Former Vaqueros FBS Report: Say His Name Right. It’s not Nate Diaz, it’s Tony “Boogieman” Diaz
Tony Diaz gave Iowa State 95 yards worth of reasons to remember it.
Jimmy Rogers called him Nate during the week.
95 yards later, we’re pretty sure he knows Tony now.
Eight catches.
95 yards.
Twelve targets.
And one 56-yard shot that changed the temperature in Iowa’s 16-13 win over Iowa State.
Iowa was down 10-0. The Cyclones were making the run game work for everything. Iowa needed something.
No. 14 gave them something.
Kirk Ferentz came back to that play again Tuesday.
“That play really kind of opened things up a little bit and gave, I think, everybody a little juice.”
— Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Athletics press conference, Sept. 15 Source: Iowa Athletics
That translates pretty easy.
They needed a spark.
Tony struck the match.
Then came the postgame mic.
Diaz gave Iowa State its respect first.
“It’s definitely a great team win… I just hope he knows my name now; Tony Diaz, not Nate Diaz.”
— Tony Diaz, postgame media availability
Yeah.
Slide the receipt across the table.
Rogers owned the mistake afterward.
“That kid’s good… Great player. They were trying to find him.”
— Iowa State head coach Jimmy Rogers, postgame press conference Source: Iowa State Athletics
Read that last part again.
They were trying to find him.
That’s the story.
Diaz has 15 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown through two games, with 25 targets already headed his direction.
Iowa isn’t accidentally bumping into Tony Diaz.
They’re dialing his number.
That’s usage.
That’s trust.
That’s a dude becoming part of the plan.
Vaquero fans know that version.
Ball goes up?
Tony thinks it belongs to him.
Only now he’s doing it in Kinnick, in the Cy-Hawk game, with the Big Ten watching.
Week 1, we were asking whether the production would travel.
Nah.
We’re past that conversation.
Now everybody else has the film too.
NEXT UP: NORTHERN IOWA AT NO. 18 IOWA
Saturday, Sept. 19 | 3:05 PM CT | FS1 | Kinnick Stadium
Northern Iowa comes to Iowa City for Iowa’s final nonconference home game.
At this point, we’re not checking to see whether Iowa gets Tony involved.
We’re checking how many times they go looking for No. 14.
STILL ON THE 956 RADAR
ISMAEL SMITH FLORES | EAST CAROLINA
Quiet box score against App State.
Zero catches.
But not zero involvement.
Smith Flores started at tight end and had what looked like an 11-yard conversion on third-and-five wiped out by an illegal-touching penalty. ECU also took a deep shot his way late.
So yeah, the box score says zero.
The film says they’re still looking his way.
Now we’re waiting for ECU to unlock the 6-foot-5 target Vaquero fans already know.
NEXT UP: EAST CAROLINA AT OLD DOMINION
Saturday, Sept. 19 | 5:00 PM CT | ESPN+ | Norfolk, Virginia
ECU goes on the road looking for its first win of the season.
Give us a third-down ball.
Red zone.
Back line.
Something.
XAYVION NOLAND | OREGON STATE
Oregon State threw for 417 yards against Texas Tech.
Noland didn’t record a catch.
That’ll make us look twice.
Especially because Jesse Legree went nuclear instead: eight catches, 240 yards and two touchdowns.
Sometimes football is that simple.
Somebody gets hot.
The ball keeps finding him.
Noland still has three catches for 34 yards through two games, but Oregon State hasn’t found the explosive version yet.
Vaquero fans remember that dude.
Big plays.
Chunk yards.
One catch turning into a problem real quick.
At UTRGV last season, Noland averaged 22.46 yards per reception, finished with 831 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, and had games of 155 and 171 receiving yards.
That’s the version Corvallis hasn’t seen yet.
NEXT UP: MONTANA AT OREGON STATE
Saturday, Sept. 19 | 10:00 PM CT | USA Network | Reser Stadium
Late-night watch for the 956.
And Montana comes in 3-0, so this isn’t just some throwaway FCS Saturday.
We’ll keep saying it until Oregon State lets Noland stretch one:
Take the shot.
Three former Vaqueros.
Three different lanes right now.
Smith Flores is waiting on the production.
Noland is waiting on the explosive one.
But this week?
Tony took the aux.
They got the name wrong.
He gave them 95 yards to fix it.
Say it right.
Tony “Boogieman” Diaz.
🌴✌🏽956
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