GAME DAY: Iowa State at Cincinnati
The schedule is about to get much more daunting for Iowa State in the weeks ahead, with a two-game road trip to face Cincinnati and Colorado first up for a team that’s won its first five games of the 2025 season and is 16-3 over its past 19 contests. But first up is a Bearcats squad which is favored and will host the Cyclones for the second time in three years. The Cyclones remained the 14th-ranked team in the country (12th in the Coaches Poll) following a 39-14 blowout victory over Arizona, a game which was never really in doubt for much of the way. It’s the second consecutive year Iowa State has won its first five games and the ninth time in program history. Now, Matt Campbell’s squad will try to make it to 6-0 in consecutive seasons and for just the third time in 134 years. But the pathway to a third trip to the Big 12 Championship Game gets much more difficult on Saturday for a team that’s only trailed a total of 28 seconds in five games. The competition is ticking up a notch, but so are the injuries for a team with huge aspirations. ISU lost its two starting cornerbacks over a five-day span last week and will play without Jontez Williams and Jeremiah Cooper the rest of the way. A few other key contributors at safety were listed as questionable in Wednesday’s availability report, while Domonique Orange, who was in and out of the medical tent and lineup this past Saturday, is probable. Some replacements will be asked to step up in the secondary of a defense that’s allowed just 14.2 points per game and hasn’t allowed a fourth quarter touchdown on U.S. soil this season. The good news is the offense remains largely intact behind a veteran quarterback in Rocco Becht who’s led the Cyclones to 23 wins in 2 ½ seasons, including seven in which they were tied or trailed in the fourth quarter. ISU is also coming off a 39-point effort against the Wildcats which were its most points in a conference game since early October of last year.
It was a rough indoctrination to the Big 12 for a Cincinnati program that had been dominant playing in the AAC for several years, as it lost 14 of its first 18 Big 12 games over the course of the 2023 and 2024 campaigns. But to its credit, the athletic department stayed the course with head coach Scott Satterfield, and the veteran has helped lead the team to an impressive 3-1 start. The Bearcats seem to be on the verge of turning the corner and are coming off a huge come-from-behind 37-34 victory at Kansas last weekend. Cincinnati has its first three-game winning streak since the 2022 season and has done so in large part due to an offense that is one of the nation’s best. It’s averaging 8.06 yards per play to rank third nationally. The Bearcats have recorded 27 offensive plays of 20 yards or more this season. Over the past two weeks, they’ve combined for 104 points and 1,208 total yards in wins over Kansas and Northwestern State. Joining Satterfield in ushering the program into the Big 12, offensive coordinator Brad Glenn’s unit is 17-for-17 in the red zone and a perfect 6-of-6 on fourth down, making it the only group to accomplish that feat nationally. The defense hasn’t been as solid without its anchor in the middle Dontay Corleone, who is listed as questionable for this week. However, this is still a defense that’s forcing turnovers and has been able to overcome some of its shortcomings. It’s also a group led by defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt, who spent eight seasons with the Cyclones, and should be well aware of the tendencies of this weekend’s opponent. Saturday marks the third meeting all-time between Iowa State and Cincinnati, with the former recording 34-17 and 30-10 over the past two seasons.
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