GAME DAY: Iowa State vs. Kansas
With a rare third bye week out of the way, Iowa State is back in game-week mode and looking ahead to a matchup on Saturday against Kansas at Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones will honor 16 seniors before the game, including 13 who have been with the program for their entire careers. That’s a rare feat for any college football program in this day and age with NIL and the transfer portal spurring mass exoduses from many schools every year. Head coach Matt Campbell’s focus has always been on roster retention, player development and building through the high school ranks, which has helped build chemistry and camaraderie through the roster. That served the Cyclones well last time out when they went on the road as underdogs and upset TCU. Instead of folding up camp after four-straight losses, they bowed up and got a sixth win of the season to become bowl eligible. However, one thing the 16 seniors being honored, and pretty much everyone else on roster, haven’t experienced is much success against a Jayhawks squad headed to Ames this weekend. Iowa State has dropped three straight in the series after having won the first six matchups in Campbell’s tenure as head coach. In fact, prior to this recent stretch, the Cyclones had won 11 of the past 12 dating back to the 2010 season. The losses during the 2023 and 2024 campaigns were close and one came by way of self-inflicted placekicking woes for ISU, but the 45-36 defeat in Arrowhead Stadium last year wasn’t really as tight as the final score indicated. KU held a 35-13 lead in the final minutes of the third quarter before the Cyclones scored three touchdowns to draw closer. During one of the greatest stretches of football in Campbell’s time in Ames, for one reason or another, his teams haven’t been able to solve the riddle that is the Jayhawks. That holds especially true on the defensive side of the token, where KU has spread Jon Heacock’s group out and made them play in space to gain an advantage. ISU will get another opportunity to turn the tide on Saturday during its home finale.
While the Jayhawks have enjoyed success against the Cyclones, they have struggled as a program to sustain the run they enjoyed during a nine-win 2023 campaign under head coach Lance Leipold. Since recording a win over UNLV in the Rate Bowl that December, Kansas has compiled a record of 10-12. Contrast that with Iowa State, which has rolled to a 17-7 mark since the beginning of last season. In fact, Leipold has recorded just one winning season during his five years with the Jayhawks, compiling a 27-33 record during his time. But considering the prolonged stretch of futility prior to his arrival, that has to be considered a success. He’s led KU to a 12-13 record in conference play since the start of the 2023 season after the program had won just 10 of 112 matchups between 2008-2020. But it’s been a struggle this year, as the Jayhawks haven’t really beaten anyone with a pulse since a 27-20 win at UCF on October 4th. They’ve dropped conference games to Texas Tech, Kansas State and Arizona since, while recording a win over an abysmal Oklahoma State team. A tough test awaits next weekend with Utah heading to Lawrence and the Jayhawks need at least one more victory to gain bowl eligibility for the 15th time in program history. Like ISU, KU also opened the 2025 season with a week zero game and was afforded three bye weeks and is coming off its third and final one heading to this weekend. The Jayhawks are 1-1 coming out of byes and have won five of their last six. Those who enjoyed the traditions and rivalries the Cyclones have shared over the years won’t like the fact that these two teams won’t meet during the 2026 campaign. It will break a streak of annual matchups that dates back to the 1931 season when George Veenker was leading the Iowa State program.
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