The Wiz of Odds

A Cyclone Celebration

Watch Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads and his team celebrate a 9-7 victory over Nebraska, the Cyclones' first win in Lincoln since 1977.

Updated: Cyclone fans are wasting no time making fun of the Cornhuskers' eight turnovers in Saturday's game. Check the image after the jump.

Fighting a Big War With a Short Stick in the Big 12

There's trouble brewing in the Big 12, which has evolved into a league of haves and have-nots.

North Division members Iowa State, Kansas State and Colorado are being left in the financial dust by free-spending Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald breaks it down this way: Texas makes about $7 million for a home game with its stadium capacity of 101,000. Nebraska makes about $4.5 million with its 85,000 seats.

Iowa State, Kansas State and Colorado, each with stadiums seating slightly more than 50,000, bring in about $1.2 million to $1.5 million per home game.

Barfknecht writes: "Multiply that differential by seven games a year, stretch that over four or five years and you can see why Texas has flat-screen TVs in its football complex bathrooms while other schools are happy to find soap and paper towels."

And the Winner Is ... Iowa State!

Congratulations to Iowa State, winner of the Wiz Readers' Choice Poster Schedule of the Year. The Cyclones survived a bruising primary challenge from West Virginia to advance to the final, then held off a late charge from Louisiana Tech to claim the top honor.

The Cyclones' winning margin was a slim 39 votes out of 4,041 cast in the final.

"Iowa State is very excited about winning this contest," said Mary Pink, ISU's associate athletic director for marketing. "There was some great competition from the other schools. The real credit for the design goes to The Meyocks Group, our design agency who created the poster and the slogan for this season."

This is the fourth year the site has displayed poster schedules, and this feature would not be possible without contributions from schools and friends of the site. Thanks for your support!

A record 69 posters were displayed, and you can view them all by clicking this link.

The Finalists for Readers' Choice Poster of the Year

The Wiz is happy to present the 10 finalists for Readers' Choice Poster of the Year.

Each of these teams have survived a rugged primary to reach this point, and now it's your turn to select a winner. Voting will close on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at midnight (Eastern). You get only one vote. Repeat voters are blocked by IP address.

The finalists: Iowa State, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Penn State, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, USC and Mississippi. View all of the finalists after the jump and click an image for a closer view.

Game 2: Iowa State at Kent State

Greg then made the 15-mile drive to Kent to take in the Iowa State-Kent State game that evening at Dix Stadium. Caution: These people live among you. To view his gallery from this game, click here.

Iowa State's Online Course on How to Sell Tickets

Iowa State is the latest team to offer an online interactive experience. Click here to check it out.

The Cyclones follow earlier efforts by Boston College, Colorado and Arizona State. Thanks to Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register.