Any details on teams contacted while searching high and low? I have no doubt that Coach P was put in a difficult scheduling spot, but without more details remain skeptical that she couldn't have upgraded the schedule, if she really wanted to (and perhaps if she had suspected the rapid improvement the Gophers were about to make). For example, I doubt that teams like Toledo, Green Bay, Gonzaga, South Dakota State would have turned down a visit from the Gophers this year, in exchange for a future trip to Williams Arena. Teams like Green Bay, Gonzaga, South Dakota State seem like they are willing to play any Power 6 team home and home.
What about teams like Iowa State, Marquette, Creighton, schools that recruit Minnesota, which would love to play here? Were they among the schools offered home-and-home-games, with the Gophers on the road this year? Washington State is a P6 school that really struggles to get P6 teams to come to Pullman, and has agreed in recent years to play teams like Montana and South Dakota State home-and-home? Was Coach P willing to go to Pullman this year? Doubt very much that such an offer would have been rejected by WSU.
Ultimately, without more details, I am reluctant to believe she had no choice but to schedule bottom-feeders like Chicago State and Lindenwood. But also happy to be proven wrong.
Bit late in seeing this but guessing that ISU wants nothing to do with the rising Gophers right now. I do miss seeing my two favorite teams play. We played five straight years, 2005-2009 but not since than. Cyclones obviously recruit the midwest region but haven't had the same level of success recruiting Minnesota that they did some years ago.
Coach Fennelly has seemingly liked a NC schedule devoid of P6 teams and can't think of many P6's we play in NC other than Iowa and whoever we get in some holiday tournament or some conference challenge game set up by the league. P6 teams by scheduling choice seems to be about zero the last 15 years or so. Not that the schedule is total garbage each year, ISU does play Iowa, Drake, UNI and an assortment of Summit Schools along with the sacrificial cupcake garbage games.
BTW, ISU fans like to say no one likes to come to play in the tough atmosphere of Hilton which is complete nonsense. ISU could easily do some home and aways with P6 if the coach wanted to.