CF After Dark Podcast Network

Send us a text Iowa State picked up a nice Big 12 road win along their journey to claim the Big 12 regular season title, so we talked a little about the game, as well as what Lagerald Vick’s departure from the Kansas basketball team means for the outlook on the rest of the season. This week, Matt Campbell signed Isheem Young, a former four-star safety with an impressive offer list that includes names like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, and Ohio State, but also a checkered past that includes an armed robbery charge. Levi, Cole, and Marchie give their thoughts on the newest Cyclone, and what the mindset is behind offering a scholarship to a kid with such a checkered past. Is giving him a second chance the right move? Next, we took a look at what the national perception of offense looks like in college basketball and college football, and why they seem to differ so much. Why is an offense like Oklahoma’s belittled with the (easily debunked) “Big 12 doesn’t play defense narrative,” while high-powered college basketball offenses are simply regarded as being extremely talented or having a great scheme? Levi has a theory about where the difference might be coming from. Steph Curry basically changed the modern game of basketball by himself, with his emergence as the league’s greatest-ever shooter coinciding with the advent of advanced analytics, and teams now looking for and taking more threes than ever. Has the NFL ever seen an individual player completely change the game and how it approaches game-planning like Michael Jordan or Steph did? Could it ever? To wrap up the conversation, Marchie gave his thoughts on his Dallas Mavericks and all of their trade deadline moves, one of which included shipping Ames-native Harrison Barnes off to the Kings.

Send us a text This week, Levi, Cole, and Marchie caught up with former Cyclone defensive lineman JD Waggoner. We obviously asked him what he's been up to since Ames, but we also swapped Alamo Bowl stories, talked Iowa vs. Texas Barbecue and the bars in Ames, talked about what the worst halftime tongue-lashing he and Cole got from either Paul Rhoads or Matt Campbell was, and much moreThis is was one of the most fun episodes we've ever recorded, so you'll definitely want to tune in!

Send us a text In this week's episode Levi, Cole, and Marchie are back this week with a more off-topic episode, but we still talked a little Iowa State basketball, and why we're still optimistic about the team going forward despite the disappointing loss to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.Then, we dove into a crazy diet experiment Cole did, where he ate nothing but chicken breast for two weeks. No vegetables, no fruit, no bread for a sandwich. Just chicken breast. Cole talks a little bit about what it was like eating the same food for two weeks, and what effects it had on his body.Next, we touched on video games, which has been one of our favorite recurring topics on the show. Ace Combat 7 came out last week, and Levi has been extremely impressed. He talk about what the game is like, and why you should at least give the trial a shot, especially if flying games aren't usually in your rotation.To cap off the show we sat down with Daniel Blake, an executive at Anheuser-Busch, to talk about Natural Light's College Debt Relief Program. The program is in its second year, and students and recent grads can submit a video of themselves talking about what inspired them to go to college. Natural Light then looks through all the submissions, and the winner will receive a portion of the total prize, which could most or possibly all of the student debt. It's a great program, and we're excited to help them promote it.Naturally, we also asked him some of our own questions, as well as some questions submitted from Twitter, about all sorts of topics, including resealable Busch Light cans, more 30-packs in central Iowa, and a possible RETURN OF THE 77 PACK?!?!You won't want to miss that interview.

Send us a text College football is officially over, so, naturally, we're already looking ahead to the 2019 season. We took a deep dive into each position group to look at upperclassman leaders, redshirts, and new freshman to see who has a chance to make a real impact next season. Levi, Cole, and Marchie feel really good about a few position groups, but a few others have major question marks going into next season. The guys also took a good look at the upcoming schedule to see what sorts of opportunities await the Cyclones this fall. Two bye weeks await, and the Cyclones get a few key opponents at home, so we take a guess at what the ceiling for the 2019 team might be.

Send us a text After Iowa State's disappointing loss at Baylor, Levi had a few gripes with the officiating that took place, especially late in the game. Are referees right to "swallow their whistle" at the end of a game to let the players continue to play, or do the rules need to be enforced exactly the same way from start to finish. Without a doubt, Iowa State could have done more during the game to avoid critical late-game situations, but at what point does bad officiating cross the line from being an unfortunate happenstance to changing the outcome of the game? Let us know in the comments.David Montgomery and Hakeem Butler both declared for the NFL Draft this past week. None of us were surprised, but we talked about what their departures mean for each position group moving forward, and why the future at each position remains bright.Speaking of the NFL, Cole had a bone to pick with how Bears kicker Cody Parkey was/has been treated since missing a last second field goal to win their playoff game on Sunday. Parkey was booed off the field by the fans, has been the butt of millions of jokes on Twitter, and has likely received more than a few nasty letters in the mail since then. However, Cole's main complaint was with Rex Ryan's statements on Monday about not feeling sorry for Parkey, and encouraging others to feel similarly. Professional athletes know what they're signing up for when the take the field in front of thousands of fans, but what level of responsibility do fans have to maintain decency in their interactions with players during and after the game?Naturally, this discussion transitioned into the psyche of a kicker, and how all of the vitriol of the past week from Bears fans could affect Parkey going forward. Cole and Marchie both elaborated on how players handle disappointment, and give some excellent advice for everyone to follow when a player on their favorite team doesn't come through in crunch time.

Send us a text After a second consecutive season finishing 8-5, Matt Campbell has the Cyclones on track to possibly contend for a conference title in 2019. However, the 2018 season wasn't without its own trials and tribulations, including a 1-3 start after the first game of the season was cancelled. Cole and Levi talked about that rough start, and what eventually caused the biggest turnaround for the season that cause Iowa State to record yet another undefeated October. Finally, we discussed the Alamo Bowl, and gave our final thoughts on the 2018 football season, and where the program looks to be headed in 2019.

Send us a text With the Alamo Bowl just a week away, Levi, Cole, and Marchie are back to bring you a HUGE preview for the game. Washington State's high flying air raid offense has been torching the Pac-12 all season on the arm of Gardner Minshew, but the stout Cyclone defense is built to stop the air raid offenses of the Big 12. Which will break first, the unstoppable force, or the immovable object?We also recap all of the signees from the early signing period. The theme: SIZE and SPEED. The crown jewels of the class are a Jirehl Brock and Breece Hall, a pair of top-10 running backs in the country that will have an opportunity to contribute next fall, but the class has a ton of athleticism from top to bottom. With this class including three running backs in total, what does that signal in regards to the impending draft decision for David Montgomery? If David returns, that would make SEVEN scholarship running backs on the roster. That's an incredibly loaded group of backs, but how you you distribute carries to make sure everyone is happy? No matter what happens, this a good problem to have.Then, we sat down with Michael Preston from CougCenter, our Washington State counterpart, to get the lowdown on the Cougars, and gives us some predictions for the game.This is a longer episode, but it's absolutely jam-packed with great Iowa State football content.

Send us a text With Cole and Marchie both out for this week, Levi sat down with Rick Hill, Vice President of Marketing and Communications with the Valero Alamo Bowl. We talked about what it's been like interacting with Iowa State fans so far, and what Cyclone fans can expect when we get down to San Antonio, including the various Alamo Bowl activities throughout the week and other things to do around San Antonio that aren't The Alamo, Sea World, or Six Flags. If you're going to be heading down to South Texas, then you won't want to miss what Rick has to say.Oh, and we also talked about Busch Light.

Send us a text After finishing the season with a harder-than-we'd like win against Drake, the Cyclones are headed to the Alamo Bowl to take on Mike Leach's Washington State Cougars. It's the #1 passing offense in the country vs. the best defense in the Big 12. Who's going to break first?We also talked about some of the other bowl games we're going to be watching this season, including OU-Bama and WVU-Syracuse.Finally, we talked about the young Cyclone basketball season, and what to expect in the CyHawk showdown against Iowa.

Send us a text After one of the most exciting editions of Farmageddon yet, Levi, Cole, and Marchie breakdown what we made of the game last Saturday. What were the causes for the defense struggling in the first few quarters? What does the win mean going mean for the program going forward?The Big 12 also released their end of season awards and All-Big 12 teams, of which Iowa State only had one first teamer. We talked about who we think got snubbed, and who didn't get enough credit for their performance this season. Most notably, how did David Montgomery end up on the Second Team All-Big 12?None of us know anything about Drake, so we just talked about what we'd like to see on Saturday, including which freshman we're excited to get a peek at.Finally we wrapped up with the basketball and talked about their solid start to the season, and what the rotation might look like once everyone is healthy. We also talked about why Iowa State matches up extremely well with Iowa in next week's CyHawk basketball game.

Send us a text Cole was out this week, so Levi and Marchie held down the fort for the holiday week.First off, we talked about our favorite Thanksgiving foods. What are some of your favorites?Then, we dove a little into last weekend's disappointing loss to Texas, where the Cyclones were flat-out outplayed, and the offensive line struggled. How does a game like that affect the team going forward?With Kansas State coming to town this Saturday, Iowa State is looking to finally knock off the Wildcats for the first time in a decade. The Cyclones are favored by a couple touchdowns, but what are the main keys to the game? What will the Cyclones need to do to stop the powerful Wildcat running attack? We gave our thoughts and predictions for this weekend.On Twitter this week, we found out that Marchie prefers Chipotle to Pancheros, and avid Pancheros fan Levi needed to confront him and find out why.Finally, we talked about the overall state of food in Ames, and what might be missing. We both agreed that there's great selection, but a couple main staples are missing. What chains or cuisines would you like to see make their way to Ames?

Send us a text Levi, Cole, and Marchie sat down to discuss last weekend's win over Baylor. The defense gave up over 500 yards of offense, but only surrendered 14 points. Did the defense bend too much, or was it just all part of the plan? We also got Marchie's perspective on the fight, as he was on the sideline during the game and saw it up close. Then, we sat down with Gerald Goodridge of Burnt Orange Nation to get his perspective on the game. Will Texas' surging offense be able to put enough points on the board to overcome a banged up Texas secondary?Finally, we made our picks.

Send us a text This week, we caught up with former Cyclone receiver and all-around fast guy Trever Ryen. Trever gave us an update on what he's up to these days, the biggest differences between a Power 5 and a MAC program, and what his thoughts are on Iowa State this season. Cole, Marchie, and Trever also dished on what their least favorite workouts were at Iowa State.Next, we recapped a convincing win at Kansas, which included a dominant performance from the defense, and a solid, albeit conservative performance from the offense. However, Brock Purdy had another good outing, earning himself a third Big 12 Newcomer of the Week Award in the past four weeks.Finally we previewed this weekend's matchup vs. Baylor. The Bears come to Ames with arguably the worst defense in the Big 12, but an offense capable of putting points on the board. So what gives? Will this be a shootout, or defensive showdown? Somewhere in the middle? To close it out, we gave our score predictions and talked about this weekend's new uniforms.

Send us a text With Cole and Marchie out for this week, Levi sat down with Caroline Darney, the College League Manager for SBNation and a graduate of the University of Virginia, to talk about Marial Shayok (a transfer from Virginia) and what his impact might be with Iowa State. However, Caroline might have been even more excited to talk about her other favorite Cyclone, Brock Purdy, with whom she's come to adore over the last few weeks. Finally, we compared and contrasted the UVA-VaTech rivalry to the CyHawk rivalry and noticed some pretty weird differences. Namely, the fact that UVA and Virginia Tech actually brag about getting up for the rivalry game, where as Iowa and Iowa State seem to compete to see who cares about it the least.

Send us a text This week, Levi, Cole, and Marchie are all back to recap the Texas Tech win, preview the Kansas game this weekend, and talk about this week's super cool White-Red-Red uniform combo.Against Texas Tech special teams errors once again struck, with a blocked punt providing a free touchdown to the Red Raiders. Things didn't get much better, as shanked punts and missed field goals plagued the Cyclones throughout the game. However, the offense was able to thrive off big plays to put away Taco Tech along with a a suffocating run defense that also picked off Alan Bowman three times. It wasn't pretty, but the Cyclones got it done.One of the mental mistakes we saw came from Hakeem Butler, as he dropped a few key passes. Marchie discussed what receivers typically due to help them refocus and eliminate the drops.Then we previewed Kansas, and talked about the Jayhawk's ball-hawking defense. Will Brock Purdy commit enough turnovers to sink the Cyclones, or will be able to put up lots of yards against an otherwise porous defense.Before giving our predictions and wrapping the show up, we gushed about this week's uniform combination, the white helmet with red facemask, red jersey, and red pants. It's going to look excellent on TV this weekend.

Send us a text We've officially approached your favorite week of the year....#RIOTWEEK. In this jam-packed episode, Levi, Cole, Marchie, and Matt Kirchner from The Smoking Musket give you all of the analysis from the Oklahoma State win and previews for the West Virginia game that you'll ever need to get ready for the Riot Bowl.Cole and Levi dig into what makes this defense so special, and why we both think the personnel and scheme matchup extremely well with the high-flying Mountaineer offense.Then, Marchie gives us his thoughts on last week's game and what he's expecting to see this weekend. After getting his prediction, we had to see what he thinks about Luka Doncic and his Mavs so far, especially given Doncic's strong start in the NBA preseason.Finally, we talked with Matt Kirchner to get the lowdown on the Mountaineers, and why the West Virginia offense is so lethal. We got his prediction for the game, and why he's terrified of night games in Ames.

Send us a text First, Levi and Cole discussed last week's game against TCU, in which the defense was impressive, but the offense struggled to gain yardage. We detailed what we thought were a few of the issues, as well as what was concerning us going forward. We then previewed the matchup with the Pokes, and both of us are bullish on the Cyclones this weekend, as Oklahoma State is facing a number of key departures and injuries that can open an opportunity to get out of Stillwater with a nice win, and an enormous boost to our chances of returning to a bowl game. Then, Marchie jumped on the podcast to talk about his experience with helping out the receivers at practice, and give his thoughts on the game this weekend.

Send us a text First off, we talked about the tragic death of Cyclone women's golfer Celia Barquin Arozamena. On Saturday at the football game, Arozamena will be honored as the Cyclone Women's Athlete of the Year and with a moment of silence. If you're attending the game, PLEASE WEAR GOLD. Gold was Celia's favorite color, and we'd like to honor her in any way we can. We also discussed last week's contest against Oklahoma. We touched on a few of the things we saw that changed the outcome of the game, who we came away most impressed with, and where the largest improvements showed. Is Zeb the right choice to take snaps even after Kyle Kempt is cleared to return? What might the offense look like going forward, especially in the running game? What was up with those short kickoffs? Even Cole, our resident special teams expert, isn't sure what the plan was behind them. Last weekend, the Browns, Vikings, and Rams all lost chances at wins due to missed field goals. All three kickers have since lost their jobs. Cole talks about the mental and technical components that go along with making those late field goals, including the technical issues that seemed to cause the Viking's Carlon to push consecutive field goals wide right. Without a doubt kickers are the position most commonly attacked on social media after a poor performance. What does online abuse do to the pyschological state of the kicker?

Send us a text Cole is finally back from vacation, so we heard a little bit about his adventures across New Zealand, and about the souvenir he wish he would have gotten. His flight to NZ was 16 hours long! What's the longest flight you've been on? Would you rather have one long flight, or 6 short flights like Levi had coming back from Thailand? Then, we dove into the beginning of the Premier League season, where Levi's (Chelsea) and Cole's favorite clubs are tied at the top of the table, undefeated, with Tottenham and Watford. Does Watford actually have the horses to stay up for an extended period of time, or will the race come down to Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham? Liverpool will certainly be powered by Mohamed Salah, an ex-Chelsea prospect. Chelsea by Eden Hazard. We both think Hazard and Salah are topfive players in the world, but where exactly do they fit in the top five? Next, we previewed Iowa State's game this weekend against South Dakota State. Cole is obviously interested in the kicking battle, and gave his thoughts on who he think will win the competition.

Send us a text With Cole (vacation) and Marchie (Cowboys training camp) out this week, we brought in Ted Flint as reinforcements. Predictably, we started off talking about flippy (flip) cup and beer pong, and how it’s changed since Ted was in college. Spoiler alert: Ted came from the days of actually putting beer in the cups, instead of using water and just having your drink off to the side. One big announcement: We WILL be having a tailgate this season over in lot G7! We’ll have a flag and everything This offseason has been particularly quiet for Iowa State, with only Jacob Bolton’s leave of absence from the team standing as major news from the program. Levi and Ted talked about how refreshing it is to see the team make it through an offseason (knock on wood for training camp) without any catastrophic injuries or suspensions. Might it be that Campbell runs a pretty tight ship up there in Ames? We also talked about the rivalry with Kansas State, and how it seems to have gotten more hostile over the past year. A once friendly rivalry, is Farmageddon becoming a bit more hate-filled? The brought us into the Matt Campbell discussion. Is he a lifer, or should we be worried about a blue-blood poaching him in the near future? We also played a new game that we’ll be including in future episodes of DPNL called “Best and Worst.” Levi will give the guests a topic, and they’ll respond with the best and worst of each category. This Week’s Best/Worst Categories Brand of frozen pizza Cheap beer 90s band Cyclone football game you’ve been to

Send us a text With Cole in New Zealand for the next few weeks, and Marchie preparing to return to Dallas Cowboys training camp on Monday, Levi decided to sit down with former 1st-Team All-Big 12 nose tackle Jake McDonough.to talk all things Cyclone football. First we talked about what Jake's been up to since he left Iowa State, including a stint in the Arena Football League. Jake says playing in the Arena League is actually more difficult than playing on the grass field. Also, Jake's contemplating a return to the NFL, so he walks us through the process of trying to make that comeback, including showing teams his recent 225 lb bench press set of 47 REPS. Then, Jake gave his persepective on Joel Lanning and how incredible his double duty at linebacker and quarterback last season was. After our brief discussion about Joel, we talked about how the impressive 2017 recruiting class is already pushing their way into the gameplan, and what the new redshirt rule means for their development. Even true freshman offensive lineman Trevor Downing has already forced his way into the deep of a position that traditionally redshirts every single offensive lineman for the first season. So how is Matt Campbell building this depth? Jake says one of the main reasons that Iowa State is now competing for recruits with some of the larger schools, is because he can sell one of the most passionate fanbases in the country. We talk more about Matt Campbell's love affair with the Iowa State fanbase, and why he we think he turned down larger schools to not only come to Ames, but to stay after seeing interest from some blue-blood programs. Before we wrapped things, we played Buy or Sell, and Jake suckered Levi into telling his embarassing story about his first time playing "flippy/flip cup."

Send us a text First off, we talked to Kyle (@FranchiseKF) from Devy Fantasy Football about how he first discovered David Montgomery, and what DM's draft stock looks like right now. We also talked about Hakeem Butler, who has emerged as one of Iowa State's best pro prospects. This past week Iowa State was picked to finish 7th in the conference, much to the displeasure of Levi, Cole, and Marchie. We discussed where we think Iowa State should have been picked, and what the rest of our preseason Big 12 rankings look like. However, the biggest news of the week was the unveiling of three new uniforms for this fall, including an all-black one. We talk about our favorites from the set, what we would have liked to see, and what combination we're most looking forward to seeing on the field. We also discussed all the hate and vitriol we saw on social media from Iowa fans who seem to believe that they were the first people to ever use black uniforms. We also discussed what having two top ten running back commits in Breece Hall and Jirehl Brock will mean for the running back room and the program going forward. Lastly, we gave our predictions for Sunday's World Cup Final.

Send us a text Cole and Levi talked about a 2020 quarterback commit, as well as Iowa State's basketball scholarship offer to a 14 year old point guard from Ames. Then, we discussed the NCAA's new redshirt rules for football, allowing players to play in four games without burning their redshirt. How will this affect some of Iowa State's true freshman, and who might benefit most from the new rule? As a seemingly regular topic on the show, the guys also dished about video games, this time discussing the February 2019 release of Anthem as an MMO centered around a central campaign. Can this game buck the trend of solid, but largely unsatisfying console MMOs? Finally, as part of our "100 Things Cyclone Fans Should Forget Before They Die," we interviewed Zane Brugenhemke, the Cy mascot who broke his arm after he "fell" down the bleachers and broke his arm during the 2011 football game at UConn. He gives us his side of the story, and tells a tale of foul play.

Send us a text After failing to qualify for this summer's World Cup, Levi and Cole talked about what that means for U.S. soccer, and what they need to do going forward to ensure that they don't miss out on the World Cup in 2022. Just this week, the U.S. was awarded the hosting of the 2026 World Cup in a joint bid with Canada and Mexico. We talked about where we'd like to see some games played, as well as what a strong showing in 2022 and 2026 could mean for the future of soccer in the United States. Before we wrapped up, we test Cole's knowledge of the world's most popular sport with a little World Cup Trivia.

Send us a text After declaring for the NBA draft process, Lindell Wigginton went through various workouts with a handful of NBA teams to get feedback on what they like and don't like about him, as well as what his draft status looks like heading into next season. On the deadline day for playerss to withdraw from the draft, Wigginton elected to return to Iowa State for his sophomore season. Levi, Cole, and Marchie all gave their thoughts on what his return could mean for the team's outlook next season. Also, with the NBA Finals beginning, the guys took a look at the matchup between the two teams, and what their predictions were for the series (SPOILER ALERT: they all like Golden State). Does LeBron have enough help to overcome the obvious talent gap between the Cavs and Warriors? If LeBron leaves for Houston, how will it affect his legacy?

Send us a text On this year's Cyclone Tailgate Tour, the two most common questions fielded by Jamie Pollard and Matt Campbell were regarding the offensive coordinator position black uniforms that are rumored to be arriving this summer. What do you think of the Cyclones donning a black uniform in the fall? Is it going to a cool recruiting tool, or should we just avoid black altogether due to its connection with the Team Out East? Levi and Cole also talked about the reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which is slated to release in October of this year. The game showed three all new zombies expereinces, including a gladiator style mode based in the Ancient Rome, and a fight for your life aboard the Titanic. However, the biggest reveal was Black Ops 4's all-new battle royale mode, an obvious attempt to to piggy-back off the incredible success of Fortnite's Battle Royale mode, which will be unique in that it will include land and air vehicles, as well as locations from previous Call of Duty games. Could Call of Duty's battle royale mode signal the end of Fortnite?

Send us a text Ever since breaking onto the college basketball scene in the 2011-2012 season, Royce White has been a vocal advocate for those who suffer from mental illness. After being drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2012, White continued to advocate for mental illness, much to the chagrin of some in various NBA front offices. Even after leaving the NBA and playing multiple seasons in Canada, Royce has consistently maintained his position that the NBA needs to see consistent mental health reform within the league not just for players, but for coach's and anybody else involved in the league. ESPN then filmed and aired a special piece on Royce which aired on 5/8/18. Royce has always been a deep thinker, and is happy to share his view of the world around him and share details about his own battle with anxiety. So, naturally, we wanted to sit down and discuss mental illness on a personal level and how it fits into the larger picture. We discussed Royce's battle with mental illness, the role sports and music play in contributing to and/or treating mental illness, and his thoughts on various players from this most recent golden era of Cyclone basketball. We know long podcasts can sometimes be difficult to find time to listen to, but if you can find time to listen to this one, you'll be glad you did.

Send us a text We dive into how Jamie Pollard has done with all of the football stadium upgrades, as well as his football and basketball coaching hires. After that, Cole and Levi talk about one of our favorite subjects, video games. We dive into Fortnite, microtransactions, which developer we think is quietly destroying all the other major developers on the market, the longevity of Grand Theft Auto 5, and much more. If you're a Cyclone fan or a gamer, you won't want to miss this week's episode of Down the Pipe & Natty Lite.

Send us a text In the first ever episode of Down the Pipe & Natty Lite, Levi, Cole Netten, and Marchie Murdock talked about last football season, the football newcomers, NBA playoffs, Lebron vs. Jordan, and what Cole and Marchie have been up to since they left Iowa State

Send us a text After transferring from Illinois before the 2016 season, Marchie became one of the best surprises of the 2017 season, with 5 touchdown catches, including a crucial touchdown reception against Oklahoma. We got his thoughts on the transfer to ISU, the direction of the program, his skills on the hardwood, the Dallas Mavericks, and never talking about the Saints-Vikings game ever again.

Send us a text It has been a long wait, but it is finally game week for Cyclone football once again. On Saturday Iowa State will take the field in a bowl game for the first time since 2012. The site will again be the Liberty Bowl in Memphis as Matt Campbell’s crew is set to take on the home town Memphis Tigers. The week between Christmas and New Year’s is always an interesting one. Austin was recording from the spare bedroom at his in-laws house while Levi is back to the work grind. What is Levi doing with the second floor of his workplace all to himself this week? Levi and Austin both attended the Liberty Bowl in 2012. Those of you heading down this time are in for a good time. Austin recommends the chicken and waffles while Levi had himself some tasty barbeque. We both agreed that traveling north or south of Beale Street is not recommended. HOWEVER, if you do and live to tell the story we can think of no better outlet than WRNL to share your experience! David Montgomery is said to be 150 percent after suffering a couple of late season injuries. Austin is very happy David is feeling healthy again, but has a math issue with players declaring themselves more than 100 percent. It should be strength against weakness as Iowa State’s defense takes the field against Memphis’ offense. The same could probably be said on the other side of the ball as well. Who wins out in the end? We made our fearless predictions for the game, including Austin’s signature palindrome guess. Who do you think wins the contest?

Send us a text Dylan Montz from the Ames Tribune stops by to discuss Iowa State football and basketball

Send us a text With a new early signing period this year for college football we brought Alex Halsted on the podcast to discuss the specifics. How will this impact Iowa State’s recruiting going forward and how many of their commitments plan to sign between December 20th and December 22nd? We discussed how Iowa State’s coaching staff will balance preparing for a bowl game and building for a future at the same time this December. Iowa State is close to having a full class. Halsted speculates on what positions Iowa State might be after in the grad transfer market. Max Duggan, a 2019 quarterback recruit from Council Bluffs Lewis Central, has blown up on the recruiting trail. With the likes of Ohio State and Penn State offering recently, does Iowa State still have a shot? Also, John Waggoner, a defensive end prospect from West Des Moines, recently committed to that team out east. At one point he was a highly sought after prospect but there were rumors of Iowa State cooling on him late. What was the real deal? If you are looking for a good stocking-stuffer idea grab a copy of “100 Things Iowa State Fans Must Know and Do Before They Die” co-authored by Alex Halsted and Dylan Montz. The Cyclone fan you are buying for is sure to enjoy it. As always thanks for listening and don’t forget to subscribe to iTunes. Go Cyclones!

Send us a text There are former players that are looked highly upon by the Cyclone fan base, and then there is Georges Niang. One of, in not THE, greatest Cyclone basketball player of all-time called into the podcast before his game in Oklahoma City. I once heard someone explain that you can tell when someone is special when they are known by just their first name. To Iowa State’s fan base, Niang was simply known as Georges and for four years we were fortunate enough to watch him represent Iowa State University on and off the court. As a second year professional basketball player, we asked Georges the differences between playing in college and playing professionally. How different was it playing for Coach Hoiberg and Coach Prohm? We of course took the time to talk about the #DillyDilly movement and how he became the spokesperson for it overnight. Georges talked about coming back to Iowa to play in front of Cyclone fans once again and the pressure he felt to perform well in front of the crowd at Wells Fargo just over one week ago. We asked Georges about which exit from the NCAA tournament was the hardest to stomach. The answer may surprise you. Even though he wasn’t born in Iowa, Georges quickly developed a hatred for the Iowa Hawkeyes and we all love him for that. We asked him which team he’d suit up against if he had just one remaining game of eligibility. Niang also talked about the bond formed with several of his former teammates and how they still “geek out” over the recent Iowa State football success and how they are now all Cyclones for life. We really enjoyed the chat with Georges and are sure you will enjoy listening as well.

Send us a text As painful as Saturday was to watch transpire down the stretch, good news made its way to Cyclone Nation Monday evening. Matt Campbell is here to stay....for now at least. The head football coach that was linked to several of the top available jobs out there, signed a 6 year contract that will bring his salary to an average of 3.5 million dollars per year. Levi and Austin discussed the impact of Campbell sticking in Ames for the next few years and what the football facilities renovations might look like. Saturday stacked up with some of the all time bad beats in Iowa State history. This one felt a little different though as it seemed like it was stolen from the Cyclones. Just imagine the vitriol Cyclone fans would have spewed had that game been the difference in going to the Big 12 Championship game. Iowa State is linked to approximately 456 different bowl games. This is admittedly better than being linked to zero, but Cyclone fans are certainly very eager for Sunday evening when their bowl destination will be announced. Levi and Austin discussed the different options and their experiences at a couple of the ones in play. As always thanks for listening and don’t forget to subscribe to iTunes and leave a 5 star review!

Send us a text One our favorite former Cyclones Naz Mitrou-Long called into the podcast to give us an update on how things are going for him as a professional basketball player. As Naz was on his way to the gym (where else would he be going?) he talked about how his role has changed going from the collegiate game to the professional game. We asked him what it was like playing against Georges Niang for once and what it will be like coming “home” to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on December 8th. Mitrou-Long played for two coaches with vastly different styles in Fred Hoiberg and Steve Prohm. What were the main differences in their styles? Lindell Wigginton, a blue chip recruit from Canada, is having a great start to his college career. Naz talked about his relationship with the fellow Canadian. Nick Weiler-Babb has had one of the biggest transformations in recent memory on the basketball court. Having practiced against him numerous times could Naz see this coming? Mitrou-Long of course took the time to offer words of enthusiasm for the Cyclone men’s basketball and football teams and thank Cyclone fans for their never-ending support of him and the rest of his teammates. Finally, we asked Naz about the “3sus from Nazareth” nickname and whether or not it stuck at the professional level.

Send us a text So Cyclone fans, we’ve certainly had better weekends. A weekend that started with a basketball loss on the road at Missouri, was followed up with a heartbreaking football loss to Oklahoma State inside Jack Trice Stadium, and was finally over after a Monday night blowout loss to Horizon League member Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Levi and Austin discussed it all including whether or now Marchie Murdock came down with that football in the end zone on Saturday. What in the world is going on with our basketball team and why does it look like they might not win another game? The football team travels to Waco, Texas to take on the despicable Baylor Bears. They go into the game as 10 point favorites. Is this an accurate line? We discussed how Matt Campbell could get his football team ready to play this week following a heartbreaking end to conference championship hopes. The basketball team goes off to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. With three games in four days, how many wins can we truly expect from this Cyclone team struggling to find its way? Next week, we hope to bring better news as we will have three basketball games and a football game to digest. As always thanks for listening. Some of you left a 5 star review on iTunes and we appreciate it. If you haven’t please do so soon!

Send us a text One of our favorite guests of the podcast, Reid Forgrave, stopped by to help us preview Iowa State’s opening night game against Missouri and discuss many other college basketball topics. Forgrave, a University of Missouri graduate, currently writes for CBS Sports and several additional outlets. As a national college basketball writer, Reid discussed how he balances his soft spot for the Tigers and covering college basketball on the national scale. This Missouri team is certainly in a different spot than we all thought they would be when Iowa State agreed to play this series. With the potential #1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft and a talented roster behind him, this Missouri program has gone from after thought to potential NCAA tournament team. There are a lot of unknowns with Iowa State this season which is something Cyclone fans haven’t had to deal with in recent seasons. Reid questioned how their youth and inexperience would hold up during the long Big 12 conference season. We discussed the FBI investigation into college basketball recruiting and how that could impact coaches, players and the sport in general. Before we let Forgrave go, we asked him to predict a Final Four and discuss the Witchita State Shockers. As IPA connoisseurs, Austin and Reid made an IPA bet on which team will earn the higher seed in the NCAA tournament between Iowa State and Missouri. Austin is probably going to be on the hook for some cold ones come March.

Send us a text The early signing period for college basketball recruiting has arrived. We brought Rivals national basketball analyst Corey Evans on the podcast to discuss the four players Steve Prohm will sign in the next few days. We know the hype surrounding this class but Corey thinks the class could be even better than the hype. “I think this could turn out to be a Top 10 class,” Evans said. He compared one of the recruits to Michael Carter-Williams and said Iowa State might not be done yet on the recruiting trail. Could Tyler Harris still be in the mix? “He is 50/50 on whether to sign in the fall or the spring. I could definitely see Iowa State adding him at some point as I believe it is 50/50 between Memphis and the Cyclones,” Evans said about Tyler Harris. If you want 15-20 minutes of straight Iowa State basketball kool-aid this is your podcast. You can follow Corey on Twitter @coreyevans_10. Levi and Austin stayed on after Corey hung up to discuss this week’s football game against Oklahoma State. Is this the biggest game of the year? If Iowa State has hopes of a Big 12 championship it sure is. Remember, if the Cyclones win out they should be playing in Dallas early this December. Don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes and give us a 5 star review. The reviews really help the podcast grow and bring you a better product and better interviews. As always, thanks for listening.

Send us a text We here at Wide Right Natty Lite love some high quality satire and humor. It should come as no surprise that we are big fans of Ya Boy Matt Campbell on Twitter. Austin and Levi welcomed @NotMattCampbell onto the podcast to discuss his Twitter account, ISU vs TCU and where the Cyclones and Matt Campbell go from here. After Saturday’s big win over the Horned Frogs, Ya Boy penned a nice note to Cyclone fans and their dedication to their favorite team. If there is anyone that knows what is going on inside the head of Matt Campbell, it is Ya Boy. He gave us some insight as to what he thinks Matt Campbell will do this off-season after already watching him leave once from Toledo. We re-evaluated the season expectations and took a look at what it would take for Iowa State to make the Big 12 championship game. Finally, we took a look at the Big 12 action this week and made our predictions for the West Virginia-Iowa State game. Don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes and give us a 5 star review. We’ll read any reviews we receive on air next week. Thanks for listening!

Send us a text It has been twelve looong years since Iowa State football took up a spot inside the Top 25. The wait is over as Iowa State checks in at #25 this week in the AP Poll. Is this team for real? We discussed Iowa State’s rather workmanlike victory over Texas Tech. How many of you were waiting for the other shoe to drop and Texas Tech to go on a fourth quarter run? ISU plays for a share of first place in the Big 12 Conference this Saturday. Is playing in Dallas a realistic scenario or fool’s gold at this point? We brought in our resident scout Josh to take us through the numbers with TCU coming to town this Saturday. Who has the advantage when ISU is on offense? When ISU is on defense? Austin loves palindromes making Saturday’s win especially sweet for him. It is the second one of the year. Is another one in the works? We made our big, bad, bold predictions for Saturday. Will Iowa State be looking down on the rest of the Big 12 after Saturday? Congratulations to Bill from northwest Iowa for earning listener of the week. You earned it. Thanks to those who listen on a weekly basis. Don’t forget to leave us a 5 star review on iTunes. It is good for the brand you know?

Send us a text We all have stories to tell. We hear some of the best ones around a campfire, during a night out on the town or while we are catching up with old friends at a wedding. Everyone lives an interesting life and has stories they can tell, but sometimes keep close to their vest. Paul Shirley has some incredible stories to tell and he holds back no details during his latest book Stories I Tell On Dates.

Send us a text 10/11/17: Recapping the Biggest Win in School History and Previewing ISU-KU

Send us a text These podcasts during the fall months are meant to be heavy on football conversations. Steve Prohm didn’t get the memo. He left Levi and Austin no choice but to discuss the recent recruiting news. Three out of the last four weeks we’ve been able to welcome a new member to the 2018 Iowa State basketball recruiting class. This week it was George Conditt, a 6’10” center from Illinois. Prohm finally got the e-mails, tweets and messages from fans telling him to recruit tall guys! It worked! Just kidding, you weren’t the reason they reeled this one in so stop sending him notes you creeper. We discussed how big it would be for Prohm to finish off the 2018 class with Talen Horton-Tucker. National Championship or bust in our honest opinion. Finally, we shifted gears to our Iowa State Cyclones football team. What the hell happened Thursday night and were there any positives you should take from that game? We’ve predicted wins in every game to this point, did either of us have the cajones to call our shot against Oklahoma? Not so fast my friends. Don’t forget to join the WRNL Gamewatch Saturday morning at Es Tas. There will be beer and tacos. What more could you want? As always thanks for listening.

Send us a text It was good to be back to discussing an actual football game. The bye week was rough, but football is just hours away. The boys from Barking Carnival joined Levi, Matthias, Matt and Austin to discussing a myriad of topics, some of them football related. What is the first thing you do when your significant other goes out of town for a few days? Next we broke down the Iowa State vs Texas game from about every angle imaginable. Texas has talent, but will the talent prevail this Thursday evening? We talked about the early line (+4.5) from Vegas on the game and why the money has poured in on the Longhorns who are now almost a touchdown favorite. How does Texas stack up with Iowa State’s best opponent to date thus far, the Iowa Hawkeyes?

Send us a text We have arrived at the longest week of the college football season, the week of the BYE. Fortunately for Iowa State fans things are looking more promising than they were last year at this time when they opened as a 4 point underdog to BYE. Another week, another big basketball commitment for Steve Prohm and the Iowa State men’s basketball team. This time it was Tyrese Haliburton, a 3-star combo guard out of Wisconsin, joining the Cyclone recruiting class of 2018. While we were on the topic of shooty hoops, we discussed Iowa State’s chances of making it to a 7th straight NCAA tournament. The future is bright, but will it start shining as early as this season?

Send us a text Shortly before the podcast was set to go live, a bombshell dropped in the world of Iowa State basketball recruiting. Zion Griffin, one of the top players in the class of 2018 committed to Steve Prohm and the Iowa State Cyclones. We can’t think of a better way to kick off the 2018 class than landing the four-star forward. Josh, Levi and Austin debated and discussed Steve Prohm and Fred Hoiberg’s high school recruiting and what it means for the program going forward. After the dust settled and Austin ironically fumbled over his words discussing Sergio Dipp’s poor showing, we moved on to the Iowa State-Akron football game. Josh, our resident scout, broke down Akron’s offense and defense and what they will bring to the field Saturday morning. Look for Josh’s preview of the game this Friday. Where has Deshaunte Jones been? What is wrong with Mike Warren? We made our fearless predictions for the week and each volunteered to sleep in Matt Campbell’s bed. If you listen, we promise it will make sense....kind of. Don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes and tell your friends about the best WRNL podcast on the planet.

Send us a text The boys are back again. This time with Iowa State’s prized 2018 quarterback commitment Re-al Mitchell. Re-al talks about why he chose Iowa State, how much interaction he has with the staff, what he is trying to improve on this year and who he compares himself to among the current Big 12 quarterbacks. Mitchell is an impressive young man that undoubtedly fits the mold of what Matt Campbell and company are looking for on their football team. The California native will be getting his first experience of the Cy-Hawk rivalry this Saturday in Ames for a visit. He is already beginning to develop a hatred for the Iowa Hawkeyes. I’m sure he will be all-in on the rivalry after Saturday. After Re-al hung up to do what we can only assume is piles of important homework the boys discussed this Saturday’s Cy-Hawk game. Where does Iowa have the advantage? Can Iowa State exploit Iowa’s defensive secondary? We made predictions for this Saturday’s game...and once again we think you will agree!

Send us a text Welcome back to football season Cyclone fans! CloneTeach, Matthias and Levi called collect last night in order to deliver you the first regular season installment of the podcast. While Levi and Matthias will be pacing themselves (alternating between Natty Lite and whiskey) in the tailgate lot Saturday before the game, CloneTeach will be trying to keep two children under the age of three alive (and also pacing to keep from falling asleep before kickoff). Not all heroes wear capes. Remember though, in our own way we are all excited for Saturday night. We talked about the Iowa State offense and whether or not Jacob Park could walk on water. Will we see Joel Lanning on the offensive side of the ball this Saturday? The defense currently has two #7’s. What gives? We brainstormed ways they could get away with having two people with the same number on the field at the same time. If two girls can share one cup, two players should be able to share one number right? Before moving to the special teams units, we got sidetracked with Ames bar talk. A lot of things have changed since CloneTeach last stepped on campus. No more Element fishbowls?! You have got to be kidding me. Special teams have certainly been anything but special over the years for Iowa State, but they have had some standouts in recent years. Can they replace the production of Cole Netten and Kene Nwangwu this season?

Send us a text We brought in Andy Garman, KCCI Sports Director, to help us explore the topic of media bias and whether or not it exists. Garman, a University of Iowa graduate, had some really good thoughts on the matter and put things into perspective for both Cyclone and Hawkeye fans. “It wouldn’t make sense for me to alienate half of our viewers by favoring one team over the other. Ultimately, if we are covering one team that means we aren’t covering another and that is a problem to some fans,” Garman said. “With Iowa and Iowa State I hope one team goes 11-1 and one team goes 12-0 and I don’t care who wins the Cy-Hawk game” While we had Andy on the podcast we discussed our holdout in starting Game of Thrones, who the most interesting Cyclone in the world was and what the future holds for Matt Campbell and Iowa State football. We thank Andy Garman for taking the time to chat with us and look forward to continuing the conversation down the road.