Iowa

Hines: Is this the year for Iowa State football’s offensive line?

Published

4 months ago

August 12, 2024

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Hines: Is this the year for Iowa State football’s offensive line?

AMES – OK, are you ready for this?

It’s as sure a sign that fall is near as pumpkin spice conquering every grocery aisle or a kid’s panic about the start of school. Before the leaves change or that first Oktoberfest finds a mug, this rite of autumn must occur.

Consider this your yearly dose of optimism about the Iowa State offensive line.

“The competition in the O-line room right now is great,” sophomore lineman Deylin Hasert said Thursday. “It’s making everybody better, and obviously we have a lot of guys that can play.”

Yes, I know you’ve heard this before. And I know you’ve been burned by believing in Cyclone blockers in the past. All right, I know you’ve only been burned by belief. All that preseason hope. The talk of depth and versatility and competition and scheme change and on and on and on.

And it’s mostly amounted to jack squat once the games started.

I get it. The Iowa State offensive line has been disappointing more often than not in the eight previous years coach Matt Campbell has been at the helm. For all the wins, draft picks and success the Cyclones have had under Campbell, getting the O-line to “average” has seemingly been a yearly struggle.

I know, I know, I know.

But if we want fall to come and football to start, I’ve got to do this. So strap in.

Maybe this year is different?

Hear me out, at least.

The Cyclones have experience, with James Neal, Jarrod Hufford, Jim Bonifas and Tyler Miller all back after starting all 13 games last season. Hufford has started 33 straight for the Cyclones. Brendan Block started the last five.

They’ve brought in Jalen Travis, a 6-foot-7, 315-pounder who was a multi-year starter at Princeton. Hasert, a 6-foot-4, 315-pounder from Minnesota, is healthy after missing all of last year with an injury.

That’s real experience. That’s real depth.

“It’s been beneficial for us to be able to have this many players that can compete,” second-year O-line coach Ryan Clanton said. “It’s my job and our job as coaches to get those guys to play at a high level and to attack each day with a purpose.

“They’re willing, have great intent and we’re chasing the development piece of it right now.”

More: Hines: Iowa State football wide receiver Beni Ngoyi wants to talk about blocking

More: Hines: How Iowa State football’s pass rush issues can be fixed by a new Cyclones transfer

More: Hines: Talent alone not enough for Iowa State football to reach lofty goals

Iowa State now looks as though it might actually have the size and physicality to measure up in the Big 12. Travis and Miller project as towering bookends at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-9, respectively, at tackle. Neal, at 6-6 and 330 pounds, has been practicing at guard. Black is 6-4, 315 and with the brawling style befitting a former competitive weightlifter. If Hufford could move to center, that’s a 6-4, 325-pound sixth-year senior running the show.

Those are honest-to-goodness real pieces for a good Big 12 offensive line. Let us also not forget that as rough as things got for the offensive line at times last year, there was real progress throughout the season. It wasn’t always sustained, but it was there.

“You can forecast as much as you want,” Clanton said, “but until you get in those situations as an offensive lineman and make it out and succeed and not just try to survive a situation, we’re trying to really test their mental capacity.”

C’mon, coach. That’s too cautious of optimism. We’re trying to pump sunshine here.

“They want to do something special,” Clanton said, “and they believe in this place.”

That’s more like it.

Now bring on the pumpkin spice and get to kickoff.

Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.

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Iowa

How To Watch Pop Tarts Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami, Bowl Game TV Schedule

Published

12 minutes ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

How To Watch Pop Tarts Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami, Bowl Game TV Schedule

The Miami Hurricanes are back in action for the final time this season as they look to prove that they were one of the best teams in the league this season as they face the Iowa State Cyclones in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando.

What is better for the Canes is that most of their starting player from this previous season will be participating instead of opting out.

That means the No. 1 offense in the country will be on full display with Heisman finalist and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Winner Cam Ward taking the field with All-American Xavier Restrepo and the rest of the electric offense for the Hurricanes.

This will be the final game of a great, yet disappointing season for the Hurricanes but the morale is high as year three of the Mario Cristobal Era comes to a close.

Who: Miami vs. Iowa State

When: 3:30 p.m. on ABC

Where: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL

Series: First contest between the two teams.

Last time out, Miami: Miami came up short of reaching the ACC Championship Game after failing to stop the electric offense of the Syracuse Orange and losing 42-38 in the final game of the regular season.

Last time out, Iowa State: The Cyclones got blown out in the Big 12 Championship game against winners Arizona State 45-19 as they struggled to find offense all game long.

Mon., Dec. 23

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA
11 a.m. on ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
2:30 p.m. on ESPN

Tues., Dec. 24

Hawai’i Bowl
South Florida vs. San Jose State
8 p.m. on ESPN

Thurs., Dec. 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl
Pittsburgh vs. Toledo
2 p.m. on ESPN

Rate Bowl
Rutgers vs. Kansas State
5:30 p.m. on ESPN

68 Ventures Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green
9 p.m. on ESPN

Fri., Dec. 27

Armed Forces Bowl
Navy vs. Oklahoma
12 p.m. on ESPN

Birmingham Bowl
Vanderbilt vs. Georgia Tech
3:30 p.m. on ESPN

Liberty Bowl
Arkansas vs. Texas Tech
7 p.m. on ESPN

Holiday Bowl
Syracuse vs. Washington State
8 p.m. on Fox

Las Vegas Bowl
Texas A&M vs. USC
10:30 p.m. on ESPN

Sat., Dec. 28

Fenway Bowl
North Carolina vs. UConn
11 a.m. on ESPN

Pinstripe Bowl
Nebraska vs. Boston College
12 p.m. on ABC

New Mexico Bowl
TCU vs. Louisiana
2:15 p.m. on ESPN

Pop-Tarts Bowl
Miami vs. Iowa State
3:30 p.m. on ABC

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Colorado State vs. Miami (OH)
4:30 p.m. on CW Network

Military Bowl
NC State vs. East Carolina
5:45 p.m. on ESPN

Alamo Bowl
Colorado vs. BYU
7:30 p.m. on ABC

Independence Bowl
Army vs. Louisiana Tech
9:15 p.m. on ESPN

Mon., Dec. 30

Music City Bowl
Missouri vs. Iowa
2:30 p.m. on ESPN

Tues., Dec. 31

ReliaQuest Bowl
Alabama vs. Michigan
12 p.m. on ESPN

Sun Bowl
Louisville vs. Washington
2 p.m. on CBS

Citrus Bowl
South Carolina vs. Illinois
3 p.m. on ABC

Texas Bowl
LSU vs. Baylor
3:30 p.m. on ESPN

Thurs., Jan. 2

Gator Bowl
Ole Miss vs. Duke
7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Fri., Jan. 3

First Responder Bowl
North Texas vs. Texas State
4 p.m. on ESPN

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech
7:30 p.m. on ESPN

–

Sat., Jan. 4

Bahamas Bowl
Buffalo vs. Liberty
11 a.m. on ESPN2

Iowa

Iowa Republicans set up a shell game to mask the costs of tax cuts | Opinion

Published

8 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Iowa Republicans set up a shell game to mask the costs of tax cuts | Opinion

It is not “taxpayer relief” to use previously paid taxes to pay help pay for budget shortfalls caused by a “tax cut.”

Tom Walton
| Guest columnist

This month, the state Revenue Estimating Conference reported new estimates showing Iowa revenue will drop by $602 million (6.2%) compared with fiscal year 2024. Further, state revenue is expected to drop by a further $428 million (4.7%) in fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, 2025. Republicans attribute the fall in estimated revenue to the start of their 3.8% flat income tax rate next year. Republicans have promoted reducing the state income tax — which Sen. Jack Whitver derisively calls a “confiscation” — down to zero.

But Republicans have amassed a $2 billion budget surplus, $961 million in its reserve accounts, and $3.75 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund, which was supposed to be used to reduce taxes. All told, about $6.75 billion. One good question is: Why?

Republicans enacted a long-term commitment to reduced revenues due to the flax tax at an extremely volatile time during and after the COVID-19 epidemic. The federal government’s $5.2 trillion infusion into states and their economies was the largest fiscal stimulus package ever. One-time federal financial supports reduced state costs and artificially bolstered revenues. Recently, Pew Charitable Trusts observed: “The combination of temporary funds propping up budgets and the adoption of new recurring expenditures or tax cuts has left many states in a precarious position. Policymakers now must grapple with the possibility that their states’ finances are structurally imbalanced and vulnerable to deficits as one-time funds dry up but new commitments remain.”

Not wanting to “waste a good crisis,” as they say, Republicans rushed to enact a flat tax during an extremely uncertain economic time when the level of likely future tax revenues was cloudy at best.

As the COVID economic booster begins to fade, several states have experienced significant decreases in tax revenue as compared to their 15-year trend. Iowa was among states experiencing a negative difference in the fourth quarter of 2023 — mind you, before the flat income tax kicked in. Iowa experienced a 6% decrease in revenue from its historical trend, the fourth-highest difference among states that went negative, according to Pew.

Researchers explained: “State tax collections have been on a downward trajectory since their mid-2022 peak, reflecting, in large part, a decline from the unexpected highs of the pandemic revenue wave. … One question is whether states will be able to afford the budgetary commitments they made in the past three years — such as tax relief and pay raises for public employees — over the long term.”

Yet, Iowa Republicans want to enshrine their COVID-fueled tax cut into the Iowa Constitution. Last session, Republicans passed a constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the state Legislature to pass a bill that would increase the individual or corporate income tax rate. They are expected to pass the legislation a second time this session, which would likely put it on the ballot for voters in November 2026. What a way to saddle future Iowans with a hasty tax cut enacted during a most abnormal period of artificially high revenue and reduced state expenses.

It is a sure thing Republicans will hoard Iowa’s surpluses and use it to cover predicted revenue gaps before the November 2026 vote on the constitutional amendment to mask from the voting public the true and lasting impacts of their opportunistic push for a flat tax.

In fact, Republicans and Gov. Kim Reynolds passed Senate File 2442 this year, which, among other things, changed the law regarding how the Taxpayer Relief Fund could be used. Tucked away in the second-to-last division of a 35-page bill is a section that provides that, if the actual net revenue is less than budgeted expenses “there is transferred from the taxpayer relief fund to the general fund of the state an amount equal to fifty percent of the difference or the remaining balance of the taxpayer relief fund, whichever is lower.” That is a preemptive coverup of the probable result of the Republican flat tax as conceded by Republicans, themselves.

Iowa Republicans are not using the Taxpayer Relief Fund as it was originally intended. It is not “taxpayer relief” to use previously paid taxes to pay help pay for budget shortfalls caused by a “tax cut.” Most would call that a shell game. It is like giving yourself a “raise” by moving a dollar from one pocket to another. Why not just give those “confiscated” funds back to Iowans directly via refunds? Ah, but that would spoil the game, wouldn’t it?

Unmet needs and underfunded state accounts exist now. That will get worse.

Governor Reynolds states Republicans have a “commitment to shrinking the size and scope of government.” However, should not elected officials be committed first to ensuring that our government is the “right size,” before deciding it should be shrunk? That is, the right size to fully accomplish basic functions that individuals cannot meet themselves —no matter how much of their own money they have in their pockets — such as prevention and mitigation of natural disasters, ensuring safe bridges and roads, making sure promised pensions are not underfunded, cleaning up Iowa’s fouled waters, and helping public schools at least meet their costs of operation.

Tom Walton is an Iowa lawyer.

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Iowa

Iowa 95, Utah 88: A Balanced Comeback

Published

16 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Iowa 95, Utah 88: A Balanced Comeback

Nine months ago, Utah ended Iowa’s 2023-24 season in the second round of the NIT. Saturday night, Iowa faced off with Utah again at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and came away with a very solid 95-88 win over the Utes. The Hawkeyes used a dominant second half and a balanced scoring effort from the starting lineup to earn the victory.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

1. The Big Finish

Finishing strong hasn’t always been a strength for this particular Iowa team. The Hawkeyes couldn’t make enough shots (or get enough stops) in their neutral-site loss to Utah State last month and ran out of steam after playing very well against Iowa State for 35 minutes a few weeks ago.

Saturday, Iowa trailed 40-36 at halftime and was down 11 early in the second half after conceding a 9-2 run to the Utes out of the break. The Hawkeyes caught fire after that, rattling off 25 points in the next seven minutes of game action to tie the score at 63-all.

Down the stretch, it was the Hawkeyes who were making shots and getting stops. Iowa outscored Utah 20-13 after the game was tied at 75 with 6:59 to play. Iowa scored 59 points in the second half (to 48 from Utah), led by 16 points from Payton Sandfort, who shot 5-of-8 from the floor and was perfect at the free throw line (6-of-6).

Notably, Iowa scored 59 points in the second half despite shooting just 4-of-6 from 3-point range. After attempting 14 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes (and making five of them), Iowa adjusted on offense in the second half, attacking the rim more and getting higher-percentage shots — and more trips to the free throw line, where the Hawkeyes went 17-of-24 after the break.

“We were moving the ball and driving the ball [in the second half],” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said after the win. “We settled too much in the first half. Payton said it [and] he was right, we hit a couple early and started settling.”

“[Then] they don’t have to play defense, they don’t get tired, they come down and they carve you up, they run good stuff. So we kept the ball moving the ball side to side, driving the ball, intelligent screening, back-cuts, that was the difference in the game.”

The sellout crowd at the Pentagon had a noticeable (and unsurprising) Hawkeye flavor, which helped fuel Iowa’s second half comeback. That, as well as the veteran core of this Iowa roster that’s had plenty of experience in these situations — both good and bad — at this point.

“Veteran guys,” said McCaffery on how Iowa was able to turn the game around in the second half. “We’ve got good players, we’ve got good ball-handlers, guys who’ve been through it, [the] crowd was great. I think [it was] a combination of all those things.”

2. Drew Thelwell’s Spark

One player who provided a notable spark in Iowa’s comeback effort was senior guard Drew Thelwell, making his third consecutive start. Thelwell didn’t make a basket in the second half — didn’t even attempt one, in fact — but he scored seven points on 7-of-8 shooting at the free throw line.

Thelwell drew five fouls (more than anyone else on the Iowa roster in the second half), although a few of those came late when the Utes were attempting to extend the game. Still, Thelwell’s ability to attack the defense and the energy he brought were key factors in Iowa’s comeback win.

“[His energy] is infectious,” McCaffery said after the game. “Everyone else goes with him, Brock [Harding]’s kind of that way as well. The energy in the building was phenomenal. Drew was right in the middle of that. His defense, drawing six fouls, those are stats that are critical to a team’s ability to win. You do that by driving the ball and drawing fouls and that’s what he did.”

McCaffery also expanded on what he was looking for when he was pursuing Thelwell out of the transfer portal earlier this year and what he’s brought to this Iowa team. “I was looking for a veteran point guard, who could run a team, who could play off the ball and score, guard his man,” he explained.

“I noticed immediately that this kid could play defense, and wants to play defense and wants to play at both ends, that he understands how to engineer a victory,” McCaffery said. “Drew Thelwell is a winner, that’s what I was looking for and that’s what we got.”

The man that Thelwell displaced in the starting lineup — Ladji Dembele — also had some key plays to spark Iowa’s comeback bid. After scoring zero points and grabbing just one rebound in the first half, Dembele had five points, three rebounds, and a steal after intermission. His two baskets came during Iowa’s surge after falling behind by 11 and helped cut a 7-point deficit to just two.

More importantly, he helped keep Iowa afloat in the second half, with Owen Freeman bolted to the bench with foul trouble (Freeman picked up three fouls in the second half and played under five minutes total after halftime). Dembele played 14:10 in the second half and he finished with a +13 plus-minus rating in those minutes, the highest of any Iowa player in the second half.

McCaffery praised the effort from Dembele and fellow sub Pryce Sandfort. “They’re just rock solid, both of them. All they care about is winning. Pryce, defensively, was tremendous. Ladji, boy was he great. [He] had his two big hoops. But then defensively, on the glass, [he had a] big time offensive rebound late, [a] couple in-traffic rebounds, just his awareness defensively was great.”

3. Balance Carries The Day

Recent years have seen multiple standout individual players that served as the focal points for their respective Iowa teams — Luka Garza, followed by Keegan Murray, and then Kris Murray. Those players were superstars at the college level, racking up All-Big Ten honors, winning Big Ten Player of the Year awards, and vying (or winning, in Garza’s case) for national honors as well.

There isn’t a player quite like that on this Iowa roster — but at its best, this is a team that has a lot of depth and scoring balance, with multiple players that can score and pass and put pressure on a defense. Saturday night saw them at something pretty close to their best, especially in the furious second half comeback effort.

All five Iowa starters finished in double figures in scoring, led by Payton Sandfort with 24 points and a game-high 8 rebounds. Freeman finished second on the team with 16 points, despite missing 75% of the second half with foul trouble. “Owen was really on his way to a big-time game, I felt bad when he got in foul trouble like that,” McCaffery said after the game. Freeman finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds.

Josh Dix and Drew Thelwell each added 15 points, with 10 of Dix’s points coming in the second half. Dix did his damage inside the arc in this game, going 7-of-9 on two-point shots and attempting just one three.

Finally, Brock Harding finished with 12 points, all in the second half. After going 0-for-5 in the first half, Harding went 4-of-8 in the second half, including 2-of-2 from deep. His first three gave Iowa its first lead of the second half at 68-67 and his second triple pushed Iowa’s lead to 88-80 with three minutes to play.

When Iowa is moving the ball well, setting screens, and attacking the rim like the offense was in the second half, this becomes a very difficult team to defend because there’s no one player that defenses can key on and try to slow down. Maintaining that focus and that aggressive mindset on the offensive end was key to Iowa’s win on Saturday — maintaining those same things over the next two-and-a-half months will be key to Iowa’s success in the Big Ten.

NEXT: Iowa finishes off non-conference play with a home game against New Hampshire on December 30 (6 PM CT, BTN).

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