By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Every fan base has a Mr. Optimist and a Mr. Pessimist.

I’ve been posting debates between Iowa’s Mr. Optimist and Mr. Pessimist dating back to my days with the Iowa City Press-Citizen, so for over 30 years.

One glass is always half full, while the other is always half empty.

I was all set to post another debate between Iowa’s Mr. Optimist and Mr. Pessimist in preparation for Saturday’s much-anticipated showdown at Kinnick Stadium when I was told that Iowa State’s version of Mr. Optimist and Mr. Pessimist would be willing to share their latest debate, and would also allow us to publish it on Hawk Fanatic.

It was an offer that I couldn’t refuse.

No disrespect to Iowa’s Mr. Optimist and Mr. Pessimist because Hawkeye fans have learned to appreciate them over the years, at least Mr. Optimist, but it’s always nice to have a different viewpoint, and to see how your intrastate rival feels about the series.

My guess is that Hawkeye fans will like Iowa State’s Mr. Pessimist almost as much as they like Iowa’s Mr. Optimist.

So, let’s get to it. Here is the entire transcript from Ames:

Mr. Optimist: In the last 12 games against Iowa, Iowa State has won three of five games at Kinnick Stadium during that stretch.

Mr. Pessimist: Iowa State is just 4-8 in its last 12 games against Iowa and has lost seven of the last eight games in the series.

Mr. Optimist: In his ninth season as the Iowa State head coach, Matt Campbell in addition to being the third longest tenured had coach in program history has led the Cyclones to 54 wins, second only to Dan McCarney’s 56 victories.

Mr. Pessimist: In his 26^th season as the Iowa head coach, Kirk Ferentz in addition to being the longest tenured college head coach in the country also has a 6-1 record against Matt Campbell’s Cyclones.

Mr. Optimist: Even with the emergence of true freshman Reece Vander Zee and Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill, and with the expected return of Kaleb Brown from a one-game suspension, the receiver position still is a major concern for the Iowa football team.

Mr. Pessimist: The receiver position has almost always been a major concern for Iowa, and yet, the Hawkeyes still have a 14-6 record against Iowa State dating back to 2003.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State is off to a 1-0 start for the sixth time in nine seasons under Matt Campbell.

Mr. Pessimist: Only once has Iowa State started 2-0 under Campbell, and that came in 2022 following its 10-7 victory at Kinnick Stadium.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State started the 2024 season with a 21-3 victory over North Dakota as sophomore quarterback Rocco Becht completed 76.9 percent of his passes (20-of-26) to lead all Big 12 quarterbacks in completion percentage in week one.

Mr. Pessimist: The Iowa State defense struggled to get off the field against North Dakota, which controlled the time of possession (37.51 to 22.09), ran 21 more plays than Iowa State and converted on 11-of-20 third-down plays.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State won at least seven games in six of Matt Campbell’s first eight seasons as head coach.

Mr. Pessimist: Iowa State has never won more than nine games in a season, while Iowa has won at least 10 games in a season 11 times.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa hasn’t won even a share of the Big Ten title since 2004.

Mr. Pessimist: Seriously? Your lack of awareness is staggering, considering Iowa State hasn’t won a share of any conference title since 1912, the same year the Titanic struck an iceberg and then sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State tied the school record for overall wins in 2020 with a 9-3 record.

Mr. Pessimist: Since 1983, Iowa has won at least nine games in a season 16 times.

Mr. Optimist: Since being hired by Iowa State prior to the 2016 season, Matt Campbell has coached 11 future NFL draft picks.

Mr. Pessimist: During that same period, Kirk Ferentz has coached 30 future NFL draft picks, including six first-round picks.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State has 10 straight wins when scoring at least 30 points.

Mr. Pessimist: Only five times in 70 games against Iowa dating back to 1894 has Iowa State scored at least 30 points, and two of those games were losses for the Cyclones.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State won five straight games against Iowa from 1998 to 2002, its longest winning streak in the series.

Mr. Pessimist: Iowa has won at least five straight games against Iowa State four times in the series, including 15 in a row from 1983 to 1997 under former head coach Hayden Fry.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State overcame a 24-7 halftime deficit to defeat Iowa 36-31 in 2002 at Kinnick Stadium.

Mr. Pessimist: Iowa State would go on to finish just 7-6 that season, while Iowa finished 11-2 overall and undefeated in the Big Ten for the first time 80 years.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State has had 79 straight games at Jack Trice Stadium with more than 50,000 fans, a streak dating back to 2011.

Mr. Pessimist: Iowa has had at least 50,000 fans at Kinnick Stadium in 280 straight games with exception to the Covid year in 2020, a streak dating back to the Michigan game in 1978 (49,120).

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State’s media relations department recently came up with a promotional video on X in which they used ACDC’s “Back and Black” as the background music. It was described as a clever way of supposedly getting under the skin of Iowa fans since “Back in Black” is also the song that blares over the loudspeaker when the Iowa football team takes the field at Kinnick Stadium just prior to kickoff.

Mr. Pessimist: If getting under the skin of Iowa fans was truly the intent of this promotional video, that only feeds the narrative that Iowa State has a little brother complex when it comes to Hawkeye football.

Mr. Optimist: In Big 12 history (1996-2023) Iowa State has had seven winning conference seasons, with Campbell producing six of them.

Mr. Pessimist: Iowa has had 15 winning conference seasons since 1996, including 14 under Kirk Ferentz.

Mr. Optimist: Iowa State has had four consensus All-Americans in program history, the latest being running back Breece Hall in 2021.

Mr. Pessimist: Iowa has had 31 consensus All-Americans in program history, including 16 in the Kirk Ferentz era.