Rob Gray

Transfer wide receiver Jayden Higgins came up with a late touchdown in Iowa State’s loss to Iowa on Saturday. Should the Cyclones have been operating more urgently, which could have potentially left time for a more extended final offensive possession, or maybe even two possessions?

The litany of miscues that have doomed Iowa State to defeat in six of its last seven Cy-Hawk series games against Iowa once again served as the backdrop in the Cyclones’ 20-13 loss to the Hawkeyes Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.

Since Iowa State’s streak-breaking win over Iowa in 1998, Iowa’s won 13 in the series. The Cyclones have won 11. Nerve-fraying, white-knuckled affairs have largely replaced the guffaw-filled blowout victories the Hawkeyes typically enjoyed from 1983 to 1997.

Iowa State hosts Iowa on Saturday in the annual Cy-Hawk football showdown. Here a three keys to an ISU victory.

Is another low-scoring game in store Saturday when Iowa visits Iowa State, or will the offenses answer early-season questions? We preview Cy-Hawk 2023 on this episode of the Hawk Off The Press podcast.

Former Dubuque Senior basketball player Jim Bonifas, a redshirt sophomore, is poised to mount charges of a different sort for the Cyclones as he prepares to make his second career start overall and first against in-state rival Iowa this Saturday.

If Rocco Becht’s to fully secure the No. 1 quarterback spot, he must be the consummate game manager — a bland, but exceedingly important duty that the record-setting Brock Purdy ably fulfilled early in his ISU career.

Here’s a list of five of Iowa State’s most improved players heading into Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. Cy-Hawk game against the Hawkeyes at Jack Trice Stadium.

Relief merged with excitement for Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht early in Saturday’s season opener, allowing him to relax into his initial start — a 30-9 win over UNI that was never close.

Jeremiah Cooper’s interception returned for a 58-yard touchdown successfully set the Cyclones’ winning tone early in a 30-9 triumph over the Panthers on a sultry Saturday afternoon at Jack Trice Stadium.

New Iowa State offensive line coach Ryan Clanton has elevated the competition and camaraderie in that room to such heights that the burliest Cyclones have happily settled into a simpatico state known as “mudita.”

The Big 12 is replete with accomplished quarterbacks, but it’s likely UNI’s Theo Day will be one of the best play-callers Iowa State faces in 2023. Here are three keys for the Cyclones and a score prediction.

Carson Willich enters Saturday’s Iowa State football season-opener perched atop the depth chart at Sam linebacker. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound kinesiology major is fully healthy and poised to make his first career start — but he’s not alone in that regard.

Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock is firmly convinced Northern Iowa quarterback Theo Day will eventually play on Sundays. But first, he and his defense must face Day on Saturday.

Iowa State has won the past three meetings with Northern Iowa, but three of the latest four matchups have been decided by six or fewer points. Here are five Panthers to watch in Saturday’s season opener.