Iowa State Preview
Not only has the reigning Big 12 champion been enduring a rough season, but so has the 2024 runner-up, Iowa State. The Cyclones are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, but as a generally strong home team, they certainly can halt that skid when they host ASU. Here’s a closer look at the Sun Devils’ Saturday opponent.
Iowa State Offense
At quarterback for Iowa State is a proven commodity in Rocco Becht, in his third year as Iowa State’s QB1.
Becht, an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 pick last year, is having a solid but not spectacular season as he averages 241.63 passing yards per game with 10 touchdowns to six interceptions with 60 net rushing yards and a team-best seven rushing scores.
Last season in the Big-12 Conference championship game against ASU, Becht threw for 214 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, along with 23 net rushing yards. Becht’s 2025 season high in passing is 314 yards in a loss to Cincinnati, and over the last two games, he’s thrown just one touchdown to four interceptions.
Iowa State showcases a pair of competent running backs in Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III.
Sama, who is listed as questionable on the initial injury report for this week’s game, leads the team with 544 yards on 101 carries (5.4 avg.) with four touchdowns, along with five receptions for 19 yards, while Hansen has totaled 500 rushing yards on 95 carries (5.3 avg.) with four scores, along with 13 catches for 96 yards.
Hansen has a pair of 100-yard games this season, first a 116-yard day against Arkansas State and later a 152-yard performance versus BYU. Sama, who had a herculean 276-yard rushing performance in November 2023, posted a season-high 177 rushing yards against Colorado earlier this season.
Brett Eskildsen has been the team’s top wide receiver this year with a team-high 409 receiving yards on 21 catches with three touchdowns. Chase Sowell has 16 catches for 270 yards with a touchdown, while Xavier Townsend has added 243 receiving yards on 18 receptions.
Eskildsen had his first collegiate 100-yard day a few weeks ago when he caught eight passes for 105 yards with a touchdown against Cincinnati. Sowell also reached triple digits earlier this year with a four-catch, 146-yard explosion against Arizona. Those are the only two 100-yard receiving games for Iowa State, a team that had two 1,000-yard receivers in 2024, both of whom became NFL Draft picks.
Though there’s been a notable drop-off at wide receiver from last year to this season for the Cyclones, Iowa State boasts an excellent pair of tight ends in Benjamin Brahmer and Gabe Burkle. Brahmer, an honorable mention all-conference selection in 2024, leads the team with 29 receptions and has 317 yards and a share of the team high of three touchdown catches, while Burkle has 22 receptions for 255 yards and a score in seven games.
On the offensive line, left tackle James Neal, center Jim Bonifas, and right tackle Tyler Miller have started all eight games at their positions. Dylan Barrett has seven starts across both guard positions, while Trevor Buhr has three starts at left guard and Brendan Black has six starts at right guard.
Iowa State Offense Summary
Statistically on a national scale, Iowa State is tied for 39th in tackles for loss allowed per game (4.62), while also ranking 44th in total offense (417.1), 45th in passing yards per game (250.8), 57th in rushing yards per game (166.4), while tying for 65th in scoring offense (29.0), and tying for 72nd in sacks allowed per game (1.88).
The most glaring offensive weakness in terms of national ranking is Iowa State’s 119th-place national standing in red zone offense (.756)
Ultimately, Iowa State has an experienced offense with some above-average talent – especially at tight end – but the team lacks the top-tier playmakers it had in the likes of stud receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins last season.
Iowa State Defense
Along the defensive line, Iowa State figures to start ends Tamatoa McDonough and Ikenna Ezeogu, along with tackle Zaimir Hawk and nose guard Domonique Orange.
McDonough leads the defensive line with 18 total tackles, including 3.0 for loss, with a share of the team lead with 2.0 sacks, along with four quarterback hurries. Ezeogu has a team-best five quarterback hurries and has also added 16 total tackles, including 3.0 for loss with a sack and an interception.
Orange, an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 choice last season and a 2025 preseason All-Big 12 honoree, has 13 tackles with a pass breakup and two quarterback hurries, while Hawk has two tackles and a quarterback hurry in seven games.
At linebacker, Caleb Backon, Kooper Ebel, and either Carson Willich or Will McLaughlin should be the primary contributors.
Bacon is tied for second on the team with 42 tackles, including 4.5 for loss, with three quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. Ebel is tied with Bacon with 42 tackles, and he adds 3.0 or loss with a sack and two quarterback hurries. Willich has 17 tackles, including one for loss with a quarterback hurry, while McLaughlin has 10 tackles with 2.0 sacks and a pass breakup on the year.
Iowa State’s “Star” position figures to be manned by Marcus Neal, Jr., who leads the team with 54 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss, adding a sack and three pass breakups.
In the secondary, cornerbacks Quentin Taylor, Jr. and Tre Bell are slated to be joined in the starting lineup by free safety Jamison Patton and strong safety Khijohn Cummings-Coleman.
Patton has 40 tackles, including one for loss, with a team-high two interceptions, along with three pass breakups, while Bell has posted 23 tackles, including 4.0 for loss, with an interception. Taylor has 14 tackles, including 2.0 for loss, with three pass breakups, while Cummings-Coleman has nine tackles, including a pass breakup.
Iowa State Defense Summary
Statistically, Iowa State’s defense has generally been a mid-tier performer in 2025 as the Cyclones tie for 47th nationally in scoring defense (21.75), rank 56th in total defense (353.4), 58th in rush yards allowed per game (136.8), 63rd in passing yards allowed per game (216.6), are tied for 68th in turnovers generated (nine) and tied for 94th in team tackles for loss per game (4.9).
The most concerning areas from Iowa State’s perspective are the team’s tie for 112th nationally in red zone defense (.913) and its 119th-place standing in team sacks per game (1.25).
A team that last year had one of the premier pass defenses in the country, between graduation, injuries, and a general inability to replace what has been lost, Iowa State’s defense isn’t nearly the strength this year that it was in 2024.
Iowa State Special Teams
Iowa State boasts an incredible kicker in Kyle Konrardy, who has connected on 9-of-11 field goal attempts with a sensational long make of 63 yards this year. Konrardy was an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection in 2024.
Tyler Perkins handles punting duties for the Cyclones, and he averages 44.04 yards on his 24 punts on the year.
In the return game, Aiden Flora handles both roles as he averages 24.67 yards on three kickoff returns and has only three punt returns, but has totaled 127 punt return yards, including a long return of 66 yards.
Overall Summary
In the preseason, Sun Devil fans and Cyclone fans alike surely had this game circled as it was expected to be a clash of nationally ranked titans in the 2024 Big-12 championship game rematch, which also in the preseason was viewed as a high probability to be the pairing for the 2025 conference title game.
Unfortunately for both fan bases, though both teams have winning records, ASU and Iowa State both sit at 5-3 records as Iowa State has lost three straight after winning its first five, while the Sun Devils have dropped two out of their last three games.
Though not statistically eliminated, it certainly feels that neither team has a legitimate shot at conference title contention. That said, both teams have a great deal to play for this Saturday as the winner will achieve bowl eligibility and gain quite a bit of momentum as November begins.
In many ways, ASU has advantages over the Cyclones, but with Sam Leavitt on the sidelines for the game and significant uncertainty for Jordyn Tyson’s status for Saturday, along with ASU’s hard left turn in momentum with an ugly loss to Houston following an incredible win over Texas Tech, has the Sun Devils feeling like a substantial underdog in this game.
To win, ASU will need a playmaking day from backup quarterback Jeff Sims that isn’t nullified by turnovers, while the defense will need a Texas Tech-caliber performance to carry the team on the road.
