Rob Gray

Iowa State tight end Jared Rus’ journey through multiple position groups, an LCL tear and an inauspicious start to his career provides an object lesson in discipline, belief and sheer perseverance.

Here are three keys to victory for Iowa State football against Ohio on Saturday, plus a prediction.

Iowa State grad transfer linebacker Colby Reeder — whose father, Dan, played two seasons in the NFL and brother, Troy, is currently a linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams — talks about the game in the same manner he plays it. With verve, joy and intensity.

The connection between Hunter Dekkers and Xavier Hutchinson served merely as the headline of the story for Iowa State’s 21-play, 99-yard touchdown drive that essentially cemented a 10-7 win at Iowa. The ultimate supporting players were the guys up front on the offensive line.

Iowa State opened as a 21.5-point favorite for Saturday’s game against Ohio. Here are five players to watch for the Bobcats who hope to buck those odds.

Trailing Iowa at halftime, Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell issued a challenge based on his other coaching experience: Gilbert’s sixth-grade girls’ softball team finding a way to rally and win.

Former Iowa State star quarterback Sena Wallace savored his former team’s grinding 10-7 win against Iowa that ended in a driving rain. Wallace was dry, but reflective while reveling in the moment.

Hunter Dekkers threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Hutchinson 8:47 left to complete a 99-yard drive that ultimately, if shakily held up as Iowa State outlasted Iowa, 10-7, Saturday while snapping a six-game skid in the Cy-Hawk series.

Beating Iowa for the first time since 2014 would give Iowa State considerable juice to continue a strong push to start the season. Here are three keys for the Cyclones in Saturday’s Cy-Hawk game.

Iowa State cruised to a season-opening, 42-10, win last Saturday over an average FCS foe. Iowa sweated out a defense-driven, 7-3, win a couple hours earlier over one of the best FCS teams. But as ISU defensive coordinator Jon Heacock said, “none of that stuff matters” in Saturday’s Cy-Hawk game.

John Steppe and Rob Gray break down the key matchups and storylines in Saturday’s Iowa State-Iowa football game on this week’s Hawk Off The Press podcast.

However strong the connection between Hunter Dekkers and Xavier Hutchinson may be, it’s the supporting players, not the headliners, who likely will determine whether Iowa State can cart the Cy-Hawk trophy off the field for the first time in head coach Matt Campbell’s six-plus season tenure.

One mind-boggling and troubling stat looms over Iowa State’s current five-game losing streak to Iowa. The Hawkeyes have enjoyed a 9-0 turnover margin that the Cyclones hope to start to reverse Saturday.

Here are five memorable Iowa State wins in the Cy-Hawk football series against Iowa.

Consider Hunter Dekkers’ performance in Iowa State’s 42-10 season-opening triumph over Southeast Missouri State a rousing success. But now the level of competition ratchets up sharply.