September Saturdays are reserved for optimism, even for Iowa State football fans who are used to their team quickly relegating their preseason hopes to pure fantasy. That pristine schedule, not yet littered with lopsided losses, presents an opportunity for the eventual, inevitable breakthrough win.
So it was odd Saturday when I turned on the game, with only two games down, that my optimism wasn’t geared toward winning, or even competing. I was looking, with a pathetic enthusiasm, for positive yardage, first downs and a coherent game plan. This is the sad tale of Iowa State football in its current state.