Cy-Hawk Primer: No. 16 Iowa State Hosts Iowa

AMES, Iowa - No. 16 Iowa State looks to improve to 3-0 when it hosts Iowa Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium in the state's premier sporting event, the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. With Big Noon Kickoff in Ames, the teams will meet for the 72nd time with ISU looking for its third win in the last four meetings.

Who: No. 16 Iowa State (2-0, 1-0 Big 12) vs. Iowa (1-0, 0-0 B1G)
Where: MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium (61,500) – Ames, Iowa
When: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 – 11 a.m. CT
PURCHASE TICKETS | PURCHASE PARKING

The Links
WATCH: FOX
PxP: Gus Johnson; Analyst: Joel Klatt; Sideline: Jenny Taft
LISTEN: Cyclone Radio Network – Varsity App, TuneIn Radio or Radio Affiliates
PxP: John Walters; Analyst: Eric Heft; Sideline: Ryan Harklau
GAME NOTES: ISU // UI
LIVE STATS
2025 FOOTBALL YEARBOOK
MEDIA CENTER

INSIDE THE SERIES
72nd Meeting
Overall: 24-47
Home: 8-22
Road: 16-25
Neutral: 0-0
Campbell vs. Iowa: 2-6
Last Meeting: 9/7/2024 (ISU 20, UI 19)

CYCLONES vs. HAWKEYES
The teams play annually for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Trophy with Iowa State capturing the trophy in two of the last three meetings. The last 26 years of the series have been tight with Iowa holding a 14-12 edge. The Hawkeyes won 15-straight from 1983-1997 and hold a 47-24 lead all-time.

Since 2015, ISU has forced just six turnovers in the series (2 fumbles, 4 INT), all of which have come in the last three seasons. In the last four meetings, ISU has held Iowa under 200 yards of offense twice and outgained the Hawkeyes by an average of 325.7-215.2.

Cy-Hawk 2024

BIG NOON KICKOFF
Big Noon Kickoff, recognized as the best pregame party in all of college football, provides a preview of the day's top games LIVE from the most exciting college campuses across the nation. This week the show will be hosted in Ames, Iowa in the Reiman Plaza on the south side of Jack Trice Stadium.

Rob Stone anchors the desk which includes college football legends Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn, three-time national champion coach Urban Meyer and Barstool's Dave Portnoy. Chris 'The Bear' Fallica provides viewers with gambling expertise with his 'Bear's Bets' segment while award-winning reporters Bruce Feldman and Tom Rinaldi provide additional insight and exclusive interviews.

Saturday's show starts at 9 a.m. with the pregame tailgate at 7:30 a.m.

For more information, CLICK HERE.
Big Noon Kickoff

CYCLONES ARE 2-0
Iowa State rose to No. 16 in this week's AP poll, giving the Cyclones a top 20 ranking for the second-straight season, after a 2-0 start which includes a 24-21 win over Big 12 rival No. 17 K-State in Dublin, Ireland and a dominant 55-7 showing against South Dakota in the home opener.

Last week against the Coyotes, ISU scored on nine of 10 possessions, with the only non-scoring drive ending at the USD 1-yard line when the game ended. Quarterback Rocco Becht opened the game with completions on his first 14 attempts and finished the game 19-for-20 for 278 yards and three touchdowns, two of which were to Benjamin Brahmer. Becht's 95.0 completion percentage was a school record and matched Baker Mayfield for the second-best mark in Big 12 history behind only WVU's Geno Smith.

As good as Becht's day was, it was kicker Kyle Konrardy who stole the show just before halftime with a 63-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter. The field goal was the longest kick in school history by five yards and the longest kick in Jack Trice Stadium history. It was also the second-longest field goal in Big 12 history and tied for the ninth-longest in NCAA history.

Defensively, ISU had two interceptions, one each by safety Jamison Patton and linebacker Nick Reinicke which improved the Cyclones to 15-1 since 2023 when forcing multiple turnovers. Patton led ISU with six tackles. The Cyclones held a 35:18-24:42 edge in time of possession, winning for the 16th time in the last 17 games when holding the edge in TOP.

BECHT'S START
Quarterback Rocco Becht has picked up right where he left off last season. He is 13-3 in his last 16 starts and has thrown a touchdown pass in 20-straight games, the longest active streak nationally and the Big 12's longest since Baker Mayfield's 40-game streak.

Through two games, Becht has completed 69 percent of his passes for 461 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. In fact, Becht has thrown 97-consecutive passes without an interception, the longest stretch of his career.

Becht owns 19 career games with multiple passing touchdowns, including five straight.
Rocco Becht vs. South Dakota (2025)

DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE
Since the start of the 2021 season, ISU has allowed just 468 points in the second half of its 54 games, an average of 8.7 points. Saturday against South Dakota, the defense allowed a score on their first possession of the game but put the clamps on and kept the Coyotes off the board for the remainder of the contest.

Only BYU (50) has more takeaways among Big 12 Conference teams than ISU (47) since the start of the 2023 season. Iowa State has four takeaways this season (two fumbles, two interceptions), which are the fifth-most nationally.

Marcus Neal Jr. and Jamison Patton lead the Cyclones with 13 tackles apiece this season. Neal, along with linebackers Caleb Bacon and Kooper Ebel, all have 1.5 tackles for loss through the first two games.

KEY STORYLINES

Iowa State is 23-of-its-last-28 on fourth down tries, including 3-for-3 this season. Its opponents are 1-for-5 this season.
ISU did not punt against South Dakota, marking the fourth time in the Campbell era the Cyclones didn't punt in a game.
This season, ISU is 10-for-13 in the red zone with two of the possessions ending at the one-yard line when the game concluded.
Iowa State lost the turnover battle just three times last season and has yet to do so this season, improving to 40-9 under Matt Campbell when winning the battle.
Rocco Becht was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and Kyle Konrardy was tabbed Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week for their record-breaking performances against South Dakota. Five different Cyclones have now received a weekly honor from the league this season.
Offensive lineman Tyler Miller has made 29-consecutive starts for the Cyclones, the longest active start streak among Big 12 offensive linemen.
Brahmer had a career-high seven receptions and two touchdowns against South Dakota. He is the first Cyclone tight end with multiple receiving TDs in a game since All-American Charlie Kolar did so against Texas Tech in 2021.
Abu Sama III reached the end zone for the first time this season against South Dakota, taking a direct snap 15 yards for the TD. Of Sama's nine career rushing TDs, none have been less than 10 yards and six have been 50 yards or more.

GAMEDAY TIMELINE
Cy-Hawk Gameday Timeline

COLOR-IT-CARDINAL
Cyclone fans are encouraged to wear cardinal to Saturday's Cy-Hawk game.
Color-it-Cardinal Cy-Hawk

CYCAST WITH THE CYCLONE RADIO CREW
John Walters, Eric Heft and Ryan Harklau sit down to preview Iowa ahead of this weekend's game. The podcast is presented by Van Wall Equipment.

To listen, CLICK HERE.

WEEKLY MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Matt Campbell, Taylor Mouser, Rocco Becht, Gabe Burkle, Jontez Williams and Caleb Bacon met with the media on Tuesday. Watch their interviews below.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caleb Bacon

Rocco Becht

Benjamin Brahmer

Gabe Burkle

Kooper Ebel

Kyle Konrardy

Tyler Miller

Marcus Neal Jr.

Jamison Patton

Nick Reinicke

Abu Sama III

Jontez Williams

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics