Iowa Football Opponent Preview: Iowa State Cyclones

Welcome to Cy-Hawk Week. For the 72nd time, the Hawkeyes and Cyclones will go head-to-head on the gridiron, with the winner earning rivalry bragging rights for the next year. Iowa leads the all-time series 47-24, but has lost two of the last three meetings, including a 20-19 loss last season.

You could argue that the Cyclones entered this season, coming off an 11-3 year, with as much momentum and relevance as the program has ever had. They opened the season at #22 in the AP Poll and took down #17 Kansas State over in Dublin in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic back in Week Zero. This past weekend, Iowa State throttled South Dakota 55-7, with quarterback Rocco Becht passing for 278 yards and three touchdowns.

Highlights from our win vs South Dakota. pic.twitter.com/YprPdmEYvd

— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) August 31, 2025

It is worth noting, that despite having won two of the last three meetings, Iowa State has not won a Cy-Hawk game in Ames since 2011. In that matchup, the Paul Rhoads led Cyclones defeated Iowa 44-41 in overtime. The Hawkeyes have won six in a row at Jack Trice, but the average margin of victory is just 6.8 points.

CYCLONES OFFENSE

2025 Numbers: 39.5 PPG, 176.5 RUSH, 244.5 PASS, 421.0 TOTAL

Some people wondered if a week zero game for Iowa State would pay dividends for the rest of their early season schedule, as the Cyclones have routinely struggled in week one contests and don’t normally face a test prior to the Cy-Hawk game. They were 1-5 against the spread in season openers from 2019-24, including putting up just 21 against North Dakota last season. This time, with a game under their belt, ISU put up their most points in a game since ’21 (59 vs Kansas) dropping 55 points on South Dakota. Take that for what it’s worth, but it’s a unique scheduling note this season.

Quarterback

The ISU offense is led by third year starting quarterback Rocco Becht who has somewhat quietly worked his way into conversations, not only as one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12, but as a top 15-20 quarterback in the country. Becht was third in the Big 12 in passing last year, totaling 3,505 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions, but dropped to tenth in completion percentage (59.4%). He did however expand his role as a runner, going from 100 yards gained on the ground as redshirt freshman to 400 yards gained last season, including eight touchdowns. In two starts this year, Becht has completed 68.8% of his passes for 461 yards and five touchdowns, extending his streak to 20 consecutive games with a touchdown pass.

Running Back

Expect to see three backs get carries for the Cyclones on Saturday, with the majority of the carries split between Carson Hansen and Abu Sama. Many had the Altoona native, Abu Sama, pegged as the clear top back last year after he put up 276 yards against K-State in the ’23 regular season finale. Instead, Carson Hansen led the way with 752 yards and 13 touchdowns, earning 36.7% of the carries, while Sama totaled 587 yards and two touchdowns on 30.2% of the carries. Through two games, Hansen played 76 snaps to just 35 snaps for Sama, but they’ve combined for just 156 yards on 42 carries (3.7 ypc). Redshirt freshman Dylan Lee is the number three back and has rushed for 81 yards on 13 carries (6.2 ypc) but has seen just 22 snaps.

Wide Receiver

It’s really hard to get a gauge on the Cyclones receiver room going into this week. Not only did they lose their top two pass catchers to the NFL (comb 167 rec, 2,377 yds), but nearly 40% of Rocco Becht’s 52 targets have gone to his tight ends, and no ISU receiver has more than six targets through two games.

Sophomore Brett Eskildsen has made a couple of big plays, including a 24-yard touchdown against K-State and a 66-yard catch against South Dakota on the first play of the game. He leads all ISU receivers with six targets and five catches for 123 yards. Former NDSU transfer Eli Green, UCF transfer Xavier Townsend and sophomore Dominic Overby are other guys to know at receiver. Those three have combined for 12 targets, eight catches and 85 yards. Green caught ten passes a year ago, while Townsend totaled 325 yards in ’23 at UCF before missing nine games due to injury last season. Overby is a young guy that the ISU staff and fanbase are excited about.

The one guy that hasn’t caught a pass yet is East Carolina transfer Chase Sowell, which comes as a bit of a surprise. Over two years at ECU, Sowell caught 81 passes for 1,300 yards, but has received just four targets and has zero catches through two games. Don’t write him off though. He has played 30 pass play snaps, which is the most of any ISU receiver and has four 100+ yard games in his career.

Tight End

Although wide receiver usage has been down to start this year for ISU, it hasn’t been for lack of passing. It’s been because they’ve really leaned on their tight ends to carry the load in the pass game. Junior Benjamin Brahmer caught just ten passes last season but has already caught nine passes on ten targets for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns this season. Meanwhile, junior Gabe Burkle was the #3 pass catcher last year, tallying 26 catches for 296 yards. He has caught seven passes on ten targets for 116 yards and a touchdown. The heavy share of targets going to Brahmer and Burkle is not surprising, nor an accident, as 50 of Rocco Becht’s 57 drop backs have come in 2 or 3 TE sets. Expect to see multiple tight ends on most offensive snaps.

Offensive Line

Up front on the offensive line, the Cyclones did lose a pair to the NFL, including Fourth Team All-Big 12 center Jarrod Hufford, however, they still rank 26th in the country in returning career starts (105). Right tackle Tyler Miller is the most experienced of the group, with 39 career starts, but as a whole, the ISU line did not grade well last season. Per Pro Football Focus, they ranked 112th in pass blocking and 119th in run blocking, with just nine P4 teams ranking lower in pass blocking and only Maryland ranking lower in run blocking. Through two games, Rocco Becht has been pressured 12 times and sacked four times, while the top four in rush attempts are averaging just 3.75 yards per carry.

CYCLONES DEFENSE

2025 Numbers: 14.0 PPG, 96.5 RUSH, 199.5 PASS, 296.0 TOTAL

The Cyclones were a decent defensive team last season and DC Jon Heacock has had them playing well on the defensive end for the majority of his nine years in Ames. ISU has ranked inside the top 50 in points per game allowed in each of the last eight seasons, including ranking in the top 25 in three seasons. This year, they return six starters from a defense that held opponents to under 20 points six times, but they did allow 31.9 per game over their last eight games.

Defensive Line

Injuries at linebacker were the main topic of conversation last season for the ISU defense, but the play of their front seven was below average. The Cyclones defense ranked 99th in tackles for loss per game, 109th in rush yards allowed per game and 129th (!!) in sacks per game. Nose guard Domonique Orange was a Fourth Team All-Big 12 selection last season, totaling 24 tackles and 17 quarterback pressures. He’s been on the field for nearly 70% of snaps through two games and is the top player to watch on the ‘Clones front.

The other two names to know, junior defensive end Ikenna Ezeougu has moved into the starting lineup after totaling 19 tackles last season, while Yale transfer Tamatoa McDonough has been the starter at the other end spot. He was a Second Team All-Ivy pick with 6.5 sacks last season. They’ve been on the field for nearly 70% of snaps, just like Orange, but when they come off, expect to see redshirt freshman Jace J. Gilbert and junior Vontroy Malone.

It’s early, but through two games, ISU ranks 112th in pass rush grade, while the defensive line has generated just seven quarterback pressures and zero sacks on 60 opposing quarterback dropbacks.

Linebackers

The ISU linebackers will look much different than they did in this matchup last season, as Caleb Bacon was injured in the season-opener and Will McLaughlin missed the first nine games, meaning neither played in the ‘Clones win over Iowa. Even with those two back in the fold, they might not be 100% this week, as Carson Willich missed last week with an injury after recording four tackles in the opener against K-State.

One of the few that stayed healthy throughout the ’24 season, now junior Kooper Ebel started all 14 games, totaling 69 tackles and five tackles for loss. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Caleb Bacon is back healthy after missing last year, but did have 60 tackles in ’23. Bacon leads the linebackers with 78 snaps played through two games. The third starter in the Cyclones 3-3-5 defense is sophomore Beau Goodwin. He’s gotten the nod in the first two this season, while he made two starts and tallied 24 tackles a year ago as a freshman.

Other names to know at linebacker include junior Will McLaughlin and sophomore Cael Brezina. McLaughlin was an All-Big 12 selection in ’23, with 46 tackles and seven tackles for loss, but had just 15 tackles in four starts last season. He leads the non-starters with 39 snaps through two games. Brezina started the first seven games last year, with 22 tackles, but missed the last six with an injury. He has played 35 snaps so far this season.

Defensive Backs

While the Cyclones rush defense took a step back last season, their pass defense took a very noticeable step forward, going from 229 pass yards per game allowed in ’23 (73rd) to 166 pass yards per game allowed last season (1st). They did lose three starters from the secondary, including corners Myles Purchase and Darien Porter, but still have a pair of All-Big 12 selections in the room.

At corner, ISU has Second Team All-Big 12 Jontez Williams and First Team All-Big 12 Jeremiah Cooper who moves over from safety where he played last season. In his first year as a starter last season, Williams totaled 46 tackles, five passes broken up and led the team with four interceptions. Meanwhile, Cooper tallied 48 tackles, seven passes broken up and two interceptions at safety. Through two games, the two have been targeted 11 times, with six completions going for just 19 yards. When they bring a third corner on the field it’s likely to be Lindenwood transfer Tre Bell, who put up 48 tackles and 12 passes broken up over the last two seasons with the Lions.

At safety, with Cooper moving to corner, sophomore Marcus Neal Jr has taken over as the top guy after appearing in 13 games as a freshman last season, finishing with 18 tackles. He leads the team with 87 snaps and 13 tackles through two games. Junior Jamison Patton (13 tkls, 1 INT, 75 snaps) and redshirt freshman Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman (5 tkls, 66 snaps) have both gotten plenty of snaps as well.

CYCLONES SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker Kyle Konrardy: 3/4 FG, 7/7 PAT, LNG 63 (21/28, LNG 54 last year)

Punter Tyler Perkins: 3 punts, 145 yds, 48.3 AVG, LNG 53 (44.4 AVG, LNG 57 last year)

Kick Returner Aiden Flora: 2 returns, 56 yards, 28.0 AVG, LNG 34

Punt Returner Aiden Flora: 2 returns, 117 yds, 58.5 AVG, LNG 66

FINAL THOUGHT

For just the second time in the last eight meetings, Iowa enters this game as an underdog, with Iowa State opening as the favorite and currently sitting at -3.0 (BetMGM). Last time Iowa wasn’t favored? It was the big-time #9 vs #10 matchup at Jack Trice in ’21 and the Hawkeyes at one point led 27-7. That aside, the last seven Cy-Hawk games have been decided by a combined 35 points (5.0 ppg), which tells you all you need to know about what normally happens in these games. Iowa State has gotten off to a great start with a ranked win over K-State and a complete dismantling of South Dakota. That’s got the people talking and I think the way that Iowa played against Albany will have a lot of the national experts picking the Cyclones. Kirk Ferentz is 7-4 as a road dog over the last four seasons, including six outright wins. Notable.