Iowa

Iowa State opens practices under cloud of gambling investigation and questions at QB

Published

1 year ago

August 4, 2023

Iowa State opens practices under cloud of gambling investigation and questions at QB

AMES, Iowa (AP) — A gambling scandal has left Iowa State with a quarterback quandary.

Hunter Dekkers, last year’s starter, is among three current or former Cyclones players facing criminal charges. He is not participating in preseason camp.

That leaves redshirt freshman Rocco Becht, true freshman J.J. Kohl and junior college transfer Tanner Hughes vying to be Dekkers’ replacement at quarterback, at least for now.

“We’ve seen a bunch of different quarterbacks have great success here,” coach Matt Campbell said Friday as he enters his eighth season. “We need those guys to lead and take care of the football. And those guys have a lot of confidence in being able to do all those things.”

Gambling investigations at Iowa and Iowa State have resulted in criminal charges against seven current or former athletes, including ex-Hawkeyes basketball player Ahron Ulis and Dekkers. Documents showed a DraftKings account controlled by Dekkers placed more than 360 online bets worth more than $2,799. Dekkers bet on 26 Iowa State athletic events, including a 2021 football game against Oklahoma State in which he did not play.

Offensive lineman Dodge Sauser was also named in the investigation, as well as former Iowa State defensive lineman Enyi Uwazurike, a current member of the Denver Broncos who was suspended by the NFL recently for gambling.

Each is accused in the complaints of tampering with records related to an Iowa Criminal Division investigation into sports gambling. Current athletes also face a loss of eligibility for violating NCAA gambling rules.

Campbell expressed uncertainly as to whether other Cyclones could be named in the gambling probe.

“This is not an Iowa State investigation. This is a NCAA and a legal matter,” Campbell said. “I think our leadership team here has done an incredible job of what they can tell us, telling us.”

Dekkers’ absence will have the biggest impact this season. He threw for 3,044 yards and 19 touchdowns last year. Iowa State finished 4-8 and 1-8 in the Big 12 – snapping a string of five straight winning season, the school’s longest such streak since the 1920s.

Becht is the only one of the three backups who appeared in a game last fall, completing seven of 15 passes for 65 yards, with zero touchdowns and an interception. The 6-foot-7 Kohl from nearby Ankeny enrolled at Iowa State in the spring. Hughes threw for 23 touchdowns as a sophomore at Butte College, with just three interceptions.

“I feel like all those guys have a skill set that is similar,” Cyclone receiver Jaylin Noel said. “Obviously, J.J. is huge, but he can also move a little bit. Rocco is still mobile. He’s a guy who can get around the field. I feel like all their arm talents are similar.”

Campbell joked that he might not name a starter until November. Iowa State’s opener is Sept. 2 against Northern Iowa.

“One of the things that probably excited me the most was what I watched from Rocco,” Campbell said. “Rocco really grew through the (2022) football season. By mid-point of the season he took over the No. 2 position and then really put himself in position to get into football games. When he got into games, there were a lot really of positive things that occurred.”

The Cyclones lost eight of their final nine games last season and are faced with a rebuilding project as the Big 12 welcomes BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida this season. Iowa State was picked to finish 10th in a preseason media poll.

“Every football season, every team in America is going to have some sort of adversity,” Campbell said. “Our adversity has come a little bit earlier.”

Depending on how the gambling investigation plays out, that adversity could linger for months.

“The culture of our program is what’s going to get us through this next season,” offensive lineman Jarrod Hufford said. “How we are as a team is going to get us through anything.”

Campbell agreed.

“Part of what I love about being a college football coach is the growth of young men to men, 18 to 22 years old,” he said. “Somebody says, ‘Is this a culture issue?’ The issue at hand is a society issue. And the reality of it is, society issues are always going to challenge the culture, whether it’s your family culture or your football culture.

“What you’re always constantly trying to do is educate your young people to make great decisions and put them in the best position to be successful and become the best men that they can possibly be.”

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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Iowa

Decatur County duo arrested after alleged robbery in Iowa Wednesday, police say

Published

4 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Press Room

Decatur County duo arrested after alleged robbery in Iowa Wednesday, police say

WEST DES MOINES, Ia. (WCTV) – Two people from Decatur County were arrested in Iowa Wednesday, and face charges related to an alleged robbery, according to a press release from the West Des Moines Police Department.

Daniel Mathes of Bainbridge is charged with robbery in the second degree and theft in the first degree. Lisa Haire of Climax is charged with aiding and abetting robbery in the second degree and aiding and abetting theft in the first degree.

Daniel Mathes and Lisa Haire, pictured above in their mugshots.(West Des Moines Police Department)

Late Wednesday afternoon, police responded to a call of a robbery at a bank, according to authorities. No one was injured, and police determined Mathes and Haire suspects related to the incident, police say.

They were later pulled over by Iowa State Patrol on I-80, and arrested without incident, according to authorities.

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Iowa State vs. Utah score prediction by expert football model

Published

14 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Iowa State vs. Utah score prediction by expert football model

A notable late-season Big 12 matchup kicks off this weekend as No. 22 Iowa State goes on the road against Utah. Let’s check in with the latest prediction for the game from an expert analytical football model that projects scores and picks winners.

Iowa State sits in a two-way tie for third-place in the Big 12 standings after a two-game losing skid that came to an end last weekend, but the Cyclones need help getting to the league title game.

Utah was the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 Championship Game, but slid to just 1-6 in conference play and is on a six-game losing streak, not having won since late September, against Oklahoma State, the other worst team in the league this season.

What do the analytical models suggest for when the Cyclones and Utes square off in this Big 12 matchup?

For that, let’s turn to the SP+ prediction model to get a preview of how Iowa State and Utah compare in this Week 13 college football game.

As expected, the models are siding with the Cyclones against the Utes, but by a close margin.

SP+ predicts that Iowa State will defeat Utah by a projected score of 24 to 20 and to win the game by an expected margin of 4.1 points in the process.

The model gives the Cyclones a solid 60 percent chance of outright victory against the Utes.

SP+ is a “tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” that attempts to predict game outcomes by measuring “the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football.”

How good is it this season? So far, the SP+ model is 315-293-8 against the spread with a 51.8 win percentage after going 23-30 (43.4%) last weekend.

Iowa State is a 7.5 point favorite against Utah, according to the updated lines posted to FanDuel Sportsbook for the game.

FanDuel lists the total at 41.5 points for the game (Over -110, Under -110).

And it set the moneyline odds for Iowa State at -280 and for Utah at +225 to win outright.

If you’re using this prediction to bet on the game, you should take …

If you do, you’ll be in the company of a minority of bettors, most of whom expect the Cyclones to dominate the Utes, according to the latest spread consensus picks for the game.

Iowa State is getting 62 percent of bets to win the game and cover the spread in the process.

The other 38 percent of wagers project Utah will either win outright in an upset or keep the game under 8 points in a loss.

Most other analytical football models also favor the Cyclones against the Utes this weekend.

That includes the College Football Power Index, a computer prediction model that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times to pick winners.

Iowa State is the favorite in the game, coming out ahead in the majority 63.2 percent of the computer’s most recent simulations of the matchup.

That leaves Utah as the presumptive winner in the other 36.8 percent of sims for the game.

How does that translate to an expected margin of victory in the matchup?

Iowa State is projected to be 4.8 points better than Utah on the same field in both teams’ current composition, according to the model’s latest forecast.

Iowa State is fourth among Big 12 teams with a 9.5 percent chance to qualify for the College Football Playoff, according to the FPI’s metrics.

That model forecasts the Cyclones will win 9.3 games this season.

Colorado (34.3%) leads the Big 12 in the playoff race, according to the index projections, followed by BYU (31.1%) and Arizona State (13.5%).

Utah has two games left to become bowl eligible, but the index doesn’t foresee that happening.

FPI projects the Utes will win 4.7 games and have an 11.9 percent chance to make a bowl game.

When: Sat., Nov. 23
Where: Salt Lake City, Utah

Time: 6:30 p.m. CT | 5:30 p.m. MT
TV: Fox network

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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