Wide Right Natty Lite Podcast

Our first ever call-in show!

Instead of just doing our standard Q&A, we've decided to turn our Interrogates series into a podcast so we can get a little more in-depth with our conversation. We talked with Jack Shield from the Crimson & Cream Machine about what he's seen so far out of the Sooners this season. Kyler Murray has played really well, but what might he look like against a stingy Iowa State defense? How about the Sooners' own defense? They've looked much better this year than in 2017. We also touched on what a weaker Big 12 means for OU's playoff chances, as well as the interesting prospect of a potential Iowa State-Nebraska matchup at Arrowhead.

Episode one of the podcast features CYHusker, JWillyISU, Levi Stevenson, and Jar_Lar talking about BB guns, Busch Latte, week night football action, things to watch on Saturday, and information about the new WRNL venture "Wide Right & Natty Live".  Enjoy!

With Cole in New Zealand for the next few weeks, and Marchie preparing to return to Dallas Cowboys training camp on Monday, Levi decided to sit down with former 1st-Team All-Big 12 nose tackle Jake McDonough.to talk all things Cyclone football. First we talked about what Jake's been up to since he left Iowa State, including a stint in the Arena Football League. Jake says playing in the Arena League is actually more difficult than playing on the grass field. Also, Jake's contemplating a return to the NFL, so he walks us through the process of trying to make that comeback, including showing teams his recent 225 lb bench press set of 47 REPS. Then, Jake gave his persepective on Joel Lanning and how incredible his double duty at linebacker and quarterback last season was. After our brief discussion about Joel, we talked about how the impressive 2017 recruiting class is already pushing their way into the gameplan, and what the new redshirt rule means for their development. Even true freshman offensive lineman T

In our draft series, we're trying to determine who can draft the best team of players that have played for Iowa State since the turn of the millenium. In part 1, we drafted offenses, and Josh ended up coming out with the clear cut best team. This time around, we're drafting a defense and special teams.

After failing to qualify for this summer's World Cup, Levi and Cole talked about what that means for U.S. soccer, and what they need to do going forward to ensure that they don't miss out on the World Cup in 2022. Just this week, the U.S. was awarded the hosting of the 2026 World Cup in a joint bid with Canada and Mexico. We talked about where we'd like to see some games played, as well as what a strong showing in 2022 and 2026 could mean for the future of soccer in the United States. Before we wrapped up, we test Cole's knowledge of the world's most popular sport with a little World Cup Trivia.

After declaring for the NBA draft process, Lindell Wigginton went through various workouts with a handful of NBA teams to get feedback on what they like and don't like about him, as well as what his draft status looks like heading into next season. On the deadline day for playerss to withdraw from the draft, Wigginton elected to return to Iowa State for his sophomore season. Levi, Cole, and Marchie all gave their thoughts on what his return could mean for the team's outlook next season. Also, with the NBA Finals beginning, the guys took a look at the matchup between the two teams, and what their predictions were for the series (SPOILER ALERT: they all like Golden State). Does LeBron have enough help to overcome the obvious talent gap between the Cavs and Warriors? If LeBron leaves for Houston, how will it affect his legacy?

On this year's Cyclone Tailgate Tour, the two most common questions fielded by Jamie Pollard and Matt Campbell were regarding the offensive coordinator position black uniforms that are rumored to be arriving this summer. What do you think of the Cyclones donning a black uniform in the fall? Is it going to a cool recruiting tool, or should we just avoid black altogether due to its connection with the Team Out East? Levi and Cole also talked about the reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which is slated to release in October of this year. The game showed three all new zombies expereinces, including a gladiator style mode based in the Ancient Rome, and a fight for your life aboard the Titanic. However, the biggest reveal was Black Ops 4's all-new battle royale mode, an obvious attempt to to piggy-back off the incredible success of Fortnite's Battle Royale mode, which will be unique in that it will include land and air vehicles, as well as locations from previous Call of Duty games. Could Call of Duty's battle r

Ever since breaking onto the college basketball scene in the 2011-2012 season, Royce White has been a vocal advocate for those who suffer from mental illness. After being drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2012, White continued to advocate for mental illness, much to the chagrin of some in various NBA front offices. Even after leaving the NBA and playing multiple seasons in Canada, Royce has consistently maintained his position that the NBA needs to see consistent mental health reform within the league not just for players, but for coach's and anybody else involved in the league. ESPN then filmed and aired a special piece on Royce which aired on 5/8/18. Royce has always been a deep thinker, and is happy to share his view of the world around him and share details about his own battle with anxiety. So, naturally, we wanted to sit down and discuss mental illness on a personal level and how it fits into the larger picture. We discussed Royce's battle with mental illness, the role sports and music play in contribu

We dive into how Jamie Pollard has done with all of the football stadium upgrades, as well as his football and basketball coaching hires. After that, Cole and Levi talk about one of our favorite subjects, video games. We dive into Fortnite, microtransactions, which developer we think is quietly destroying all the other major developers on the market, the longevity of Grand Theft Auto 5, and much more. If you're a Cyclone fan or a gamer, you won't want to miss this week's episode of Down the Pipe & Natty Lite.

In the first ever episode of Down the Pipe & Natty Lite, Levi, Cole Netten, and Marchie Murdock talked about last football season, the football newcomers, NBA playoffs, Lebron vs. Jordan, and what Cole and Marchie have been up to since they left Iowa State  

After transferring from Illinois before the 2016 season, Marchie became one of the best surprises of the 2017 season, with 5 touchdown catches, including a crucial touchdown reception against Oklahoma. We got his thoughts on the transfer to ISU, the direction of the program, his skills on the hardwood, the Dallas Mavericks, and never talking about the Saints-Vikings game ever again.

It has been a long wait, but it is finally game week for Cyclone football once again. On Saturday Iowa State will take the field in a bowl game for the first time since 2012. The site will again be the Liberty Bowl in Memphis as Matt Campbell’s crew is set to take on the home town Memphis Tigers. The week between Christmas and New Year’s is always an interesting one. Austin was recording from the spare bedroom at his in-laws house while Levi is back to the work grind. What is Levi doing with the second floor of his workplace all to himself this week? Levi and Austin both attended the Liberty Bowl in 2012. Those of you heading down this time are in for a good time. Austin recommends the chicken and waffles while Levi had himself some tasty barbeque. We both agreed that traveling north or south of Beale Street is not recommended. HOWEVER, if you do and live to tell the story we can think of no better outlet than WRNL to share your experience! David Montgomery is said to be 150 percent after suffering a coup

Dylan Montz from the Ames Tribune stops by to discuss Iowa State football and basketball 

With a new early signing period this year for college football we brought Alex Halsted on the podcast to discuss the specifics. How will this impact Iowa State’s recruiting going forward and how many of their commitments plan to sign between December 20th and December 22nd? We discussed how Iowa State’s coaching staff will balance preparing for a bowl game and building for a future at the same time this December. Iowa State is close to having a full class. Halsted speculates on what positions Iowa State might be after in the grad transfer market. Max Duggan, a 2019 quarterback recruit from Council Bluffs Lewis Central, has blown up on the recruiting trail. With the likes of Ohio State and Penn State offering recently, does Iowa State still have a shot? Also, John Waggoner, a defensive end prospect from West Des Moines, recently committed to that team out east. At one point he was a highly sought after prospect but there were rumors of Iowa State cooling on him late. What was the real deal? If you are lo

There are former players that are looked highly upon by the Cyclone fan base, and then there is Georges Niang. One of, in not THE, greatest Cyclone basketball player of all-time called into the podcast before his game in Oklahoma City. I once heard someone explain that you can tell when someone is special when they are known by just their first name. To Iowa State’s fan base, Niang was simply known as Georges and for four years we were fortunate enough to watch him represent Iowa State University on and off the court. As a second year professional basketball player, we asked Georges the differences between playing in college and playing professionally. How different was it playing for Coach Hoiberg and Coach Prohm? We of course took the time to talk about the #DillyDilly movement and how he became the spokesperson for it overnight. Georges talked about coming back to Iowa to play in front of Cyclone fans once again and the pressure he felt to perform well in front of the crowd at Wells Fargo just over one

As painful as Saturday was to watch transpire down the stretch, good news made its way to Cyclone Nation Monday evening. Matt Campbell is here to stay....for now at least. The head football coach that was linked to several of the top available jobs out there, signed a 6 year contract that will bring his salary to an average of 3.5 million dollars per year. Levi and Austin discussed the impact of Campbell sticking in Ames for the next few years and what the football facilities renovations might look like. Saturday stacked up with some of the all time bad beats in Iowa State history. This one felt a little different though as it seemed like it was stolen from the Cyclones. Just imagine the vitriol Cyclone fans would have spewed had that game been the difference in going to the Big 12 Championship game. Iowa State is linked to approximately 456 different bowl games. This is admittedly better than being linked to zero, but Cyclone fans are certainly very eager for Sunday evening when their bowl destination wil

One our favorite former Cyclones Naz Mitrou-Long called into the podcast to give us an update on how things are going for him as a professional basketball player. As Naz was on his way to the gym (where else would he be going?) he talked about how his role has changed going from the collegiate game to the professional game. We asked him what it was like playing against Georges Niang for once and what it will be like coming “home” to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on December 8th. Mitrou-Long played for two coaches with vastly different styles in Fred Hoiberg and Steve Prohm. What were the main differences in their styles? Lindell Wigginton, a blue chip recruit from Canada, is having a great start to his college career. Naz talked about his relationship with the fellow Canadian. Nick Weiler-Babb has had one of the biggest transformations in recent memory on the basketball court. Having practiced against him numerous times could Naz see this coming? Mitrou-Long of course took the time to offer words of e

So Cyclone fans, we’ve certainly had better weekends. A weekend that started with a basketball loss on the road at Missouri, was followed up with a heartbreaking football loss to Oklahoma State inside Jack Trice Stadium, and was finally over after a Monday night blowout loss to Horizon League member Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Levi and Austin discussed it all including whether or now Marchie Murdock came down with that football in the end zone on Saturday. What in the world is going on with our basketball team and why does it look like they might not win another game? The football team travels to Waco, Texas to take on the despicable Baylor Bears. They go into the game as 10 point favorites. Is this an accurate line? We discussed how Matt Campbell could get his football team ready to play this week following a heartbreaking end to conference championship hopes. The basketball team goes off to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. With three games in four days, how many wins can we truly expe

One of our favorite guests of the podcast, Reid Forgrave, stopped by to help us preview Iowa State’s opening night game against Missouri and discuss many other college basketball topics. Forgrave, a University of Missouri graduate, currently writes for CBS Sports and several additional outlets. As a national college basketball writer, Reid discussed how he balances his soft spot for the Tigers and covering college basketball on the national scale. This Missouri team is certainly in a different spot than we all thought they would be when Iowa State agreed to play this series. With the potential #1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft and a talented roster behind him, this Missouri program has gone from after thought to potential NCAA tournament team.   There are a lot of unknowns with Iowa State this season which is something Cyclone fans haven’t had to deal with in recent seasons. Reid questioned how their youth and inexperience would hold up during the long Big 12 conference season. We discussed the FBI inves