Wednesday. Should KU and Oklahoma State prevail, it would leave them tied with K-State for first place. If K-State wins, KU will be riding a four game losing streak – the first for the University since before our fact checkers can remember. In 1988, the Jayhawks definitely lost four straight, but Danny Manning and the Miracles would eventually storm back to win the National Championship. Not this year. Currently sitting at #13, there is a good chance K-State will enter the top ten when the rankings come out on Monday.

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Wildcats didn’t have the best of starts to conference play, but at 7-2 in the Big 12 and tied for the lead following KU’s inexplicable loss to TCU, the team is playing with new life and the best defense on the Plains. With a chance to extract revenge against a Cyclones team that defeated K-State its last defeat, even more intrigue is injected into the game. Consider that Iowa State (6-3)  is only one game behind K-State (7-2) and KU (7-2) for the conference lead and that the two teams are scheduled for a 5 pm (CT) tipoff on ESPN2, and you have the makings of a potential classic.

In a three game streak that included a win against Oklahoma and losses to KU and Iowa State, the Wildcats allowed 64 points per game while dropping to 4-2 in the Big 12. However, they have rebounded by winning three straight (including a blow out of Texas) while only allowing 55 points and under 25 percent shooting from three point range. Their 60.3 points allowed per game in conference play is the best in the Big 12, while the Wildcats’ average scoring differential of +6.2 is short of only Baylor’s +6.4.

While K-State is limiting open shot opportunities, their constant pressure is forcing 12.6 turnovers per game in conference play. They also lead the league with a turnover differential of +2.7. So while the Wildcats are only sixth in scoring, the ability to lock down on all opponents means the team doesn’t have to score every time it takes the ball downcourt. And while the Wildcats simply lost at their game against KU (they held the Jayhawks to only 59 points), the Cyclones were the one team able to impose their will in the Big 12. The Wildcats were forced to play an up-tempo game that resulted in 67-73 loss in January.

Iowa State doesn’t play K-State’s style of defense, but it does lead the Big 12 in scoring offense with 73.9 points/game. And when the league’s best offense and defense find themselves matched up against each other, one key variable should decide the outcome: K-State lost to Iowa State in Ames, where the Cyclones are 13-0. Iowa State is 2-5 on the road, and the Octagon of Doom is not the place to reverse that trend.

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Aside from its early season loss to Michigan State, there have only been two teams that tested KU from opening tipoff to the final seconds. Those teams meet in Ames, IA on Saturday as the #11 Wildcats (15-3, 4-1) take on the Iowa State Cyclones (13-5, 3-2) in what is shaping up to be the best game in the Big 12 this weekend. While KU needed a last-second three to tie Iowa State before going on to win in overtime, the Jayhawks led Kansas State the entire game put could never pull away and left Manhattan with a four point win.

K-State’s biggest folly against Kansas was its willingness to settle for threes. Sometimes the Wildcats fired off legitimately good looks. Other times, they merely looked too timid to attack KU’s height in the middle. They finished nine of 30 from behind the arc, putting a damper on a beautiful defensive effort. They won’t face the same height problem against Iowa State, which features a much smaller line up and has no starters above 6-7. The lack of contrast should allow Bruce Weber’s offense to flow more naturally, using a three guard starting line up (although Shane Southwell almost makes it a four guard line up) to create a lot of motion and open the floor for Rodney McGruder to take over the game.

McGruder has been on fire in conference games, averaging over 15 points a game on the season but 21.5 points since Big 12 play started. While he’s blossomed into the team’s go-to scorer, Iowa State has developed a score-by-committee approach, with five players averaging more than ten points while senior guard Chris Babb averages 8.9 points on 33 minutes/game. All of those scorers combined average 79 points per game, the 11th most in the nation. And although the Cyclones are not tremendous shooters – ranked 100th overall with a 44.9 percent shooting average – their 41.2 rebounds/night create a multitude of second chances.

Iowa State comes into the game on the heels of a 56-51 at Texas Tech on Wednesday. They have recorded 17 straight home victories, including nine straight Big 12 wins in Ames. In other Big 12 action, KU (5-0 in league play) takes on Oklahoma (4-1). If the Sooners are able to leave Lawrence with a victory, a win against the Cyclones will give K-State a three-way tie atop the Big 12′s standings thanks to a victory over OU last week. We’re just starting to have fun this season.

Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

More penalties. Seems to be the story of the 3rd quarter. On the kickoff to start the second half, K-State gets nailed with a holding AND an unnecessary roughness call. A nice return is completely negated, resulting in K-state getting the ball starting on its own eight. As long as they can get these penalties out of their system, the team is still winning every facet of this game (in the trenches, total yardage, time of possession, and most importantly, scoreboard).

Klein apparently has spikes on his cleats twice as long as the Iowa State defenders. On a scramble on third down, he zigged and zagged for first down while Cyclones all around him slipped to the ground. There’s also the possibility Collin Klein is magic; indeed these are equally plausible hypotheses.

Around eight minutes left to play, I write down that K-State needs to open up the passing attack. And not just called passes either – I’m talking some real vertical shots down the field. I know the wind is playing a factor here, but ISU is doing a good job bottling up runs, and short passes just aren’t working. Klein is picking up some nice yards on scrambles, and the receiving corps of K-State is good enough to get more action than they’ve received. I will acknowledge that as underrated as Tremaine Thompson, Tyler Lockett, and Ryan Tannehill are, Iowa State’s secondary is just as underrated. Naturally, as I write this, Klein gets sacked on third down.

On the next Wildcat possession, Ryan Doerr finally exhibits some of that talent we saw against Oklahoma, and downs a punt on the one. He also had a punt earlier in the quarter that bounced backward after landing about a yard inside the end zone, but close is not cigar as this scenario is still a touchback.

K-State almost recorded another safety by hitting an Iowa State running at the one and pushing him back into the end zone. If not for forward progress, the game would’ve become 19-14. The defense follows up with a pass batted down and an incomplete pass after forcing Barnett into a pass he didn’t want to throw. Punting out the end zone with the ball on the one yard line, Iowa State shanks the punt, giving K-state the ball on the 30. Hubert then rips off an 11-yard run straight up the middle with a seam my grandmother could’ve exploited, but it’s called back on a holding penalty. Damn penalties.

So how does K-State respond? Collin Klein takes off like he’s going to run, and pops up and dinks a short pass over the middle to Tannehill for 11 yards. Then Hubert runs to the left for 11 takes it to the ISU 12. Another Hubert run for no gain, and an incomplete pass to Harper makes it 3rd and nine. Klein pump fakes, fools all 11 Iowa State defenders, and runs right almost completely untouched for a 12-yard touchdown run. He may very well be magical.

K-State is only averaging 3.9 yards/attempt today. I’ve said it before but this linebacker duo of Iowa State is phenomenal. They have seven penalties for 57 yards, while ISU has eight for 52 yards. Very uncharacteristic of both teams. K-State has held the ball twice as long while recording 100 more yards than Iowa State (294-202), but the score remains a bit close for comfort. We start the drive with Iowa State ball at the K-State 20, 1st down. The Wildcats need to come up with a big stop here to keep Iowa State in their place.

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

Just as I (unhappily) predicted, Iowa State opened up the second quarter with a touchdown. Credit recently crowned starting quarterback Jared Barnett with a nice two yard strike to running back Shontrelle Johnson for the score.

Down 3-7, K-State responded with an excellent riposte drive, but it didn’t start out tremendously well. Klein called a time out on first down. With 14:58 to play in the half (apparently the touchdown strike was only two seconds), the Wildcats are already out of time outs. Bill Snyder can’t be happy with that. K-State is being hit with a double whammy right now, as a record crowd attendance in Ames remains damn loud, and the weather is milding obscuring the signals from the sidelines.

A close play on a nice option later in the drive resulted in 4th and inches on Iowa State’s five yard line. Nice call by the coaching staff to go for it. Funny event on the play: Klein picks up the first down on a sneak, and after the play is called dead an Iowa State defender grabs Klein’s leg and tries to pull him backwards to discredit his yardage. No dice, as the refs don’t fall for it. It takes a couple more attempts and a horse collar penalty on the Cyclones to make it work, but Klein eventually punches it in to get back the lead, 10-7.

7:21 left in the first half. 12:11p.m. Central time. Mark it. This is the first time my jaw actually drops in response to something. Tremaine Thompson is too far forward and muffs the punt, the fumble resulting in Iowa State ball. Very sour. One minute (and the following play) later, Ty Zimmerman provides reprieve by recording an interception in the end zone. Sweet. Zimmerman has been an absolute beast this year. Unfortunately, the K-State offense does nothing with the gift and, punting into the wind, gives Iowa State the ball back on the K-State 42. The Cyclones exploit the advantage, and bang out a 30 yard pass for a touchdown to go up 14-10. It’s time for a shot. Whiskey please.

Klein is taking some punishment today. I don’t know how many people noticed, but he and Hubert only had ten rushes apiece last week. It’s obvious they’ll have to be more involved today.

Second and two on the Iowa State 16, the Wildcats call pass. This is a bad call. Credit Snyder with going for it on 4th down earlier, but this wasn’t good one. Results in an incomplete pass. Fortunately, an Iowa Sate penalty on 3rd secures a new set of downs. Who else but Collin Klein later punches it in for the touchdown. This is where the half ends, as Iowa State opts to down the ball to run out the clock upon getting the ball back, leaving the Wildcats up 17-14.

I don’t understand the Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde personas of this team. The Wildcats either force a 3-and-out, or seems to get burned every play of the drive. The offense either moves the ball completely unobstructed, or can’t get any momentum. Expect K-State to make the necessary adjustments to secure the game in the second half, but anyone looking for a blowout today is apt to be disappointed.

Final thought: I don’t like Oklahoma, but I really hate Texas. If you feel the same way, laugh at the fact UT is getting destroyed right by a score of 36-2. Take another shot.

John Hubert can’t be beaten one-on-one. It’s that simple. The offensive line also provided great seams on the first drive (for the most part) and good pass blocking so far. If they could keep up this play the rest of the game, go ahead and record another win on the season.

I really liked the first drive for K-State, even though it didn’t end in a touchdown. First play, Collin Klein takes a stutter step, hands off to John Hubert, than pretends to keep the ball running right. Second play, Klein takes a stutter step, fakes the hand-off to Hubert, and keeps the ball to run right. Result: 1st down K-State. Later on in the drive, Hubert was stuffed up the middle. Klein overthrows a short pass on second down. It’s now 3rd-and-11, Iowa State is playing great coverage, and Klein scrambles on the broken play. I looks like he’ll pick up six or seven yards, short of the first down. He gets 12 by finding some higher gear I still can’t believe he owns. 1st down K-state. A chop block resulting in a personal foul ends up pushing the Wildcats back into kicking a field goal on the next set of downs. Anthony Cantele proves his worth again, nailing a 41-yarder to take a 3-0 lead.

Speaking of that personal foul, this quarter has been pretty uncharacteristic so far. The team has been burning time outs, also recorded a false start, and got hit with a holding penalty (which was declined when the Cyclones recorded a sack on the play). Credit those in attendance with getting LOUD today so far – the crowd was just as responsible for forcing a punt as the Cyclone defense on K-State’s 2nd possession. Iowa State moved the ball almost unchallenged on their final drive of the quarter, running left, right, and up the middle. We end the first 15 minutes with K-State up, but the Cyclones have the ball at third and goal and look ready to punch it in when we pick up the next quarter.

Quick stats: K-State has 29 rushing yards to Iowa State’s 41. They also only have 39 passing yards to Iowa State’s 48. This is what happens when you only have two possession to your opponent’s three. However, K-State still leads time of possession with 8:48, compared to Iowa State’s 6:12.

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

Earlier this week, Jug of Snyder teamed up with Fansided’s Clones Confidential lead editor Brian Spaen to preview Saturday’s match up between K-State and Iowa State. Today we conclude this conversation with scoring predictions (spoiler alert – we don’t agree on the outcome). Click here to read the first half of our conversation. For a refresher, we left off on how Iowa State will deal with K-State’s defensive pressure:

Brian (Clones Confidential): If KSU continues its “bend-but-don’t-break style of defense,” then ISU needs to attack the defense with short passes first, and then break out the running game later. This is something they’ve actually been doing all year. Paul Rhoads said before the season that with a solid stable of running backs (going three-deep) there would be a lot of running. It triggered the upsets over Texas Tech and Oklahoma State last year. This is also the Wildcats’ biggest weakness on defense (93rd passing defense vs 21st rushing defense).

Iowa State’s been coming out with short passes and doing it often since Tulsa. The running game hasn’t exactly been what all of us expected, White and Johnson of course lead all rushers but Jeff Woody has been hurt most of the season. I thought it could have been the gameplan just for Steele Jantz to throw the ball a lot, but when Barnett started the previous game Rhoads called his first seven of 10 plays as passes. Perhaps it caught TCU off-guard; broken coverage downfield resulted in two lengthy touchdowns that set the tone of the game.

With Barnett at the helm, everyone feels safer with the turnovers. Jantz is a high-risk, high-reward passing quarterback; while he has a better arm he takes chances he shouldn’t. In his two seasons, the touchdown/interception ratio is 17-18. Barnett looks a lot quicker this year making decisions to pass – he only made one mistake late in the second quarter last week. If the Cyclones can get into that offensive gameplan, avoid turnovers, and not get hit with penalties (they have 22 this season compared to Kansas State’s nine), they should have some success against the fifth-best team in the nation.

Now that we know about the matchups, what do you believe will happen on Saturday afternoon in Ames?

Dave (Jug of Snyder): One thing I see going right for the Cyclones will be their ability to bottle up tight end Ryan Tannehill. He was a monster last weekend against KU, but that amazing linebacker duo has the ability to shut down the middle of the field. However, still you need an army of AJ Kleins and Jake Knotts to stop the Wildcats’ option attack of Collin Klein and John Hubert. Plus, both players have relatively fresh legs as they only logged ten carries apiece last week – and both still managed to gain over 100 yards. I see a solid 225 yards rushing for the team overall, compared to 125 yards for Iowa State. Collin Klein will also manage at least two strikes of 30+ yards to receivers Chris Harper and Tyler Lockett. This game has been very close in recent years, but Iowa State hasn’t faced a K-State offense this dangerous in awhile.

Additionally, you need to prepare yourself for at least one Iowa State fumble in the backfield resulting from a sack or other spectacular defensive play. Sorry Brian, but it’s going to happen. The historian in me says it’ll be a six point game, but the homer in me says 17 point spread. I’m picking K-State over Iowa State, 26-14. Feel free to tell me I’ve called this score brilliantly.

Brian: Haha, I do agree that we will see a lower scoring game like your final. I believe the Iowa State defense is better overall than most people expect. They will force turnovers, and with a packed house at Jack Trice Stadium being sold out, along with potential rainy weather conditions, I believe mistakes will happen on both sides of the ball. This defense is better than most people expect, and I believe after seeing both Klein and Hubert a season ago, both the team and coaching staff knows what’s coming on the ground. Your prediction of KSU’s running total over 200 yards could be close like a season ago, but I anticipate close to 200 yards on the ground with Barnett, Johnson, and White.

History says that Iowa State will win this game; one forecast called for tornadoes on Saturday, and the Cyclones are an outstanding 1-0 when they’ve had to evacuate the stadium and then come back to play a football game against Colorado in 2005. The Cyclones will miss the occasional extra point but nail a long field goal, and the defense will force a late big mistake to upset Kansas State 23-20, to keep the dream season continuing.

Read more of  Brian and Fansided’s Iowa State blog, Clones Confidential.

Beast Hubert at your service. (si.com)

For the final time in conference battles this season, Kansas State figured out a way to get it done. Farmageddon was closer than anyone would have wished for, but really what game hasn’t been that way this season? Nine victories of 2011 came by 7 points or less. It was the usual mix of gritty play, limited mistakes, and holding on for dear life and with the win the Wildcats completed their first 10-win season since 2003. The reward for their efforts is a trip to the Cotton Bowl to take on a tough Arkansas team who has only lost to the two teams playing for the BCS National Championship. Be watching for plenty of breakdown on that match-up over the next couple of weeks but until then, continue reading for the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Iowa State game. (more…)