I might be playing a total here, but will not be on a side because there is NO WAY this life-long Hawkeye(and 2 time grad from there) would EVER bet Iowa State in this game.
That being said, Iowa State is free money here. Toss last weeks results out the window when 'capping this game.
Iowa played a team that couldn't win at the 1-AA level and Iowa State's WHOLE SEASON is the Iowa game, regardless of what those Cy-Clowns say year after year.
Football games are won at the line of scrimmage. Iowa State has 2 returning starters on their offensive line,as well as 2 Jrs that saw significant time last season, while Iowa starts 4, count 'em FOUR, new players across their defensive line. Last year Iowa had some great players along their defensive line, so this bunch didn't see many reps last season.
This is the first road trip for these guys, and while the starters saw plenty of reps last week against Ball State, the back-ups saw plenty of time as well. Iowa still hasn't made a decsion on who its punter will be, so give Iowa State the advantage there as well with their Sr punter.
Even Drew Tate only saw the field for a full quarter plus, as his day was done early into the 2nd quarter.
While Iowa dominated an over-matched Ball State team, not many questions could/were answered about the new defensive line.
Could they be as good as the batch from last year? In time, maybe.
Iowa State will be a real test for these new guys--as well as the rest of the team. Yes, there will be plenty of Black and Gold at the game(myself included), but not 30% as someone suggested in another thread.
is the potential there for Iowa to win going away? Sure. Will it happen? Not likely. Good luck in whatever you choose to do with this one....