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Iowa football 2025 early opponent preview: Iowa State
Cyclones could be interesting early-season test after winning program-record 11 games in 2024
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Editor’s note: Second in a 12-part series previewing each of Iowa’s 2025 regular-season opponents.
IOWA CITY — Iowa’s Week 2 opponent made some history in 2024.
Iowa State won a program-record 11 games, and its eight Big 12 wins were the second-most in school history (trailing only the COVID-19-affected 2020 season). The Cyclones ended the year ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll, which also was second-best in program history behind the 2020 season.
Now with quarterback Rocco Becht highlighting the list of players returning from that team, Iowa State will be an early nonconference test for the 2025 Hawkeyes on Sept. 6. (The game in Ames will kick off at 11 a.m. and air on Fox.)
Becht completed 59.4 percent of his passes while throwing 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His passer rating of 138.1 ranked 56th out of 118 qualifying FBS quarterbacks.
Tight end Benjamin Brahmer has been an all-Big 12 honorable mention his first two years on campus and broke an Iowa State true freshman tight end record with 28 receptions in 2023. He had 10 receptions for 179 yards in 2024 before an injury cut his season short.
The Cyclones must overcome significant losses at wide receiver and the secondary. Wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel were second- and and third-round NFL draft picks, respectively, and defensive back Darien Porter was a third-round pick as well.
Matt Campbell’s transfer additions include former East Carolina wide receiver Chase Sowell, former UCF wide receiver Xavier Townsend and former Indiana offensive lineman Austin Barrett.
The last seven Cy-Hawk games have been decided by 10 or fewer points. That includes a one-point Iowa win in 2019, a three-point Iowa State win in 2022 and a one-point Iowa State win in 2024.
Iowa vs. Iowa State: 3 things to watch
- How effective is Becht against Iowa’s defense? The Cyclones were 6-0 last season when Becht did not have any interceptions. He was not entirely mistake-free against the Hawkeyes last season (with one interception in the win), but completed 65.7 percent of his passes and had two touchdown passes.
- Iowa’s wide receivers vs. Iowa State’s secondary. Iowa’s wide receiver production has often been suboptimal in recent seasons, but offensive coordinator Tim Lester is optimistic about the group’s improvement this season. This will be the first test for that group against a power-conference foe.
- Does Iowa take advantage of red-zone opportunities? The Hawkeyes’ failed red-zone attempts haunted them in 2024, as they had to settle for field goals on two drives that ended within the 5-yard line en route to a one-point loss.
2025 prognosis
Iowa has not lost to Iowa State in Ames since 2011. Extending that streak in 2025 will be doable, but nothing to take for granted against an Iowa State team coming off a historic season and returning a proven quarterback.
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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