Both things I have and have not heard:
- Iowa was extraordinarily well-prepared yesterday, far more than Mississippi State was. Best demonstration of that was each team's response to the heat. Iowa wilted in the Tampa heat vs. Florida two years ago and learned their lesson. They turned up the heat in their practice facility. They were clearly better hydrated. And except for obvious players like Nate (who realistically didn't spend THAT much time on the field), kept rotating to stay fresh. The Bulldogs maybe assumed they would be just fine, being from Mississippi. But they were having trouble BIG TIME with cramps, etc., especially towards and in the 4th qtr.;
- I tend to believe MSU had been watching too many SEC vs. B1G bowl games, where SEC teams like Auburn and Florida had been mopping up the floor with teams seemingly better than Iowa. One sure formula for defeat is to not take your opponent seriously. And if you can't even keep your southern woofin' to yourselves in a children's hospital, do expect that the other team is going to come out with one serious attitude to take you to the woodshed. That also was obvious, especially with our defense;
- Two names barely talked about yesterday were MSU's Sweat, Jr. (who apparently did not play the entire 1st half - suspension??), and the guy that actually did a pretty good job keeping him at bay when he did play, Tristan Wirfs. In the midst of passing out mega-kudos, I don't want to forget him;
- Speaking of mega-kudo's, we need to pass some out to some names not mentioned post-game yesterday but who we could not have won the game without, including: **Matt Hankins, who played solid pass defense and was the player who tripped up the receiver at the 1 1/2 yd.-line, after which we made a defensive stand and forced a field goal in the 4th qtr.; **Chauncey Golsten, who had both an interception and a fumble recovery, and was part of the defensive front that made life tough on MSU; **Miguel Recinos, whose kick-off's ensured the Bulldogs would always start in a hole, and who also made 2 40+ yd. FG's, never an assumed "gimme" distance; **Nick Niemann, who was hitting as hard as anyone yesterday, and whose perfectly-timed blitz helped bring about the "final, futile four" plays of Mississippi State that ended the ballgame;
- Is it just me, or do we actually get better officiating when it is NOT B1G officials? Iowa State got a dose of those clowns in their bowl game, and I'm convinced they were as responsible as anyone for them losing that game;
- I may be biased, since I now live down by there, but Tampa is a helluva place to have a good bowl experience, even if a lot of you felt "Outback fatigue". Iowa indeed may not be back down here again for a long, long time. But the Outback Bowl head called Iowa a "perfect bowl team, all the way around." You can be sure that they will always be welcome here again if things work out. Incidentally, while most years this man has equal praise for both teams, he had little to say about Mississippi State after the game. I have a hunch the bowl won't be asking them back here, maybe ever.
