Is This the Year? Iowa State Aims to End 113-Year Title Drought in 2025

The Iowa State Cyclones football team fell just short of winning its first Big 12 championship in program history.  

Last season, the Cyclones went 11-3 and 7-2 in the Big 12, which put them in a tie for first place in the conference. Based on tiebreakers, the Cyclones moved on to the Big 12 title game to face Arizona State, where they lost, 45-19. Iowa State followed that with a stirring 42-41 win over Miami (FL) in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Matt Campbell has emerged as one of the longest-tenured coaches in FBS, and after nine seasons with Iowa State, his first win of this season will be the 100th of his career. There are no more questions about which program will poach him. He seems settled in Ames.

Lindy’s Sports recently published its preview for the Big 12, including the Cyclones. Heartland College Sports will weigh in with our previews later this summer. 

The magazine picked Iowa State to finish fifth in the Big 12. Here are three thoughts on the preview.

WHO’S ROCCO GOING TO THROW TO?

That was a big question in the Lindy’s preview. Last year’s top two receivers — Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins — are both in the NFL and, surreptitiously, with the Houston Texans.

Combined, the pair caught 167 passes for 2,377 yards and 17 touchdowns. That is a massive production the Cyclones must replace, as Becht threw for 3,505 yards a season ago.

So, Iowa State hopes to portal their way to that kind of production. Xavier Townsend transferred in from UCF. He and Becht played with one another in high school, so hopefully the chemistry is like hopping on a bike. The other spot is projected to go to Chase Sowell, who transferred in from East Carolina.

Neither has come close to the production of Noel and Higgins in a season. Here’s hoping.

THREE-DEEP DEPTH AT LINEBACKER

Cooper Ebel is the only returning starter at linebacker. But Lindy’s made the point that the position might be the deepest on defense.

Why? All the injured players Iowa State lost last season are back. That includes Caleb Bacon, who played in one game before he suffered a season-ending knee injury, and Carson Willich, who never even played a game after suffering his own season-ending injury during spring workouts last year.

No wonder Campbell talked about the team’s fraying depth last year. He basically had a starting linebacking corps in the training room. Lindy’s has Bacon pegged to start, and Willich should play a significant role.

A RECORD MADE TO BE BROKEN

Nothing in Iowa State’s preview stood out quite like this — 1912.

That was the last time the Cyclones won a conference championship — 1912. That’s, woof, 113 years ago. Twice in the last five years, Iowa State has come close to finally snapping that streak.

Will this be the year? The fact that Lindy’s has Iowa State at No. 5 in the league says that the publication thinks it has the talent, but doesn’t believe that talent is in the top quadrant of the league. But the Cyclones shouldn’t be ruled out.

The 1912 Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association race was a doozy. Iowa State went 6-2 and 2-0 in MVIAA action. Yes, the Cyclones only played two league games in a six-team conference. ISU beat Missouri and Drake. It shared the crown with Nebraska, which also went 2-0 in MVIAA action.