Iowa Hawkeyes 2025 Opponent Preview: Iowa State Cyclones

The 2024 rendition of the Cy-Hawk Series is one that Hawkeye fans would like to forget about.

Iowa led 13-0 at halftime before allowing Iowa State to outscore the Hawkeyes 20-6 in the second half and win 20-19. The Hawkeyes won six games in a row in the series from 2015 to 2021, but the Cyclones have won two of the last three meetings.

ISU used the momentum from that game and reached the Big 12 Championship Game. Will the Cyclones be similarly strong in 2025?

Here’s what to know about them:

2024 recap

The Cyclones started the season hotter than almost anyone, going 7-0 in their first seven games. They earned Big 12 wins against West Virginia, Baylor, Houston and UCF in that span and climbed to No. 9 in the AP Top 25.

Iowa State’s momentum, though, came to a halt in the middle of the season, as the Cyclones lost back-to-back games against Texas Tech and Kansas.

They rebounded well from those consecutive losses, winning games against Cincinnati, Utah and Kansas State to finish the regular season 10-2.

Iowa State earned a date with Arizona State in the Big 12 title game, and that didn’t go well. The Sun Devils beat the Cyclones 45-19 to earn the conference’s bid to the College Football Playoff.

The Cyclones battled Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, beating the Hurricanes 42-41 to end the year 11-3 overall.

Key returners

QB Rocco Becht (Jr.), RB Carson Hansen (Jr.), TE Gabe Burkle (Jr.), DB Jontez Williams (Jr.), LB Kooper Ebel (Jr.).

Notable transfer additions

WR Chase Sowell (East Carolina), DB Tre Bell (Lindenwood), OL Derek Jensen (Wisconsin), WR Xavier Townsend (UCF), DE Cannon Butler (Northern Iowa).

Strengths

Iowa State returns one of the Big 12’s best quarterbacks.

Becht threw for 3,505 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine touchdowns in 2024. The 6-1, 210-pound quarterback also ran for 318 yards and eight touchdowns.

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That said, the majority of the Cyclone’s passing game ran through wideouts Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins — both selected by the Houston Texans in the NFL Draft — as those two combined for 17 touchdowns and more than 2,000 receiving yards.

Defensively, the Cyclones regularly kept opponents in check, finishing fifth in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing just 22.9 points per game.

Weaknesses

With Noel and Higgins gone, who steps up?

The Cyclones are thin at wide receiver after losing more than 2,000 yards of production in the passing game. They did add reinforcements to the position with Sowell and Townsend in the portal, but it’s hard to imagine those two will be able to totally replicate what Noel and Higgins did.

The Cyclones also have some improving to do in their pass rush, finishing dead last in the Big 12 with 16 sacks. Their pass coverage was fairly strong, as Iowa State intercepted 16 passes in 14 games, but it could be even better with more pressure applied to opposing quarterbacks.

How do the Cyclones match up with the Hawkeyes?

In recent memory, the Cy-Hawk Series has had a common theme — low-scoring close games.

The last three games — two of which the Cyclones won — have been decided by a combined 11 points. All games since 2017 in the rivalry have been decided by 10 or fewer points.

Iowa’s offense has high expectations this year with transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State. The Hawkeyes’ defense is, like always, expected to be a strength, ranked No. 20 in ESPN’s Football Power Index.

Iowa State has an experienced quarterback and several defensive veterans, making the Cyclones a trendy pick to reach the Big 12 title game again in 2025.

Brace yourself, Hawkeye fans: All signs are pointing to another thriller against Iowa State.