Win at Nebraska propelled ISU to Insight

AMES - Iowa State did some last-second lobbying to play in the Insight Bowl.

Its case really began on an October afternoon in Lincoln, Neb. Cyclones 9, Huskers 7.

The bowl's CEO, John Junker, was there.

“I think that played a big part of them taking notice of us and Paul Rhoads,” ISU Athletics Director Jamie Pollard said. “The video after the game, being down in the locker room and seeing that certainly put us on their radar screen.”

ISU formally accepted Junker's invitation Sunday to play in the Dec. 31 bowl. The Cyclones (6-6) will face Minnesota (6-6) at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

The game will kick off at 4 p.m. and be televised by the NFL Network.

Rhoads was on the opposite sideline when ISU defeated Pittsburgh, 37-29, in the 2000 Insight.com Bowl.

There were in excess of 20,000 Cyclone fans in Phoenix's Bank One Ballpark for that bowl game.

“I felt the Cyclone Nation about every single snap for three hours. We anticipate another great following,” said Rhoads, who has coached in three Arizona-based bowls this decade as Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator.

Pollard said ISU has an allotment of 10,500 tickets.

Tickets are $55 and can be ordered online at www.cyclones.com, in person or by phone (888-478-2925) at the ISU Athletics Ticket Office beginning today.

Rhoads took over for Gene Chizik last December amid a chaotic time for the program.

That didn't deter the first-time head coach from setting the goal of not only playing in a bowl game, but winning one. ISU last played in a bowl in 2005.

The Cyclones won five games the past two years and came into the season with 10 straight losses.

They snapped that streak in the season opener, won a game away from Ames for the first time in 17 games and beat Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb., for the first time since 1977.

“It goes to show that hard work and sticking with it is going to pay off at same point,” said senior defensive tackle Nate Frere. “I'm excited about going to Tempe. I hear it is nice this time of year.”

The Cyclones were chosen ahead of Texas A&M and Missouri, teams which beat ISU during the regular season.

Texas A&M finished 6-6 and will play Georgia in the Independence Bowl

Missouri, who defeated ISU, 34-24, on Nov. 21 and went 8-4, dropped to the Texas Bowl.

Big 12-affiliated bowls are not required to choose teams in order of finish. Missouri athletic officials expressed their disappointment this week with the possibility they would be passed over, despite being two games better than Iowa State.

“In a perfect world you'd like it to be picked in the order that you finished, but I'm a realist,” Pollard said. “This is a time that Iowa State is adding tremendous value to the Big 12 because the Tempe area, with the (down) economy, needs a team that can bring the type of people we will bring.

“The day we try to mandate on the bowls, and what they have to take, is the day they'll stop paying what they pay. Then there will be other repercussions down the road as far as how we finance college athletics.”

The bowl's payout is $1.35 million.

By Eric Petersen, correspondent