The Mid-Morning Dump - 8/27/14

THE WAY OUT IS THROUGH. The season opening loss to UNI was a year ago, but the lessons it taught are being used in preparation for the opener against North Dakota State.

WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER. The receiving corps have big expectations to meet this season and will do so with a list of familiar names.

EVERY DAY IS EXACTLY THE SAME. Paul Rhoads is trying to repeat a script and reset Iowa State's trajectory with a win over North Dakota State.

ANOTHER VERSION OF THE TRUTH. Brent Blum begins his weekly football columns with a great article about how the quality of a team is determined on the field, not in the media.

MARCH OF THE PIGS. Ian Boyd at the mothership has a fantastic write up of how North Dakota State's offense kills you with the power running game, and how former coach Craig Bohl is bringing it to Wyoming.

RUNNING. The other fall sports have had some success as of late, and the women's cross country team start out the season ranked 9th in the nation; while the men start out ranked 26th.

RIGHT WHERE IT BELONGS. This weekend's match up between Iowa State and Standford in volleyball will feature two teams known for their setting.

THE COLLECTOR. Patrick Vint sets up the entire Week 1 schedule for college football and tells you what to watch and when.  PS - football actually starts tonight!

IN THIS TWILIGHT. With the off season coming to an end, the mothership looks back on the top storylines and moments from this summer.

THE WRETCHED. Devaughn Darling died 13 years ago during an off season drill at Florida State, and his family is still waiting to be made whole.

TERRIBLE LIE. Madden 15 is out and the SportsPickle has your honest to goodness real ratings for the players.

THE MARK HAS BEEN MADE. Apparently Jon Bois is no longer needed to break Madden, the game does it itself.

HELP ME I AM IN HELL. The NHL wants to expand to four more cities before 2017.