We’re back for second mailbag of the football season. Let’s get to it.
Compare players on the football team to Star Wars characters
— Sean Dee (@SeanDee1995) September 13, 2017
Jacob Park - Mace Windu
Mace Windu is, outside of Yoda, essentially the leader of the Jedi council. He’s one of the most skilled and experienced Jedi alive (Parks arm), and totes a unique pink lightsaber (Park’s hair). While Windu dies somewhat unceremoniously at the hands of Palpatine/Darth Sidious, he does so in the name of the council and the Jedi themselves.
Park, as the quarterback, is the leader of the offense, but he isn’t the first person everyone looks at as the unquestioned leader of the team as a whole, mainly due to his generally quiet demeanor. During interviews, Park is usually one of the first people to credit his teammates, and is consistently talking about mastering his position.
Allen Lazard - Yoda
The unquestioned leader of the team. He’s probably the greatest wide receiver in Iowa State history, and show’s in every facet of his position. Route running, catching, and blocking. Others have made flashy plays, but none are more reliable than Lazard. When the Clone Wars started and shit got real, Yoda was there. When Luke crashed in the swamp, Yoda was there. Yoda single-handedly saved the Jedi, while Lazard helped to usher this new era of Cyclone football.
Kamari Cotton-Moya - Boba Fett
As the most feared mercenary in the galaxy, Boba Fett takes orders from nobody. He shows up, gets the job done, and heads home. KCM is essentially a human missile, lay waste to any running back whom dares run to his side of the field. However, like Boba (and his father, Jango), his aggressiveness has come back to hurt him on occasion, leading to injuries.
David Montgomery - Rey
As the heroine of the newest trilogy, Rey discovered her ability to tap into the force almost by happenstance, and is still learning what her potential is. Based on the little we’ve seen so far, she could end up being one of the most powerful Jedis in the Star Wars saga.
Like Rey, David Montgomery has shown enormous potential in his game. It’s already clear to see after his breakout freshman season and his two impressive starts to start his sophomore campaign. However, we may just be scratching the surface with his ability, as last season was Montgomery’s first as a full-time running back. We’re all excited to see where he can go, but he certainly has the talent to be an all-time Cyclone great.
As a bit of Star Wars fanatic, I could probably go on and on with this, but we all have lives to get to, and these are some obvious ones.
Over/under 10.5 more wins this season for Iowa State?
— Aaron Marner (@A_Mar32) September 13, 2017
Well, the over would require us to win out, including a win at Oklahoma. So.......over.
What's was the best year of NCAA football video games?
— Matt Nelson (@MNelson_ISU) September 13, 2017
EA Sports’ NCAA Football series (RIP) was one of the best-selling sports games up until its discontinuation following the 2014 edition and a lawsuit by Ed O’Bannon. Video games are a significant hobby of mine, so I was really looking forward to answer this. First, let’s name the contenders.
NCAA Football ‘07
NCAA Football ‘09
NCAA Football ‘14
Winner: NCAA Football ‘07
The 2007 edition of the franchise, featuring Reggie Bush as the cover athlete, was one of the most popular installments in the series. The main reason this game claims the number one spot is the debut of the “Campus Legend” mode. This mode took a few different name over its lifetime, including “Race for the Heisman” and “Road to Glory,” but neither of those two gave you quite the same experience as Campus Legend. In Campus Legend, you begin at a football camp, completing various drills, like the 40 yard dash, to determine the starting point for your most important attribute ratings.
After selecting the school you want to attend, you arrive at an actual dorm room, fitted with geeky posters, your high school letter jacket, and a pile of textbooks. There’s even a picture of your girlfriend on the wall. As you progress through your career, your dorm turns into progressively nicer apartments, and (comically) you apparently dump your girlfriend every year, trading up to progressively more attractive women. The commentary in the game was even tailored to the mode, with Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and Brad Nessler talking about the “prized recruit” your in first game, and evolving into discussion about your Heisman candidacy later in the season.
Campus Legend was truly the most complete, in-depth version of the best individual career mode in sports gaming.
NCAA Football ‘09 gets consideration due to the addition of the underrated mascot challenge mode and the debut of online dynasties, which allowed you to play and recruit against your friends across multiple seasons.
NCAA Football ‘14 received consideration due the addition of Ultimate Team, a team building mode pioneered in the FIFA franchise, and numerous additions to the Dynasty mode, including more in-depth recruiting, and conference realignment. This edition also gets a nod due to the fact that the online servers are actually still up and running, allowing it’s loyal community of players to update the rosters every year and continue playing with their favorite schools, even if no new edition of the franchise will be released anytime soon.
Which would be worse this season: losing to Baylor in Football, or being swept by Baylor in basketball?
— Lance (@TideNormand) September 13, 2017
Losing in football. Baylor is bad. Like, REALLY bad. And that’s even with a bunch of Briles’ players. A loss to Baylor would be a step back for the Cyclones. I think most rational Cyclone fans realize that this upcoming season is likely to be more of a “bridge year” before the 2018-2019 season, in which the roster will have a ton of returning talent, including Lindel Wiggington, Terrance Lewis, Cam Lard, and Solomon Young. Michael Jacobsen and Mariol Shayok will also be eligible follow their transfers, and the 2018 recruiting class is off to a strong start with with the commitment of Zion Griffin.
If you could add any fictional superhero or villain to the ISU football roster, which one would you pick, and what position would they play?
— Kevin Fitzpatrick (@KFitzy87) September 13, 2017
Spider-Man is the obvious choice here. His super human strength, speed, and reflexes are obviously huge advantages, but his web shooters are his greatest weapon. Those allowed him to simply take the ball from anyone at any point in time time. For that reason, I’m playing Spider-Man at safety. Most people’s first guess for him would probably be wide receiver due to his sticky hands, but safeties actually have a greater potential affect to the outcome of a game than any other position on the field.
Not only can the safety prevent the opposing offense from scoring, but they can actually score touchdowns themselves. Spider-Man would not only be able to singe-handedly stop the opposing offense, but his web shooters would allow to intercept any pass, or pull the football out of the hand of any running back, at any time. Then he simply uses is speed and agility to run past everyone for the touchdown. With Peter Parker playing defense, the offense never actually has to step on the field. Spider-Man could be a one man football team.
You got any pre-emptive nicknames for the 2018-19 ISU bball team, which with the addition of Griffin, might be over 50% lefties?
— Lee (@Lee0107_) September 13, 2017
Coincidentally, real weather-related cyclones actually have a left-hand (counter-clockwise) spin in the northern hemisphere, so the name already fits. Otherwise, I would go with South Paw Patrol.