GAME DAY: Iowa State at Arkansas State
Up two spots to #14 in the latest AP poll, the Cyclones face the classic ‘trap game’ on Saturday with a road trip to play Group-of-Five program Arkansas State, a contest sandwiched between an emotional Cy-Hawk series win and a much-coveted bye week after playing four straight weeks of football to open the 2025 campaign. Iowa State will put their unbeaten record on the line Saturday when it travels to Jonesboro for a final non-conference matchup at Centennial Bank Stadium. The Cyclones survived a tense rivalry win over Iowa last week, leaning on a stingy defense and clutch 54-yard field goal by Kyle Konrardy. Head coach Matt Campbell’s squad will enjoy a bye week upon the completion of Saturday’s game and will look ahead to another Big 12 season which begins at home against Arizona on September 27th. A victory would move ISU to 4-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history and would also mark just the 10th 4-0 start in the program’s 134 seasons. The challenge will be very real for the Cyclones, who recorded another exciting victory in a Cy-Hawk game following Kyle Konrardy’s 54-yard field goal in the closing minutes, and must now refocus on a G5 foe it beat at home by 45 points a year ago. But little has stopped Iowa State this season, which is one of the few teams to experience a run of success following an overseas trip to Ireland to face Kansas State in week zero.
Not surprisingly during the transfer portal era, G5 programs such as Arkansas State continue to face challenges every offseason with building and maintaining a roster. The roster included a near-complete overhaul, with 70 newcomers being added to the 2025 roster. The good news for the Red Wolves is they have a quarterback in Jaylen Raynor who’s started games over three seasons in Jonesboro and brings some stability to the locker room. But that’s not the case at most every other position. A-State is among seven FBS teams with six or fewer starters returning from 2024. Of the 73 players who have logged snaps over the first two weeks, 31 are in their first year with the program. On defense, 20 of the 37 players who have appeared are program newcomers. Ten of those have made their first career starts. A total of 14 players have made their first career starts, but the defense is by far and away the greenest in perhaps all the FBS. The numbers across the first two games show it. Arkansas State ranks 128th nationally (out of 135 teams), allowing 40 points per game. As for total defense, it’s allowing nearly 500 yards per game and that ranks 130th. This side of the ball is a huge concern for Red Wolves head coach Butch Jones, and the Cyclones are catching a defense in transition at the best possible time. Things could get ugly once again for an Arkansas State defense which allowed 52 points in last September’s matchup in Ames.
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