ISU – UNLV Post Game Thoughts

Iowa State dominated the game through three quarters but couldn’t finish off UNLV and let them back in the game .  I think I see a pattern forming, how about you?

Over these last few years we have really been spoiled by the discipline of McCarney’s teams.  Iowa State was only penalized 6 times for 55 yards but it seemed like much, much more.  It is also rare to see Mac’s teams put two fumbles on the ground, luckily ISU recovered both of them.

Speaking of being spoiled.  How many of you thought that Bret Meyer didn’t play his best game last Saturday?  Meyer completed 14-21 passes (67%) for 203 yards and 1 interception and we all thought he had below average game.

Weird Stat of the Week:  Todd Blythe tackles 1, Todd Blythe receptions 0

Here are the players that stood out on Saturday:

Stevie Hicks (23 carries – 109 yards, 1 TD)
Walter Nickel (3 catches – 50 yards)
Ryan Baum (32 yard punt return)
Alvin Bowen (13 tackles)
Jon Banks ( 12 tackles) – much improved from week 1
Rashawn Parker (7 tackles, 2.5 TFL and 1 sack) – Mac said he graded out at 91%

ISU Needs to Play 4 Quarters

Every game Iowa State players and coaches hold up four fingers symbolizing that they own the fourth quarter.  When are we going to actually see it on the field?

Iowa State was dominating the Rebels through three quarters.  Need proof?

Score: Iowa State 16 UNLV 3
First Downs: Iowa State 17 UNLV 8
Rushing Yards: Iowa State 132 UNLV 40
Passing Yards: Iowa State 195 UNLV 119
Total Yards: Iowa State 327 UNLV 159

What happened in the fourth quarter?

UNLV outscored Iowa State 7-0
UNLV outgained Iowa State 133-13
UNLV had 27 offensive plays Iowa State had 3
UNLV had 9 first downs Iowa State had 0
Time of possession UNLV 9:43 – Iowa State 5:17

I am sure the coaches have pointed these statistics out to the players.  If Iowa State is going to beat Iowa this week they are going to need to play all four quarters.

Rant about Referees

How in the world did we end up with Mountain West officials for the game Saturday?  Why isn’t there a rule that keeps that from happening?  If there is a game between a Big 12 team and Mountain West team there should be an officiating crew from another conference doing the game.  I sure hope this gets changed in the near future.

I knew after watching the opening kickoff that we were going to get screwed by this group of officials.  An Iowa State player had a beat on Eric Wright deep in Rebel territory when he was blatantly pulled down by his jersey from behind.  Wright ended up returning the kickoff 54 yards to the ISU 45 yard line.

Here are some other ways the officials helped the Rebels.  All of our spots were marked a half yard short and UNLV’s were marked a half yard ahead.  There were two blatant pass interference penalties that weren’t called that happened right in front of the officials.  We graze a facemask on defense, 15 yard penalty, a Rebel pulls down our player by the facemask, 5 yards.  The UNLV RB was in motion before the play started about a half dozen times and it was never called.  I am sure there are more, but these are off of the top of my head.

I sincerely hope that there isn’t a Big 10 or Big 12 crew doing the game this week.  I want the best team to win, no matter who that is.