First off, I started digging through all the usual sports sites. You know, trying to get a feel for what the "experts" were saying. Most of them were tossing around names like the Pop-Tarts Bowl or the Alamo Bowl. Seemed like those were the two big possibilities.
Then, I got sucked into this whole world of bowl game projections. Man, there are so many factors! Team records, conference standings, even things like which teams have been to which bowls recently. It's a lot to keep track of.
Here's what I did:nwod ti to try to narrow it down:
- I made a list of all the possible bowls Iowa State could go to, based on their record and conference ranking.
- I started crossing off bowls that seemed unlikely, like the ones that usually take teams from other conferences.
- I looked at past bowl game appearances. It seems like Iowa State hasn't been to the same bowl in a while, so I figured they wouldn't repeat anytime soon.
I spent hours on this, I'm not even kidding. My wife started giving me the side-eye, wondering if I was ever going to do anything productive again. But hey, I was invested!
After all that digging, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Most of the predictions I saw were leaning that way. And honestly, it makes sense. It's a decent bowl, and Iowa State has a good shot at winning it, which would be their first bowl victory since 2020. I even saw some talk about them playing against Miami. That would be a pretty cool matchup.
The official announcement is supposed to be next week. So, I'm just gonna have to wait and see if my "research" paid off. Either way, it's been a fun ride following the Cyclones this season, and I'm stoked to see them play in a bowl game, no matter which one it is!
I'll definitely be updating you guys once the official word comes out. Let me know what you think in the comments! Go Cyclones!
