LSU and Stanford fans were dealt crushing news this weekend as star players and future NFL prospects, Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey, announced they would sit out of their respective bowl games.

It appears as though Iowa State football players are following their lead. Many will instead prepare for spring practice, while others will get their resumes and cover letters ready for careers in liberal arts, general studies or used car sales.

Sitting out of bowl season is nothing new for this group of players, and after they caught word of Fournette and McCaffrey sitting out, the decision to sit this season out was made.

“Most of the team had an idea they would sit out bowl season after their game against West Virginia, but after two of college football’s biggest stars decided to sit, the snowball really started rolling,” an Iowa State spokesperson told reporters.

The decision to sit out bowl season for a fourth straight season obviously won’t be a popular one with fans, especially in Matt Campbell’s first season at the helm, but it certainly isn’t unpresidented. Cyclone fans, though, should be able to relate to players leaving football games early for the combine.

With the College Football Playoff being played on New Year’s Eve, many of the bowl games aren’t what they used to be, included those played in January. It should really come as no surprise that players are starting to prepare for their future professional careers instead of succumbing to the extremely ordinary Sun Bowl gift package.

Even some of college football’s most prestigious programs are deciding to sit out bowl season. Notre Dame and Texas, who started the season off with a thrilling Top 25 showdown, have even joined the “boycott” of bowl games.

Michigan State’s entire roster has decided it’s not worth playing in a bowl game anymore if they aren’t going to be in the College Football Playoff.

Cyclone underclassmen wouldn’t say whether they planned to continue this bowl game ban next season or in years to come. They instead said they would continue to “trust the process” and take it one bowl season at a time.